This archive report was first published on 23 June 2020.
On June 10, the World Anti-Counterfeit Day, Kenya's Anti-Counterfeit Authority (ACA) highlighted the country's efforts to combat counterfeits and illicit trade. The authority is gearing up for public input on the Intellectual Property Bill 2020, which proposes the merger of government institutions tasked with promoting and protecting intellectual property.
The ACA has also released findings from a National Baseline Survey, conducted between October 2019 and February 2020. The survey revealed that the building, mining, and construction sectors were the hardest hit by counterfeits in the past year, with counterfeiting costing the country over $100 million in revenue.
According to the survey, the building, mining, and construction sectors contributed 23.3% in value of total illicit trade, followed by the energy, electrical, and electronics sector at 14.67%. The sector with the most government revenue loss was food, beverage, and non-alcoholic drinks at 23.19%, followed by textile and apparel at 20.09%.
Elema Halake, the executive director of the ACA, noted that 30% of firms were aware that their products were being counterfeited. The study found that counterfeiting costs the country more than 32.5% of jobs in the year 2018-2019, while companies recorded sales losses of between 37.6% and 42.1%.
Published on June 23, 2020, the findings were done in partnership with Trade Mark East Africa through funding from the Department for International Development.
