US President Barack Obama declared Saturday that "Africa is on the move", praising the spirit of entrepreneurship at a business summit on landmark visit to Kenya.

US President Barack Obama declared Saturday that "Africa is on the move", praising the spirit of entrepreneurship at a business summit on landmark visit to Kenya.

Obama arrived in Kenya late on Friday, making his first visit to the country of his father's birth since he was elected president.

"I wanted to be here, because Africa is on the move, Africa is one of the fastest growing regions in the world," Obama said, drawing cheers and applause from delegates.

"People are being lifted out of poverty, incomes are up, the middle class is growing and young people like you are harnessing technology to change the way Africa is doing business," Obama said in his first official engagement in Nairobi.

The US embassy itself warned the summit could be "a target for terrorists", but Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta, sharing the stage with Obama, said the event showed a different side of Africa.

"The narrative of African despair is false, and indeed was never true," Kenyatta said. "Let them know that Africa is open and ready for business."

In the afternoon Obama was welcomed at State House for talks with Kenya's government. On arrival he shook hands with Deputy President William Ruto, who is on trail at the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague accused of crimes against humanity during post-election violence in 2007-08.

Security, trade and human rights were all on the agenda.