Small and Medium sized enterprises will soon be able to leverage the Kenya Bureau of Standards (Kebs) Integrated Management System to apply for certification remotely.
The digital system, currently in its piloting stage, will link Kebs processes with other state agencies such as Kenya Revenue Authority and KenTrade, thereby enabling SMEs to apply for different Kebs services and track the progress of their applications from wherever they are. It will also enable the SMEs to access crucial information on standardisation.
“We are moving away from manual applications to digital. This product will augment other products that the bureau has developed to make our services more accessible to SMEs, including a mobile application and an SMS service that both entrepreneurs and consumers can use to track compliance of products,” noted Kebs director of Quality Assurance and Inspection, Dr Karau Muriira.
Muriira was speaking during an interview with Powering SMEs, where he outlined some of the initiatives the bureau has undertaken to promote SME competitiveness through product standardisation. These include subsidisation of Kebs services for the SMEs.
“It would cost a trader about Sh10,000 to test all the parameters of their product to ensure they comply with the requirements of the applicable standards, hence ensuring consumer safety, and environmental protection. Meanwhile, the large firms are subject to a higher cost,” noted Dr Muriira.
The bureau has also developed a products certification scheme to ensure MSMEs’ products and services are acceptable not only in Kenya, but also in the regional market, which now includes DRC that has come with a lot of trading opportunities, as well as the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).
“Kebs has harmonised a good number of standards that allow free movement of goods across the borders. Through this harmonisation, we currently have more than 5,000 products which can be traded across borders, offering employment and boosting the country’s GDP,” noted Dr Muriira.
He says the bureau has steered the creation of policies such as the MSME Policy of 2019, as well as standards geared towards supporting SME growth. Further, Kebs offers trainings and certification based on ISO 9001:2015 for small enterprises, which gives clear guidelines on how small firms can develop and implement their management system to become profitable and sustainable regardless of their size.
“Quite often, you will find an SME composed of between one to 10 people, those with between 10-50 are very few. These businesses are more likely to operate without proper organisational structure. But proper documentation of the businesses processes like marketing, sales and inventory is very critical if these businesses are to grow systematically.”
The bureau is also working with other state organs such as the anti-counterfeit authority as well as the Ministry of Interior to monitor and enforce compliance of standards.
This multi-agency approach has ensured fair trade through weeding out unscrupulous traders under cutting others by selling sub-standard products. This approach has by extension saved the country from losing several billions.
“We have seen tremendous improvement in compliance especially for a product like maize flour, detergents, cosmetics, sanitisers, bleaches and face masks which many SMEs focus on,” noted Dr Muriira.
The bureau also does assisted compliance where it supports SMEs to comply through sector-specific trainings as well as incubation programs. This is achieved through collaboration with other entities such as Micro and Small Enterprise Authority (MSEA). The bureau has also adopted policies that allow it to develop standards through consensus for certification of SME products.
“At times, someone might come up with an innovative product that is not covered in any standard. In such an event, we can partner with the innovator and develop a standard for that product so that it is recognised locally or regionally.”
Indeed, while taking advantage of some of these initiatives is precisely what many SMEs need to take their businesses to the next level, a lack of awareness on the existence of these programs has seen many SMEs remain uncompetitive.
“We have very limited information about standardisation in the public domain. Standardisation should be taught right from primary schools. This is what will spur industrialisation. You talk about standards, then realise that the entrepreneur or innovator you are dealing with has only just come across the topic for the first time.”
