The Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS), in collaboration with the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) and Kenya Investment Authority (KenInvest), has launched the 2025 Foreign Investment Survey (FIS) to collect data on cross-border private capital and investor perceptions.
The survey aims to enhance Kenya’s investment climate, inform policy planning, and attract sustainable foreign investments.
The three institutions announced on Wednesday that the exercise, the ninth in a series since 2010, runs from September to November 2025 under the theme “Assessing Cross-Border Private Capital for Informed Decision Making.”
According to the statement, the 2025 survey seeks to deepen Kenya’s understanding of foreign investment trends, balance of payments, and international investment positions, while guiding policy formulation to attract and retain investors.
“The purpose of the survey is to collect data from resident enterprises on their cross-border private capital for the years ending 2023 and 2024 and the flows during 2024,” KNBS stated.
“The data collected will be used in the compilation of Balance of Payments (BOP) and International Investment Position (IIP) statistics and other related statistics.”
The KNBS noted that accurate investment data is essential for effective planning, economic management, and sustainable growth.
The survey results will also be key in shaping investment promotion strategies and trade negotiations for both the public and private sectors.
Findings from the 2024 Foreign Investment Survey Highlights indicated that investors continue to view Kenya positively, citing a highly skilled labour force (22.9 percent), market access (17.1 percent), and ease of doing business (17.1 percent) as the top factors influencing their decision to invest.
However, the report also identified electricity supply, financial services, and immigration services as major operational costs.
“About 70 percent of respondents indicated electricity supply as the highest cost of enabling business services,” the statement revealed.
Moreover, 58.5 percent, 55.8 percent, and 51.8 percent of investors rated high operational costs in financial services, immigration processes, and business permits, respectively.
On future investment direction, 39.5 percent of the respondents expressed intentions to reinvest and expand within three years, 25.0 percent planned to diversify, while 30.3 percent intended to maintain current operations.
The report also provided insight into Kenya’s foreign investment position, revealing a 3.4 percent rise in foreign liabilities, from Sh2.26 trillion in 2022 to Sh2.34 trillion in 2023, largely driven by Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), which grew 8.5 percent to Sh1.46 trillion.
“Europe registered the largest share of foreign liabilities to Kenya, accounting for 35.0 percent of the total stock of foreign liabilities at the end of 2023,” the report stated.
Africa emerged as the second-largest source of foreign liabilities at 26.4 percent, followed by Asia at 9.3 percent, with key investors coming from India, the United Arab Emirates, and China.
The stock of foreign assets also increased sharply by 36.8 per cent, from Sh610 billion in 2022 to Sh834.2 billion in 2023.
This was attributed to a surge in Other Investment assets and FDI assets, which accounted for 55.1 per cent and 44.7 per cent of the total stock, respectively.
The FIS 2025 aims to strengthen Kenya’s capacity for data-driven investment governance.
“The survey will collect comprehensive information on the stocks and flows of inward and outward foreign capital, private external debt, and foreign investment relationships,” KNBS confirmed.
Other objectives include compiling Foreign Affiliates Trade Statistics (FATS) and international trade in services data, as well as generating information to monitor economic development and support national planning and policy design.
“The data will provide information useful for investment promotion and trade negotiations,” said the statement, adding that the survey will also update the enterprise register necessary for carrying out sample surveys on cross-border financial transactions.
The KNBS emphasized that the exercise is authorized under the Statistics Act, CAP 112 Laws of Kenya [Rev. 2022], which empowers the Bureau to collect official statistics related to international investment and balance of payments.
The survey targets statistically sampled resident enterprises with cross-border financial transactions, including equity, debt, and trade in goods and services.
Respondents will include Chief Finance Officers, Finance Directors, Managers, and Accountants familiar with their companies’ financial records.
“The FIS 2025 Questionnaire will be used to collect enterprises’ cross-border transactions and positions data for 2023 and 2024,” KNBS noted. “Financial statements for both years will also be required for reference.”
With rising investor optimism and growing foreign capital inflows, the 2025 Foreign Investment Survey is set to play a central role in shaping Kenya’s investment landscape, ensuring that policy decisions are grounded in accurate, timely, and comprehensive data.
As the KNBS put it, “Accurate and reliable data is essential for effective decision-making and for attracting and retaining investment within the country for the benefit of both the public and private sectors.”
