President Uhuru Kenyatta has sent a message of comfort and encouragement to the family, relatives and friends of the Kenya Private Sector Alliance (KEPSA) trustee Keli Kiilu who passed on Friday.
Uhuru described Kiilu as a transformative leader whose ideas contributed greatly to the improvement of business environment and growth of Small and Medium Enterprises in Kenya.
“He was a true patriot who loved his country. He was passionate about Kenya and gave all his skills and ideas to grow our economy and contributed immensely to the vision of Kenya attaining middle income status,” he said.
Uhuru said Kiilu was a strong champion of the East African Community and helped coordinate the private sector in the region to utilize the opportunities presented by integration to grow the region’s economy.
“He was a transformational leader who played a crucial role in creating an environment for growth of businesses in Kenya and the East African region,” he said.
“Kiilu was an architect and strong pillar of the East African Business Council through which he ensured Private Sector Associations and Corporates played a key role in driving the EAC integration process through trade and investment.”
The president said, Kiilu will be remembered for wooing investors to invest in Kenya and the region.
“The late Kiilu was very instrumental in creating commercial linkages between Kenya and most developing countries.“We will forever cherish his wise leadership in positioning the SMEs sector as an engine of economic growth,” he said.
Kiilu was one of the Kenyan brains behind the formation of African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) with an intention of boosting intra-African trade.