By Abdi Ali
Published September 1, 2023
Kenya’s positioning as the gateway to the eastern Africa region, together with the empowering effects of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) and the Intra-African Trade Fair (IATF2023), puts businesses in Kenya in a prime position to benefit from the huge growth opportunities for intra-African trade and investments.
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Denys Denya, Executive Vice President in charge of Finance, Administration and Banking Services at Cairo (Egypt)-based African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank), speaking during a high level event to promote the third Intra-African Trade Fair (IATF2023) in Kenya’s capital, Nairobi, highlighted the unique and transformational opportunities that the AfCFTA and participation at the IATF2023 provides to Kenyan businesses and the East African region.
IATF2023, that is scheduled for November 9 – 15, 2023, forecasts to attract an estimated 1,600 exhibitors, more than 35,000 conference delegates and trade visitors from across Africa and beyond, and to concludee US$43 billion of trade and investment deals.
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Alfred K’ Ombudo, Principal Secretary of the State Department for Trade in Kenya’s Ministry of Trade, Investments and Industry(MITI),said Kenya has positioned itself as a hub for foreign direct investment, serving as a source for quality goods and services.
“If you want to trade internationally, it’s not just about bringing down tariffs, but it’s about dealing with borders. It’s about dealing with transport logistics. It’s about dealing with the shipping industry. It’s about making sure that your goods arrive competitively. It’s about ensuring that you package your goods according to the requirements of the foreign market. It’s about making sure that you comply with the requirements in sanitary and phytosanitary measures and all of those issues. These are long standing long term industrial issues that we hope to work with you and with partners like Afreximbank to be able to deal with. Kenya is a key supporter of the AfCFTA.”
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IATF2023, Africa’s premier trade and investment fair, is a single market of 1.4 billion people with a combined Gross Domestic Product of over US$3.5 trillion.
The inaugural IATF, that is organised by Afreximbank in collaboration with the African Union Commission (AUC) and the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Secretariat, was first held in Cairo in 2018 followed by another event in Durban, South Africa, in 2021.
