Airtel Kenya has been saved from forcibly selling a third of its stake to local investors after US tech giant Amazon successfully lobbied President William Ruto to drop the foreign ownership rules as a condition for setting shop in Nairobi.
Dr Ruto on Thursday announced Kenya will drop the ownership rule introduced in April 2021 that gave telecoms firms up to March 2024 to ensure local ownership of at least 30 percent.
He reckoned that the rule had become a hurdle for large tech firms like Amazon wishing to open operations in Kenya, denying the growing number of skilled youth decent job opportunities.
Airtel Kenya will emerge as the biggest beneficiary of the policy shift after the firm started the difficult task of seeking Kenyan investors to buy a 30 percent stake.
The local ownership rule looked set to trigger deal-making in Kenya’s rapidly expanding information and telecoms sector, a prospect that has drawn the interest of foreign companies.
“This position is untenable and has made it impossible for large corporations to invest in Kenya. We will review this position and remove this requirement to facilitate greater investment in our ICT sector,” Dr Ruto told a regional business summit for US investors in Nairobi on Thursday
