KEPSA and the Corporate Council on Africa (CCA) have signed the Kenya- U.S trade deal that will enable Kenyan Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises(SMEs) to take full advantage of the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) and be prepared to effectively leverage any future trade agreement between the U.S. and Kenya.
The initiative recognizes the critical role that SMEs play in U.S. and Kenyan trade and seeks to expand trade and investment between American and local SMEs through partnership, information sharing, training, logistics, financing, and more.
CCA and KEPSA will collaborate to harness needed support from the Kenyan and U.S. governments, including under the U.S. Prosper Africa Build Together campaign. In addition, the initiative will seek to link Kenya and U.S. SMEs – especially women, youth, minority, and diaspora-owned – to the regional and global value chains of multinational companies that are members of CCA and KEPSA.
The launch of the event which was attended by President Uhuru Kenyatta included a select group of U.S. and local SMEs and multinationals active in the trade partnership, including Flutterwave, Kentegra, Pfizer, Talanton Impact Fund, Visa Foundation, BizSoultions 360, and Swahili Village, among others.
Speaking at the signing ceremony, President Kenyatta said that the Government-backed pact was part of efforts to support the growth of the Kenyan SME sector as a key enabler of wealth and employment creation. He went on to say that the agreement will create new opportunities for Kenyan SMEs while adding that the sector plays a key role in guaranteeing the country’s economic resilience especially in times of turbulence.
CCA and KEPSA also saw a high-level state delegation participate in the initiative’s launch event, including President Kenyatta’s Senior Economic Advisor, Cabinet Secretaries of Foreign Affairs and Industrialization and Trade, and Ambassadors to the United States and the United Nations.
CCA said it will implement its partnership with KEPSA to scale up trade between the two countries, investment, and business through the power of SMEs.
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