EXPORTS from East African Community bloc to the United States, under the African Growth and Opportunity Act, will be increased by 50 per cent in five years, an official of the East Africa Trade and Investment Hub said yesterday.
The director for trade promotion and AGOA Finn Holm-Olsen said they will also bring in $100 million (Sh12.02 billion) in new investment to the region, which will create about 10,000 jobs in the period through to 2019. He said the programme sponsored by the USAid will enable the business community in Kenya and the region to fully utilise AGOA.
“We are looking to increase exports from the region to the US by 50 per cent. The $100 million comprises of new investments coming in and expansion of current businesses,” he said in an interview during a national capacity building forum to educate micro, small and medium-sized enterprises on the benefits of AGOA, in Nairobi. “In one year alone, the project has supported $81 million (Sh8.28 billion) in exports to the US under the AGOA,” he said.
The AGOA Act provides African countries with free access to the US market. Kenya has mainly been exporting textiles and apparels, leather and fisheries, and processed agricultural products. Micro and Small Enterprises Authority chief executive Patrick Mwangi said many MSMEs have not benefited in the AGOA framework due to lack of information. He said most of the products that are being exported to the US under the AGOA are from the various export processing zones in the country.
“We have put MSMEs into associations in order to boost their capacity because exports orders under the AGOA are very huge. Through the association we can be able to link up members with the AGOA partners,” he said.

Source: The Starts

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