•Exporters are invited to list their products with the kenya Export Promotions by November, 30, this year.
•More job opportunities to be created as a result.
Image: FILE
The Kenya Export Promotion and Branding Agency (KEPROBA) will link Kenyan exporters to foreign markets through a new trade directory.
Exporters with valid export license/certificate interested in listing their products in the directory should submit their details by November 30, 2022.
The agency seeks to market Kenyan products and brands abroad to boost exporters and raise the country's export rate.
Kenya Export Promotion, project lead, Kelvin Mugendi, said that the program focuses on helping exporters increase their market share in foreign markets and reap benefits.
“We are focusing on developing platforms where our exporters can be able to tap opportunities in the foreign markets and boost their productivity, ” Mugendi said.
The foreign markets that the agency is currently eyeing, are ones those with either bilateral or multilateral agreements with Kenya such as South Africa.
“We are setting up this programme in countries that we have ties with for trade promotions and expansion of our production activities in order to improve the export rate of the country,” he said.
Kenya's total export earnings improved from Sh643.7 billion in 2020 to Sh743.7 billion in 2021, translating to a 15.5 per cent increase, according to Economic Survey 2022.
According to KEPROBA, they are targeting to boost Kenya's exports by 20 per cent.
It said the initiative would create more job opportunities hence reducing the unemployment rate in the country as a result of the Foreign Direct Investments (FDI).
Similarly, the country’s manufacturing sector will get a boost with the increase in export rates and the FDI projects in the country.
The manufacturing sector's contribution to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) has been declining, from 9.3 per cent in 2016 to 7.2 per cent in 2021, the Economic Survey shows.
Manufacturing was among the Uhuru Kenyatta administration's Big Four Agenda, alongside food security, universal health, and affordable housing.