Nairobi Ranked Most Improved Global City Favouring Businesses 

An aerial image of the Ksh88 billion Nairobi Expressway.
An aerial image of the Ksh88 billion Nairobi Expressway.
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Nairobi has been ranked among the most improved cities that are open to business across the world.

The Open For Business Ranking 2022 released on Friday, July 29, indicated that Kenya's capital moved from the category of high-risk non-inclusive cities to the substantial risk category.

Nairobi beat cities such as St. Petersburg in Russia, Phnom Penh in Cambodia and Nigeria's largest city - Lagos.

Its rise was credited to the number of startups that have been set up in the city. 

CBK Pension Towers shines amongst tallest skyscrapers in Nairobi.
A photo of the skyline filled with skyscrapers in Nairobi CBD
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CBK

Further, the government was recognised for creating an enabling environment for investors who have earmarked it as a center to set up their companies.

"The city has focused on creating a strong innovation ecosystem for years, which has led to a number of start-up hubs in the city.

"Most recently, Visa announced its plans to launch its first African innovation studio in Nairobi, citing “a fast-growing region with a tech-savvy population," read the report in part.

Additionally, the ranking which also focuses on gender issues in their ranking, stated that the country had made great strides in achieving gender equality.

In particular, Nairobi was recognised as the first African city to carry out a census for intersex persons - people born with both biological traits for males and females in 2019.

"On top of improving social attitudes toward the LGBTQ+ community, these could be signals for Nairobi’s continued climb in the ratings."

Nonetheless, it was noted that the country would move up the ladder more if policies were put in place to promote gender equality.

The Open to Business is an initiative started in 2015 by global corporate giants such as Google, KMPG, Meta, and LinkedIn among others.

In the last couple of months, the capital city had ranked highly in terms of business. On July 12, Nairobi was named among the world's greatest places of 2022 by TIME magazine.

Nairobi residents pictured at Kenya National Archives section of Nairobi CBD.
Nairobi residents pictured at Kenya National Archives section of Nairobi CBD in September 2021.
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