Kenya Flags Off 1,200 MSMEs for Regional Trade Fair in Rwanda

Kenya has flagged off more than 1,200 Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) to participate in the 26th East African Community MSMEs Trade Fair in Kigali, Rwanda, as the government seeks to expand markets for locally manufactured products and strengthen regional trade.

Speaking during the flag-off at the Micro and Small Enterprises Authority’s Kariobangi Centre of Excellence in Nairobi, Principal Secretary for MSME Development Susan Mang’eni said the annual exhibition was established to bring East African countries together through trade and the exchange of locally produced goods.

“If we can exchange value from our various competitive advantages, our agricultural productivity and our industrial competence, then we could stay together as brothers and sisters and, of course, in harmony, prosper together and deepen our regional integration,” Mang’eni said.

She noted that the exhibition had been held for 26 years, with partner states taking turns to host the event. Kenya hosted the previous edition in Nairobi, bringing together eight EAC member states, including Somalia.

This year’s exhibition, scheduled for October 30 to November 8, will focus on advancing regional value chains in leather and horticulture.

Mang’eni said close to 1,200 exhibitors were expected in Kigali, with the government supporting 600 Kenyan entrepreneurs to participate, while others would join from the diaspora and neighbouring countries.

“These goods that we are flagging off today to Kigali, from here in Kenya, they are manufactured here somewhere where we are, and many other industrial zones across the Republic of Kenya,” she said.

The PS added that the exhibition would provide a platform for addressing challenges affecting cross-border trade, particularly non-tariff barriers.

“These are talks that enable us to try and sort out and solve any outstanding issues, especially with regard to non-trade barriers that could hinder trade within the region,” Mang’eni said.

MSEA Chief Executive Officer Henry Rithaa said the authority had completed preparations for the event, including collecting products from businesses across the country for transportation to Rwanda.

“We are taking 600 serious MSME business people to the other side, through the trucks that you see here. And we have another slightly above 600, Madam PS, from the diaspora and those who are going directly,” Rithaa said.

He said four trucks had been involved in collecting products from different parts of Kenya as the authority prepared for the exhibition.

“For all those years we have been focusing only on MSMEs. This year, we have collected products for MSMEs from across the seven counties. We have four trucks that have done that, and as you speak, there is one truck already on the road,” he said.

Rithaa expressed confidence in the preparations, saying, “From an organisation point of view, we have done everything as planned, and I believe that we are set for a very successful trade fair.”

Meanwhile, Confederation of Micro and Small Enterprise Organisations in Kenya chairman John Kehi credited the government for supporting small businesses to participate in the regional event.

“I want to take this opportunity to thank the government of Kenya, to say that this exhibition is a product of the government of Kenya, because it is our facilitator, and it has been supporting this initiative,” Kehi said.

He said the trade fair had helped entrepreneurs build relationships across borders, making it easier for them to establish business connections in neighbouring countries.

“Since we started this initiative in 1989, it has been a very good initiative because it has created integration. Today I don’t have to go to Rwanda to book for a hotel. The chairman of Rwanda will host me there,” he said.

Kehi also defended regional trade partnerships, saying entrepreneurs stood to benefit from stronger cooperation between neighbouring countries.

“When we hear those politics about people saying we should not have this type of trade, people in Rwanda can’t do it, we don’t accept that because we want that integration,” he said.

The ten-day exhibition is expected to bring together businesses from across the East African Community to showcase locally manufactured goods, exchange business ideas and explore new markets, with leather and horticulture among the key value chains in focus.