Kenya is seeking to penetrate America's $100 billion textile and apparel market to promote local textile production and exports.
Speaking during the Export Processing Zone Authority (EPZA) 2024-2028 Strategic Plan stakeholders validation workshop in Athi River, Machakos County, on October 28, Principal Secretary for Investment Promotion Abubakar Hassan said the government is eyeing a slice of the large American apparel market.
"The government's commitment is to attract investments worth USD 10 billion in the next five years, with a target growth of 15 percent for the manufacturing sector by 2025 and 30 percent by 2030," said PS Abubakar.
"Kenya has a domestic market size of 50 million people, but we are interested in the export market of 1.3 billion people," he added.
He emphasized more on the value chain of the country's apparel and textile industry, especially targeting the vast American market.
"The American apparel market imports USD 100 billion worth of apparel globally annually, but Kenya produces less than one percent, equivalent to 500 million US dollars annually, which means untapped potential for Kenya. We are also tapping other global markets in Europe, Africa and Asia," he added.
The government will also introduce the Revenue Sharing Model in the EPZ zones after laying more emphasis on green and renewable energy production and consumption to attract more investors.
"The government remains committed to unlocking the potential in the value chains of tea, coffee, rice, dairy, edible oils, textiles, leather, building and construction materials, and the blue economy.
Further, the government is offering various fiscal, physical and procedural incentives to the export-oriented investments thus attracting and encouraging more investments in the country through a revenue-sharing model," the PS said.
EPZ Chief Executive Officer Richard Omelu said the new strategic plan will be a major artery to turn around the fortunes of the EPZ, including expanding human capital, investment and increasing annual revenue.
"Our ambitious plan will see an increase in employment from the current 75,598 to 132,000 job opportunities, increase in investment from Sh149 billion to Sh276.3 billion, annual revenues from Sh544.8 million to Sh1.1 billion and the value of exports from Sh105 billion to Sh171.3 billion by 2028," said Mr Omelu.
He acknowledged the global challenges facing the apparel trade, including rapid changes in the global economy, regional and global market disruptions, environmental challenges, high cost of production and competition from regional and global markets.
"Despite the global challenges, we are committed to making Kenya's zones among the most competitive and investor-friendly on the continent. This means not only upgrading our infrastructure but also ensuring that every investor who comes to our shores feels a tangible difference in the ease, reliability and quality of doing business," said Mr Omelu.
EPZA Board Chairman Richard Cheruiyot urged non-state actors in the textile and apparel sector to support the government in implementing its transformation agenda in the industry.
The workshop was attended by local and international investors, various government agencies and representatives of non-governmental organisations.
