This archive report was first published on 9 December 2019.
On a mission to promote growth among local businesses, the Kenya National Trading Corporation has launched an Export Aggregation Centre. The centre aims to create a vibrant, competitive, and sustainable SME sector.
The centre, located at the KNTC headquarters in Nairobi, is a 20,000 square foot warehouse that will serve as a holding centre for goods guaranteeing quality and standards to buyers seeking Kenyan products.
Through the programme, small and medium enterprises will have access to standardized warehousing services, export market workshops, hosting of buyer missions, and access to web-based platforms targeting the USA, EU, and other foreign markets.
The programme also seeks to capitalize on technology, including web-based platforms linked to international online stores, as an avenue to access foreign markets, besides coordinating a series of trade fairs in targeted foreign countries.
The hub will provide incubation services, acceleration assistance, and scale-up services to small and Medium-sized Companies in Kenya and the region.
According to Timothy Murungi, the Acting Managing Director of KNTC, the programme will enable SMEs to access credit from banks with their goods as collateral.
The centre will focus on promoting and facilitating exports for Kenyan made textiles, leather products, assorted Kenyan made jewelry, pottery and crafts items, Tea, Coffee, Avocados, and Macadamia nuts among other products with high demand in the US and EU markets.
