In a bid to resuscitate Kenya’s textile sector, the Kenyan government recently hosted potential textile and apparel investors for a business-to-business (B2B) partnership, where state corporations made presentations on Kenya’s prospects.
The B2B forum was organised by global apparel and footwear company VF Corporation. A 15-member delegation from several countries, including China, visited Kenya to participate in the forum for a mutual engagement between the government and the private sectors to discuss investment opportunities in the country’s textile and apparel manufacturing.
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Speaking at the forum, Adan Mohamed Industrialisation Cabinet Secretary Adan Mohamed highlighted the immense opportunity lying in the country’s textile sector. He said, “The government is committed to making the textiles our number one sector to invest in.”
The Export Processing Zones Authority (EPZA), KenGen, KenInvest and Kenya Leather Development Council (KLDC) are some of the institutions that pitched their strategies to the investors. EPZA offered various incentives, like zero-rated import and excise duty, stamp duty and corporate tax, along with a potential $101 billion (Sh10 trillion) US market opportunity through African Growth and Opportunity Act (Agoa) deal, to draw the investors’ interest in Kenya.
Meanwhile, KenGen disclosed its plans to set up a Conventional Industrial Park in Naivasha, which will have within it a commercial zone, a geothermal spa and social industrial hub. The geothermal plants will cut the cost of electricity and offer subsidies in order to compete with her neighbours. The first phase of the project is expected to take up 452 hectares of land.
