The government has dispatched products from 600 Micro, Small and Medium sized Enterprises (MSMEs) to Rwanda ahead of a regional trade fair slated for next week, seeking to expand market access for local businesses and strengthen cross-border trade in leather and horticulture.
The exhibitors were flagged off on Sunday by MSME Development, Principal Secretary, Susan Mang’eni at the Micro and Small Enterprises Authority’s Kariobangi Centre of Excellence in Nairobi County.
The 26th East African Community MSMEs Trade Fair will run from October 30 to November 8 at Kigali’s Gikondo Expo Ground, gathering more than 1,200 enterprises from the EAC.
Mang’eni said the EAC market, with about 330 million people and a combined gross domestic product of $356 billion, offered Kenyan businesses an opportunity to secure regional buyers and integrate into wider African and global supply chains.
“Leather and horticulture are sectors in which Kenya has both depth and history, and this Fair gives our enterprises a chance to convert that strength into orders,” she said.
Kenya’s participation is being coordinated by the Micro and Small Enterprises Authority (MSEA). “All products headed to the fair are 100% Kenyan-made and meet international market requirements,” says MSEA Director General, Henry Rithaa.
Rithaa says MSEA was using online marketing platforms and product aggregation initiatives to help small businesses sustain trade beyond exhibitions and reach customers across the wider African Continental Free Trade Area, which covers a market of about 1.3 billion people.
Confederation of Micro and Small Enterprises Organizations Kenya Chapter, Chairperson, John Kihiusays access to buyers was essential to business expansion, employment creation and investment.
“When our enterprises find buyers, everything else follows. They grow, they hire, and they reinvest in their businesses,” says Kihiu.
Kenya is Rwanda’s second-largest agricultural supplier and its largest from within Africa, providing an established base for businesses seeking to expand horticultural exports.