EABC acting CEO Adrian Njau /FILE
Kenya is pushing for more service trade in the region and the larger continent, in the latest of moves to tap opportunities beyond trade in goods.
This is under the East African Community (EAC) and African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), where priority export sectors under services trade include professional services, tourism, education, health, financial services, ICT, cultural and sports services, and transport and logistics.
The country is calling for a single, liberalised market for services across the continent in a move that is being backed by the East African Business Council (EABC), which has also urged the EAC bloc to embrace service trade for economic growth and job creation.
Acting director–internal trade at the State Department for Trade, Elizabeth Miguda, yesterday said sector services play a vital role in economies across the East Africa region, with Kenya keen to tap the opportunities.
“As we work to defend regional intercession and take advantage of the EAC market and the continental free trade area, the ability to trade in services competitively will be a key to our success,” she said.
Miguda spoke during a service exports training in Nairobi by the EABC in partnership with GIZ, European Union, Global Gateway, German Cooperation and the EAC.
“For Kenya and our region, this means moving beyond traditional trade in goods and positioning our business as professionals and institutions to export services such as ICT, logistics, education and tourism more effectively.”
She said Kenya is keen to work closely with partners to strengthen the service export ecosystem. This includes improving policies, supporting capacity building and addressing the challenges that limit competitiveness.
EABC acting CEO Adrian Njau called on countries to accelerate the removal of restrictions, harmonise regulations and fast-track the recognition of qualifications.
This, amid providing training on service exports, creating trade linkages and pushing for inclusion of women and youth, who are often left at margins of cross-border trade.
“It is about building competitiveness, professionalism and readiness to seize opportunities, whether under the common markets, the African Continental Free Trade Area or international markets,” Njau said.
“We need to embrace digital platforms that allow our young entrepreneurs to reach clients across the world without heavy infrastructure investments. And we need to strengthen financial mechanisms that give SMEs the capital to grow and succeed.”
The AfCFTA Protocol on Trade in Services aims to create a single, liberalised market for trade in services across Africa. It seeks to achieve this by progressively reducing barriers, enhancing the competitiveness of African services sectors, and fostering intra-African trade to accelerate industrial development and support regional value chains.
Regulatory hurdles like non-tariff barriers, restrictions on market access and complex visa and work permit requirements have been cited as among those creating significant obstacles.
Fragmented relations across borders have also been blamed, together with delays in mutual recognition of professional qualifications that limit mobility.
