Invest Kenya and the Warehouse Receipt Systems Council (WRSC) have partnered to drive investment in warehouse and cold-chain infrastructure, a move aimed at boosting national food security.
High-level talks between Invest Kenya CEO Mr. John Mwendwa and Warehouse Receipt Systems Council (WRSC) CEO Lucy Komen focused on aligning the national Warehouse Receipt System (WRS) with Invest Kenya’s investment promotion mandate, with particular emphasis on building bankable project pipelines across priority agricultural value chains.
“This collaboration presents a strong pathway for mobilising private capital into critical infrastructure that directly supports smallholder farmers, women-led agribusinesses, and agri-SMEs,” said Mr. Mwendwa. “By building a pipeline of bankable cold-chain and storage projects, we can enhance investor confidence while strengthening Kenya’s agricultural competitiveness.”
The discussions underscored the urgent need to expand modern warehousing and cold-chain infrastructure to better serve farmers, aggregators, processors, and exporters, while significantly reducing post-harvest losses that continue to erode incomes and threaten national food security.
The two institutions examined opportunities to leverage existing warehouse infrastructure owned by both national and county governments and reposition these assets as investment-ready projects through refurbishment, expansion, and public-private partnerships (PPPs).
By standardising facilities under the WRS framework, farmers would be able to safely store their produce, access quality certification, and use warehouse receipts as collateral to obtain affordable financing.
Ms. Lucy Komen noted that an effective and well-integrated WRS is essential for transforming agriculture from a subsistence activity into a commercially viable sector. “Modern warehousing and cold-chain systems are the backbone of efficient agricultural markets. Aligning our regulatory framework with investment promotion efforts will help attract both domestic and international investors, while improving price stability and market access for farmers,” she said.
The collaboration is expected to contribute to multiple national development priorities, including value addition, job creation, and inclusive growth. For women in agriculture, who make up a significant share of Kenya’s farming workforce, expanded storage and cold-chain infrastructure could translate into better market access, reduced losses, and higher incomes.
Invest Kenya reiterated its commitment to working with strategic stakeholders to align policy, infrastructure development, and financing mechanisms.
This approach supports Kenya’s transition from a primary production economy to a modern, investable value-chain economy capable of attracting sustainable investment and delivering long-term food security.
As next steps, the two institutions plan to identify priority value chains, map existing infrastructure, and structure pilot projects that can be presented to potential investors, development finance institutions, and commercial lenders.
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