IPS Kenya (Industrial Promotion Services Kenya)

ndustrial Promotion Services (IPS) is the infrastructure and industrial development arm of the Aga Khan Fund for Economic Development, which in turn is a member of the Aga Khan Development Network.

Established in the early 1960s, IPS was created to provide venture capital, technical assistance and management support to encourage and expand private enterprise in the developing world, particularly countries of sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia.

IPS�s emphasis is on the role of the private sector. Through equity investment with partners from both the public and private sectors, IPS identifies projects with strong developmental potential as well as financial viability and works towards building them into companies with lasting institutional strengths with potential for contributing to the long-term development of the national and international communities in which they operate.� �Its criteria for project design emphasise both technology transfer and local resource use; it seeks to harness both international expertise and local know-how to the task of improving living standards in the developing world.

Over the years, IPS has adjusted its approach to address the development goals of the region through Privatisation, re-orientation from import-substitution towards export promotion, and more recently investment in infrastructure. Currently, IPS within East Africa has over 25 companies across multiple sectors including: industrial printing and packaging, leather tanneries, food and agro-industry, specialized textiles, pharmaceuticals, power and telecommunications and a range of medium sized enterprises.

IPS shareholders in East Africa, currently include institutions such as International Finance Corporation (IFC), Deutsche Investitions-und Entwicklungsgesellschaft (DEG), East Africa Development Bank and Jubilee Holdings Ltd.