KENYA is eyeing a bigger pie of the African market amid a push to increase intra-Africa trade in the wake of shifting global trade patterns influenced mainly by the Trump tariffs.
The African Growth and Opportunity Act (Agoa) is also coming to an end on September 30, with no hopes of renewal so far by the US government, a move expected to affect eligible countries including Kenya which is among the biggest beneficiaries mainly on textile and apparel.
The East African economic power house has reignited it's focus on the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) and the African Continental Free Trade Area, adding to the East Africa Community bloc to support it's not industrialisation dream.
Nairobi will be hosting the COMESA Summit of Heads of State and Government between October 7-9, which is expected to look into growing intra-Africa trade.
Speaking during the signing of the host agreement, Investments, Trade and Industry Cabinet Secretary Lee Kinyanjui, who is also the current vice-chair of the COMESA Bureau, said Kenya is deeply committed to the principles of regional integration and economic prosperity that the bloc was founded upon.
He noted that the Kenyan government has prioritised industrialisation, value addition and creating a conducive environment for trade and investment.
“We are actively expanding our Special Economic Zones and Export Processing Zones to transform our economy from one of raw exports to one of higher-value, processed products,” Kinyanjui said.
Growth in SEZs and EPZs means the country has to seek export markets with the AfCFTA promising to offer a 1.3 billion population market.
Over 66,000 Kenyansare employed in the apparel industry alone, jobs that could be hard hit with the end of Agoa.
With a one-to-one ratio of indirect jobs and supporting an estimated five dependents per worker, it means that about 660,000 Kenyans rely on apparel exports to the US under Agoa for their livelihoods, a number that will be affected if the Export Processing Zones and related businesses decide to downsize, according to the Kenya Association of Manufacturers.
Intra-Africa trade remains at a low of 14 per cent with most African countries being net importers of finished goods.
Kenya is also part of the recent entry into force of the COMESA-EAC-SADC Tripartite Free Trade Area deal, which creates Africa’s largest integrated market.
However, challenges persist according to Kinyanjui, mainly non-tariff barriers.
“We must continue to work collectively to remove Non-Tariff Barriers and harmonise our policies to unlock the full potential of intra-COMESA trade. The work ahead is not for one nation alone. It requires the sustained political will and concerted effort of all our member states to ensure that the resolutions we adopt translate into tangible benefits for our people,” he said.
Comesa assistant secretary general Dev Haman said: “We must invest in agriculture, SMEs and trade to create jobs, address poverty and ensure economic growth. Kenya plans to become a middle-income country by 2030, it needs investments, produce and trade more.”
The Comesa region offers a market of 682 million population in the 21 member states.
Kenya’s foreign exchange earnings from exports to the Comesa region decreased by 2.8 from Sh341.1 billion in 2023 to Sh331.7 billion in 2024, the Economic Survey 2025 indicates.
While the EAC region continued to be the primary market, reduced exports to most countries in this bloc, who are also members of COMESA, significantly contributed to the decline.
Earnings from exports to the African region decreased by 2.2 per cent from Sh435.0 billion in 2023 to Sh425.6 billion in 2024.
