Nairobi is home to the Nairobi Stock Exchange (NSE), one of Africa’s largest. The NSE was officially recognised as an overseas stock exchange by the London Stock Exchange in 1953. The exchange is Africa’s 4th largest (in terms of trading volumes) and 5th (in terms of Market Capitalisation as a percentage of GDP).
Nairobi is the regional headquarters of several international companies and organizations. In 2007, General Electric, Young & Rubicam, Google, Coca Cola, Zain and Cisco Systems relocated their African headquarters to the city.The United Nations Office at Nairobi hosts UNEP and UN-Habitat headquarters.
Several of Africa’s largest companies are headquartered in Nairobi. Kenya Airways, Africa’s fourth largest airline, uses Nairobi’s Jomo Kenyatta International Airport as a hub.
Goods manufactured in Nairobi include clothing, textiles, building materials, processed foods, beverages, cigarettes. Several foreign companies have factories based in and around the city. These include Goodyear, General Motors, Toyota Motors, and Coca Cola.
Nairobi has a large tourist industry, being both a tourist destination and a transport hub.
Central business district and skyline
Nairobi has grown around its central business district. It takes a rectangular shape, around the Uhuru Highway, Haille Selassie Avenue, Moi Avenue and University Way. It features many of Nairobi’s important buildings, including the City Hall and Parliament Building. The city square is also located within the perimeter.
A feature of the central business district that strikes foreign tourists the most is the skyline. Nairobi’s skyline has been compared to many Asian and American cities. This is due to a construction boom after independence, and another construction boom in the late 1990s and early 2000s. Most of the skyscrapers in this region are the headquarters of businesses and corporations, such as I&M and the Kenyatta international Conference Center. The United States Embassy bombing took place in this district, prompting a new embassy building to be built in the suburbs.
In 2006, a large beautification project took place in the CBD, as the city prepared to host the 2006 Afri-Cities summit. Iconic buildings such as the Kenyatta International Conference Centre had their exteriors cleaned and repainted.
The district is bordered to the southwest by Uhuru Park and Central Park. The Mombasa to Kampala railway runs to the southeast of the district.