Market Access And Trade

Kenya has a market-based economy and is generally considered the economic, commercial, financial, and logistics hub of the greater Eastern Africa region. With the strongest industrial base in East Africa, Kenya has been successful in consistently attracting foreign direct investment with KenInvest registering 43 new manufacturing projects in the 2019 period totaling US$ 351 million in capital costs and net inflows of FDI and other investment at US$ 1.151 billion.

In 2019 Kenya’s ranking in the World Bank’s Ease of Doing Business (EODB) index improved positioning the country as the 56th most competitive economy to do business globally, and the third most competitive in Africa after Mauritius (13th) and Rwanda (38). With support from the World Bank Group , Kenya is set to undertake additional regulatory reforms that will make it easier for investors to do business in Kenya.

Kenya is a member of trade arrangements and a beneficiary of trade promotion schemes that include Africa Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), World Trade Organization, and the EAC-EU Trade Agreement. It is also a member of the East Africa Community (EAC) with a market with over 135 million people as well as the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) with a market of over 450 million people. In March of 2018, Kenya became a signatory to the African Continental Free Trade Area agreement that paves the way for frictionless trade across Africa giving investors access to a market of 1.2 billion people with a combined gross domestic product (GDP) of more than $2 trillion.