This archive report was first published on 27 September 2021.
Empowering Kenya's Private Sector for Export Growth ¶
Published on September 26, 2021, Rt. Hon. Raila Odinga emphasized the importance of a vibrant private sector in driving Kenya's economic growth and competitiveness in the region.
During the Grand Coalition Government, the Round Table with the private sector facilitated collaboration between the public and private sectors, clearing critical bottlenecks for the good of business and the nation.
Looking forward, Odinga proposed several measures to empower the private sector and make Kenya a trading nation, identified with specific products and services in the African and global export trade market.
- Government to pursue an industrialization policy that is export-minded and allows the private sector to drive the export agenda.
- Government to support the private sector in shifting from exporting raw materials and agricultural produce to industrial manufacturing with a focus on international markets.
- Government to establish a body dedicated to long-term planning and regular review meetings on the international trade or export agenda.
- Government-sponsored monthly trade promotion meetings to bring together high-level government officials, key ministries, exporters, researchers, education institutions, and trading companies for exchange of ideas and information.
- Government to unveil an award scheme for excellent exporters and map out ways to increase their share of the African and world market.
- Government to offer aggressive support to the private sector through tax breaks, subsidized credit, state guarantees for private sector borrowing, tariff exemptions, and preferential access to imported inputs required to produce exports.
- Government to pursue a deliberate policy of targeting industries with realistic chances of penetrating the global market based on the prevailing situation in the country and the world.
- Government to be aggressive in helping Kenyan companies and consortiums win contracts in foreign markets.
- Government to pay particular attention to helping small and medium-sized companies overcome challenges in overseas markets, provide them with export support services, and diplomacy interventions.
- Government to revamp the Export Promotion Council, particularly its capacity to provide informational and institutional services to domestic producers and exporters.
- Government to provide firms with economic diplomacy and support them through political and economic intelligence, introduction, and advice to exploit opportunities in new markets.
- Government to provide a level playing field between small and medium-sized firms and big corporations, ensuring that big corporations do not thrive while small ones struggle.
- Government to continue investing in education, training, research, and development, efficient bureaucracy, and strong financial systems in support of the private sector.
- Government to invest in the knowledge economy to invigorate the ICT sector and make it an engine of growth and a source of foreign exchange.
- Government to maintain constant and well-functioning coordination between the public and private sectors, an open economy orientation, and policies that support, not handicap, private sectors and exporters.
Rt. Hon. Raila Odinga, EGH
September 26, 2021
