Kenya's Economy & Trade
A Growing Consumer Market
Kenya has a population of about ~54.7 million and is growing at a rate of 2.3% p.a (World Bank 2020). Further, in 2020, the urban population increased by 28% of the country’s population as compared to 9.8 % in 1969, leading to increase in consumer demand for high value goods. Investors investing in the Special Economic zones are therefore assured of a local market for their goods
Strategic Location
Kenya market-based economy is the economic, commercial, financial, and logistics hub of the greater Eastern Africa region. Eighty percent of East African regional trade passes through Kenya’s Mombasa Port. In addition, Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in Nairobi is the busiest airport in East Africa, served by 40 passenger airlines and 25 cargo carriers. In 2018, Kenya secured category 1 rating, granting it direct flights to the United States of America.
Global and Regional Market Access
Ke
nya 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.
Kenya has duty free and quota free access to a $40 trillion GDP market (USA, $19.4T, EU $17.4T, UK $2.62T, COMESA $735 BN) with a target market of approximately 1.7 billion people.
Further, the country has the trust of reputable global buyers with brands such as Levi’s, H&M, Vanity Fair, PVH, TCP, Wrangler, JC Penny and Ottoalready sourcing raw materials from Kenya. Investing in Kenya’s Special Economic Zones, therefore, translates
Some of the trade arrangements and schemes Kenya has entered into include:
