Kenya may be grappling with high unemployment rates but for business-minded Somalis it is the best country to invest in.

Thousands of Somalis who have lived in the developed world for many years are now leaving Europe and North America to establish businesses in Kenya. And many of them are great successes.

They usually jet in with ideas and quickly implement them, turning them into success stories. Having lived in the industrialised world, they turn unworkable businesses into profitable enterprises that also help to create jobs not just for other Somalis but for Kenyans as well.

Mr Ahmed Urur Abdille, the managing director of Kaah Hotel is one such investor. On an ordinary day, he will stop to talk to customers dining at his restaurant. His aim is to find out what they think about the food and the service.

Customer service

"Good customer service is one of many positive skills that we have learnt from those countries. It is paramount to a successful business," he says.

Mr Abdille decided to leave Britain after nine years of doing various jobs. He first noticed that there were business opportunities in Kenya after visiting his family in 2006. A year later he left the UK and has no plans of going back.

"I got a contract as a Safaricom dealer within few months of arriving in Nairobi," says the entrepreneur. "I then invested in a petrol station and from there on bought 50 per cent of the shares of Kaah Hotel. At the beginning it was challenging as business is about taking risks and hard decision making but I made good profits in a short period."

Mr Abdille hopes to set up an import and export company in the near future. He acknowledges that Kenyans are open-minded, which makes him comfortable running his business in the country. "I am a lot happier than when I was in the UK. I feel at home here because Kenyans are very friendly," he says.

Mr Abdiwahab Ahmed Nur, managing director of Sky Light Chemicals Ltd has more or less a similar story. He started thinking seriously about moving to Kenya three years ago. He had lived in Finland for 17 years during which he studied science and later got a job. Last year, he made up his mind to test his business skills in Kenya.

"I started working as a drug consultant but shortly got contracts to distribute medicines to other parts of East Africa. Now we are building two factories which will produce different medicines in Kenya," he says.

"I am a scientist so I am planning to build a drug research centre in Nairobi within a few years."

Initially, it was difficult for Mr Nur to get a work permit but the rest of the process went without a hitch. He was particularly attracted by Kenyans and their high quality education compared to other parts of Africa.

"It is not difficult to employ well qualified and hard-working personnel here. In terms of customers, Kenya is a multi-cultural country and there is a demand for our products, so the future looks promising for us," he says.

Most of the new investors are based in Eastleigh, Nairobi. Eastleigh is described as the biggest market in East and Central Africa. People travel from other parts of Kenya - and other countries like Rwanda, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Uganda, Tanzania and Ethiopia - to shop in Eastleigh. It is a place where you can find almost anything you need at a reasonable price.

Freedom to work

Mr Kennedy Isigi, a community leader, who has worked in the area for 18 years, believes that Kenya attracts investors because it acts as the business centre of Africa. More importantly, as a result of quality education, Kenyans are tolerant towards foreigners.

"Nairobi is the destination for everybody. It is like America. We accept others as fellow human beings, regardless of who they are," says Mr Isigi. "If you allow people the freedom to work and embrace them then they appreciate that and work very hard."

Eastleigh businesses contribute millions of shillings to the overall economic growth of the country. "Since the area became a business hub, the employment figures have risen sharply and living standards have improved," says Mr Isigi.

However, he is critical of the Government for not investing the taxpayer's money on better infrastructure in the area. "We pay millions of shillings to the Government but we get very little back. Eastleigh community is not happy because we feel that the Government is ignoring our problems; it is not healthy to trade or live in such conditions."

One of the locals who works with Somalis is convinced that the area has been transformed by the community. Before they started settling there, Eastleigh was a residential area but now it is one of the busiest business districts in Nairobi.

Mr Ismail Kimuyu, a hotel receptionist, says Somalis are law-abiding and committed to achieving success. "Somalis are very reliable business people. Sometimes they are too honest, and they will tell you everything about their business. What I find surprising is that you can find illiterate Somalis who are doing well in the business sector," says Mr Kimuyu.

New buildings

He says the business people are dedicated to long-term investments. "For instance, there are lots of new buildings in Eastleigh, they are going to be there for many years to come and that is good for the country."

The chairman of Eastleigh District Business Association, Mr Hassan Guleid, thinks Somalis invest in Kenya for historical reasons. They inhabit North Eastern Province and are not being discriminated against.

Even though, the documentation process can take a long time, the Kenyan authorities allow them to set up businesses and encourage them.

"Kenya is the only place that connects Somalis," says Mr Guleid. "They come from all over the world to meet here. Unlike other countries, there is no cultural clash, they feel secure here. Consequently, rather than having money sitting in a savings account in their host countries, they invest here."