Kenya scooped the second position for the most innovative products during the recently concluded 23rd East Africa Community Micro, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (MSMEs) Trade Fair formerly known as the Jua Kali-Nguvu Kazi Exhibition after the United Republic of Tanzania clinched first position in the exhibitions held in Bujumbura, Burundi.
The Trade Fair whose theme was Connecting East African MSMEs to enhance Intra EAC Trade which brought together over 1,500 MSMEs in trade, manufacturing, agribusiness and services sectors from the seven (7) EAC Partner States; saw over 300 MSMEs from all 47 counties representing Kenya during the exhibition.
In the competition, Eco Green, an environmental and community-based organization that promotes bamboo growing for livelihood improvement and climate change adaptation and mitigation in Busia County emerged as the best Kenyan showcase for their bamboo furniture and décor pieces.
Eden leather, a company that designs and produces quality handmade leather goods and accessories for both retail and corporate using locally sourced materials and craftsmanship came in second place while Iviani Farm, an enterprise that processes fresh fruits and leafy vegetables sourced from local farmers into dried Crips, extending their shelf life and creating decent jobs for the local community was awarded the third position.
Speaking during the Kenya Day celebrations at the event, the Cabinet Secretary for Co-operatives and MSMEs Simon Chelugui said that the trade fair presented an opportunity for over 300 Kenyan MSMEs to create business linkages for increased trade.
“This trade fair will not only provide a forum for showcasing what Kenya has to offer to the regional market but also play a leading role in facilitating trade and business exchanges among participating countries while at the same time offering an exciting platform for launching new and improved technologies targeting both the local and regional markets,” said Chelugui.
He added: “Burundi is a virgin market with immense unexploited opportunities and I encourage Kenyan MSMEs to take advantage of the good relations between the two countries to establish a foothold and exploit the emerging opportunities in terms of trade and investment.”
Chelugui noting that statistics show EAC members trade more with countries outside the bloc than Partner States urged the East African countries to consider integrating language, currency, transport, infrastructure and mobile networks for better regional growth and sustainable development.
Principal Secretary State Department for MSMEs Susan Mang’eni on her part stated that the Government was keen on leveraging on international markets to create market linkages between producers, aggregators or off-takers and the final consumers, stressing on the need to have one language integration for easier trading and economic growth.
“The Government is keen on leveraging on Kenya’s international engagements to create opportunities for its citizens, businesses and investors. It is high time that the EAC MSMEs trade fair organizing committee widened the scope to include the investor angle that will bring together different investors to support MSMEs scale up to become big manufacturers,” said Mang’eni.
Highlighting challenges faced by MSMEs, Burundi’s Minister of Commerce, Transport, Industry, and Tourism Marie Chantal stressed the importance of addressing issues like low productivity, inadequate technology, high utility costs, regulatory hurdles, limited access to finance and markets, and weak managerial capacities; urging Partner States to implement measures supporting the inclusive and sustainable growth of MSMEs in the region.
The fair aimed to contribute to the region’s development goals by supporting the crucial MSMEs sector with the Symposia held during the event focusing on increasing awareness and building the capacity of MSMEs on intra-regional trade opportunities and EAC trade provisions.
Participants stressed the need for further development of Kiswahili as the region’s trading language and urged Partner States to expedite the implementation of a single currency to enhance intra-regional trade by eliminating currency conversion. This year’s 24th edition will be held in South Sudan.
By Sacco Review reporter
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