Kenya and India have partnered to promote trade and investment in the textile and manufacturing industry.
The Kenya National Chamber of Commerce and Industry has signed a deal with an Indian company to facilitate this.
KNCCI will become an official partner in the preparation and planning of the of India International Textile and Manufacturing Expo.
This is set to take place in India from December 8 to 13.
In his inauguration speech, President William Ruto singled out the textiles and apparel sector.
He said his government “will leverage on competitive advantage in leather and textiles to roll out a labour-intensive agro-processing industrialisation programme".
“This will start with the Dongo Kundu and Naivasha Industrial Parks,” he said.
Industrialisation CS Betty Maina said the textiles and apparel sector is estimated to account for six per cent of the overall manufacturing sector.
The sector contributes 0.6 per cent to Kenya’s GDP.
“With a large and well-established apparel subsector, Kenya has become a leading exporter in Africa and top exporter to the US under the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA),” the CS said.
Her speech was read by Patricia Aruwa, deputy director Industries, on Friday during the ITME networking programme in Nairobi.
According to the International Trade Centre (ITC), East Africa has become an emerging hub in Africa for sourcing apparel, and buyers have increasingly established regional sourcing offices in Kenya.
Richard Ngatia, the chamber president, said the manufacturing and textile sector is expected to contribute significantly towards the attainment of Vision 2030.
“The aim is to raise the share of the sector to GDP from the current 8.3 per cent to 15 per cent,” Ngatia.
“As KNCCI, our focus is to urge private investors in the textile industry to take advantage of the opportunity as Kenya aims to increase the industry investment from $350 million to $2 billion and create 500,000 cotton jobs and 100,000 new apparel jobs,” he said.
Ngatia said Kenya needs to create more business linkages with relevant Indian businesses and enterprises to increase the level of export.
He urged private investors to take advantage of the deal to increase their levels of investment in manufacturing and textile industry.
“This is a remarkable opportunity for Kenyan and Indian Investors in the textile and manufacturing industry to promote trade and investment for mutual benefit,” he said.
“It is, therefore, our sole responsibility to ensure that we derive substantial benefit out of the upcoming expo,” he said.
