AmCham Kenya to host U.S.-East Africa business summit focused on investment, trade

The American Chamber of Commerce Kenya (AmCham Kenya) will host the AmCham Business Summit 2026 in Nairobi on 9-10 September, bringing together business leaders, investors and government officials to promote trade, investment and commercial partnerships between the United States and East Africa.

The summit, co-convened with the U.S. Embassy in Kenya and co-hosted by Kenya’s Ministry of Investments, Trade and Industry, comes as global companies diversify supply chains, digital transformation accelerates and investors increasingly look to emerging, high-growth markets, organisers said.

AmCham Kenya said the event will focus on seven priority sectors: critical minerals, the digital economy, health, manufacturing, energy and infrastructure, agriculture, and the creative economy. Organisers said the discussions are intended to strengthen regional value chains and position East Africa as a gateway to the wider African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).

“Kenya and East Africa are entering a decisive period in their commercial relationship with the United States,” AmCham Kenya Chief Executive Officer Paul Muthaura said in a statement.

“The opportunity calls on us to translate policy ambition into investment, stronger regional value chains and durable partnerships,” he said, adding that the chamber aims to bring together decision-makers, address barriers to investment and generate measurable commercial outcomes.

According to AmCham Kenya, the previous four editions of the summit attracted more than 5,000 delegates from over 30 countries and generated more than USD2 billion in tracked investment commitments.

This year’s event will also feature high-level plenary sessions, sector-specific discussions, investment deal rooms, and business-to-business (B2B) and business-to-government (B2G) matchmaking aimed at connecting companies with investors and policymakers.

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce will participate as a strategic partner alongside American chambers of commerce from Uganda, Ethiopia, Rwanda and Tanzania.

AmCham Kenya Board President Angela Ng’ang’a said the summit would help align public policy, investment capital and private enterprise to accelerate commercially viable projects across the region.

“The Summit will connect policy, capital and enterprise, enabling decision-makers to address investment bottlenecks, advance commercially viable projects and build partnerships that create shared prosperity across the United States and East Africa,” she said.