For years, East Africa’s meeting and events industry has watched Rwanda, Tanzania, and Uganda invest in world-class convention infrastructure while Kenya, the continent’s most connected business hub relied on a strong conference center built in 1972.
That changes in 2026.
The Bomas International Convenient Complex (BICC), a Kshs 35 billion, 11,000-seat mega convention centre built 24 hours a day under Kenya Defence Forces supervision, is completing construction this April.
Here is why this matters for the global MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conferences, and Exhibitions) industry:
Scale unlike anything in East & Central Africa. The BICC will feature an 11,000-capacity convention center, a 5,000-seat main auditorium, a 3,000-seat banquet hall, exhibition halls, hotels, VIP presidential suites, and a landscaped cultural campus-all in one complex. This isn’t an upgrade. It’s a complete reinvention.
Nairobi is already the most connected city in Africa – Jomo Kenyatta International Airport connects to more destinations than any other airport in Sub-Saharan Africa. Delegates from London, Dubai, New York, or Singapore can fly direct. Now they have a venue worthy of the journey.
The only MICE destination where delegates can see lions 30 minutes from the conference room – Nairobi National Park, the world only national park inside a capital city, sits minutes from the BICC. Where else can you close a deal in the morning and watch a lion at Sunset?
Safari. Culture. Coast. Conference. Kenya’s unique proposition has always been its combination of world-class wildlife, Swahili coast luxury, vibrant culture, and business infrastructure. The BICC now gives international associations and corporate event planners the final piece~a venue that matches the destination.
At Leviamice Travel, we’ve been building towards this moment. We are a Nairobi-based DMC and MICE Specialist, registered on the UNGM, meeting international procurement standards, and actively building partnerships to bring global events to East Africa.
If you are a travel advisor, tour operator, or corporate event planner who has been watching Africa’s MICE growth and wondering when to make the move-the answer is now.
Kenya is open. The venue is coming. We’re on the ground.