In San Francisco, Kenya's president woos American tech companies despite increasing taxes at home

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — Kenya’s president is wooing American tech companies, promising a business-friendly environment — even though he has raised taxes on businesses at home.

President William Ruto made the appeal in an address to leading U.S. technology companies and investors on Friday in San Francisco, highlighting investment opportunities in his country and lauding his government's “strategic priorities.”

“For the sake of stability, we have a tax code that is simple to enforce, consistent, fair and predictable" — one that won't change in the next three years, he said.

"We have eliminated value-added tax on exported services and the tax on stock-based compensation for employees of startups, as well as the domestic equity requirement for ICT companies,” he said.