The President of Kenya Uhuru Kenyatta has officially launched ‘Make it Kenya’, a new international brand campaign to promote investment.

The campaign launch is part of a larger Kenyan effort to drive interest among global investors. According to the African Development Bank investment into Kenya than doubled to $1.2 billion in the past year.

Through the Make It Kenya campaign, Kenya will look to further enhance its position as an investment destination of choice, through activities that will promote the scale of opportunities across multiple business sectors, the organisation said in a statement.

President Kenyatta is in Milan to lead the Kenyan activities at Expo Milano’s dedicated Kenya week. He launched the new campaign at a VIP event at the Kenya House, an extension of Kenya’s Expo pavilion used to showcase the country’s assets in more detail.

In addition to the new campaign brand, the launch included the activation of a new digital portal, MakeItKenya.com and supporting social media platforms.

Make It Kenya aims to engage, inform and advise investors looking to invest into Kenya. The platform will offer the latest information on the country’s economic performance, sector-specific investment opportunities, and Government incentives and support available to global companies seeking to open or grow their business in Kenya.

As part of the Make It Kenya campaign, the country will continue to roll out a series of measures to enhance the ease and cost of doing business, with the Kenya Investment Authority (KenInvest) taking major steps to build positive investor sentiment. To facilitate growing global investor interest, KenInvest is set to open a one-stop-shop investor centre later this year in Nairobi.

The country is also hosting the Kenya International Investment Conference (KIICO) – now in its second year – on 23-25 November 2015 in Nairobi, as well as on-going trade delegations from key investment source markets around the world.

During the launch, President Kenyatta posted the first messages to Make It Kenya’s social media platforms and called on the people of Kenya to support the campaign.

“Our transformation agenda continues to establish Kenya as a model investment destination; attracting the world’s biggest names in business by building a framework, which offers major returns on investment. With Make It Kenya – we are sharing these success stories, our unrivalled business opportunities and extending our support to investors; telling the world in one unified voice, that our we are truly open for business,” he said.

“It is clear that for Kenya to continue its trajectory of economic growth, we need a nation brand that can compete internationally but also resonate with the people of Kenya. We know that our citizens are bold, entrepreneurial and innovative and this combination is undoubtedly a catalyst for international business growth,” he concluded.

KenInvest said in a statement that the timing for the launch had been coordinated by MEAACT to build on the success and positive feedback that the country has received following President Obama’s visit and the hosting of the 6th Global Entrepreneurship Summit, which has resulted in many global companies to refocus their interest in doing business in Kenya.

The Cabinet Secretary of East African Affairs, Commerce and Tourism, Phyllis Kandie, said, “Kenya’s rapidly growing portfolio of investment opportunities is capturing the attention of the global business community. With the launch of Make It Kenya, we will engage investors by offering practical information on how to enter the market to leverage the multi-sector, country-wide projects, which are positioning Kenya as the most attractive investment destination in Africa.”

Dr. Moses Ikiara, Managing Director of KenInvest added that the campaign’s aim is to emphasise the country’s strengths, including “the strong economic fundamentals, the strategic location, the human resource advantage over many competitors, and the numerous investment opportunities across all sectors and all parts of the country, among many others.”

Mary Kimonye, Brand Kenya CEO said, “As the custodians of Kenya’s brand, our responsibility is to develop and drive an identity that can balance our country’s ambitions towards modernity and economic dynamism while respecting our rich heritage, culture and values.