Mombasa Industrial Park, a Special Economic Zone (SEZ), will strengthen the country’s position as a regional trade and logistics gateway and address the growing demand for modern industrial and logistics infrastructure in East Africa.

South-South trade and capital flows are emerging as the defining forces in the global economy. As developing markets seek new growth engines and trade flows become more diversified, economic ties between Asia, Africa, the Middle East and Latin America are deepening, giving rise to increasingly important corridors of growth.

Outside formal agreements, emerging trade corridors are expanding, including Asia-Latin America, Middle East–Sub-Saharan Africa and China-Middle East, underscoring how geopolitical shifts and infrastructure investment are redrawing the trade map. UNCTAD says that in 2023, South-South trade in goods reached USD 5.7 trillion and accounted for 24 per cent of global trade, up from 21 per cent in 2022 and 15 per cent in 2005.

Nowhere is that shift playing out more clearly than along the Middle East–Sub-Saharan Africa corridor, where Kenya and the UAE have quietly turned a routine trading relationship into something far more strategic.

The UAE has become a key destination for Kenyan exports and a leading source of Kenya's imports, while the growing presence of Emirati companies in Kenya and Kenyan businesses in the UAE reflects the expanding scope of economic cooperation between the two countries. Bilateral trade continues to record sustained growth, further reinforcing this dynamic partnership.

In March, AriseIIP, the Dubai-headquartered pan-African infrastructure developer and operator driving the creation of sustainable industrial ecosystems, announced plans to pool over $3bn for industrial projects in Kenya in the next five years. The projects include two export zones along Kenya’s coast and one in Naivasha, Nakuru County. AriseIIP has pledged between 30% and 40% of the investment for an equity stake, while the remaining capital will be sourced through debt from development finance institutions and additional lenders. The investment targets over 500,000 jobs within five years.

The firm, which is owned by Afreximbank’s private equity unit (FEDA), Africa Finance Corporation, UAE-based Equitane Group and Saudi Arabia’s Vision Invest, will collaborate with KCB Group and Afreximbank to create an $800m facility that will support future investors occupying the new zones.

Turning Partnerships into Tangible Industrial Activities

Beyond mobilising the financing needed to attract investors, the partnership is also expected to translate into tangible industrial activity on the ground. Vipingo Special Economic Zone (VSEZ) is one of the projects where this ambition is taking shape, with a focus on building local industries, creating jobs and ensuring that more value from Kenya’s resources is retained within the country. It is a 2,249-acre, investor-ready industrial platform within the wider 10,000-acre Vipingo mixed-use ecosystem in Kilifi County.

Vipingo is not an isolated case. Along Kenya’s coastline, similar investments are beginning to reshape the country’s industrial and logistics landscape, with Emirati companies playing an increasingly visible role in developing the infrastructure needed to connect local production to regional and international markets. Another notable example is DP World, the Dubai-based logistics company, which in September invested USD 100million (KSh 12 billion) in the development of the Mombasa SEZ.

The 535-acre Mombasa SEZ will host manufacturers and other businesses involved in production, processing, assembly, branding, logistics and exports. It is expected to create 10,000 jobs in the first phase. The project will be developed in Jomvu and linked to the Standard Gauge Railway and regional transport corridors. This will allow the area to serve not only as a transit point for goods but also as a production and export centre.

Why the UAE Firms Stand Out

However, infrastructure alone will not determine whether these zones deliver on their promise. Their success will also depend on attracting investors who understand how to turn strategic locations, transport links and industrial facilities into thriving centres of production and trade. This is where UAE firms have a distinct advantage, bringing not only the capital needed to develop such projects but also practical experience in building and managing integrated industrial and logistics hubs.

DP World, for instance, essentially invented the modern SEZ model with Jebel Ali Free Zone in Dubai back in 1979, turning a patch of desert into a global trading hub. That kind of institutional knowledge comes from decades of actually running ports, logistics networks and industrial parks.

Emirati firms also understand something that matters deeply to Kenyan policymakers: the need to move away from exporting raw materials and toward value addition. The Arise IIP model, for example, has already done this in Benin and Gabon, processing timber, cotton and cashew locally rather than shipping them out raw. And with the UAE's CEPA agreement with Kenya now in place, these companies come with built-in market access to the Gulf and beyond.

But for the SEZs to succeed, Kenya needs to establish predictable regulations, efficient customs, and streamlined licensing systems. Success also demands reliable, competitively priced power and transparent land arrangements to attract long-term developers. Additionally, investing in workforce training ensures local talent can meet investor needs. Above all, the government must tie all investment incentives directly to measurable economic outcomes, such as job creation and technology transfer, ensuring SEZs deliver genuine value to the domestic economy.