• Kenya Private Sector Alliance (Kepsa) Rachel Muthoga has said the numbers would help businesses understand market size, help in the provision of services and in turn experience economic growth.
• According to Kenya Association of Manufacturers, the population from national up to the sub-location level is regarded as the local market for locally manufactured goods.
Image: ENOS TECHE
The manufacturing and private sector are staring at growth opportunities from the consumer numbers after the census.
The country kick-started the enumeration process on August 24, with the government saying the demographic information being sought will aid in economic, social and political planning, budgeting and formulation of sound economic policies.
The exercise will run till August 31 and the results are expected to be released by December.
According to Kenya Private Sector Alliance (Kepsa) deputy chief executive Rachel Muthoga has said the numbers would help businesses understand market size to help in the provision of services and experience economic growth.
“We were involved in the process before, especially on review of strategies to be carried out," Muthoga said.
This saw the introduction of questions involving the participation of households in the agricultural sector.
“We get to understand what the households need to achieve growth in their different market segments,” she added.
Agriculture contributes for almost a third of Kenya’s annual economic output and takes up a large share of jobs, employing more than 40 per cent of the country's total population especially in rural areas.
The sector's value added at constant prices increased over the years in 2014 from Sh789.7 billion to Sh953.6 billion.
The sector is also intertwined to others to provide livelihood including retail and trade and export earning.
The expectations from the private sector trim the presented views that the census will aid in political advantages.
According to the Kenya Association of Manufacturers, the population from national up to the sub-locational level is regarded as the local market for locally manufactured goods in subsectors of food and beverages, textile, clothing, leather and footwear, wood paper and chemical among others.
“As we undertake product design at the firm level and manufacturing policy formulation, the data on consumers' age, gender, education level, the quality of labour force levels of technology is key,” KAM chief executive Phyllis Wakiaga said in a statement.
“It has been long felt that manufacturing has been engendered with high male domination.”
The data from the census will aid in knowing the number of female players in the sector and what proper policies should be put in place to bring more on board, she said.
The census is also expected to make the manufacturing sector understand if the available skill in the country is sufficient to shift to the fourth industrial revolution easily.
“If enough, we will with no doubt facilitate the technological transformation,” she added.
The sector is one bestowed to drive the Big Four agenda, especially affordable housing pillar.
Wakiaga said the data collected on the type of habitation will help in understanding the state of housing in the country, the spread and subsequent policies formulated to improve the habitation.
This also, from know where the metal products like iron sheets, wood products, aggregates, concrete tiles, plastic would be sourced from the sector.
The sector real value has increased by 28.1 per cent to Sh689.3 billion in 2018 from Sh537.9 billion in 2014.
In 2018, growth was on account of increase in productions of dairy products, tea, coffee, and sugar.
Declines in production were recorded in sub-sectors involved in manufacturer of plastic products, wood and allied products and non-metallic mineral products.
Formal sector in the sector increased by 1.4 per cent to 307,592 people in the year.
Kenya is set to spend Sh18.5 billion in this year's census compared to Sh7.4 billion spend in 2009.
The government has funded close to 90 per cent and while the rest sourced from development partners.
The Ministry of State for Planning, National Development and Vision 2030, through the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) said the exercise is to adhere to United Nations’ recommendations to adopt mobile technology for data validation and quick transmission to a central server.