The Memorandum of Understanding between Kenya Trade Network Agency (KenTrade) and Kenya International Freight Warehousing Association (KIFWA) signed in Nairobi on Monday this week is a  significant milestone in the Kenya’s trade logistic industry and indeed the entire trade facilitation movement in this strategic region of East Africa trading block. 
With the support of our development partner, World Bank Group, KenTrade and KIFWA are taking deliberate steps to formalise their engagement and relationship that have evolved with the automation of Kenya trade logistics sector.
The MoU with KIFWA is the first among many planned by KenTrade when key industry actors is geared at advancing the Government’s transformative agenda on regional trade.
We value KIFWA and its national membership as important player in the ongoing reforms of Kenyan ports and cross border trade facilitation. Indeed Clearing and Forwarding Agents are our most significant stakeholders arguably because they are the crucial link between the Importers/Exporters on one hand and Permit Issuance Agencies on the other. 
KIFWA therefore has a greater stake in the Kenya’s Single Window System(Kenya TradeNet System) because its aforementioned members bears the blame from the Importer /exporter and also incur personal lose not mentioning reputation damage if cargo is not cleared on time or lost because of inefficiencies. 
The purpose of the MoU that KenTrade signed with KIFWA is to enable the KenTrade and KIFWA to enter into a non-exclusive, non-legally binding, collaborative relationship. This relationship is aimed at furthering the common interests of the two Parties in the future.
It seeks to foster a collaborative framework between KenTrade and KIFWA with a view to benefiting from each other’s initiatives and working procedures.  
I have no doubt in my mind that the future of the trade logistic industry looks more promising than ever before with this step into formalisation of the long cherished relationship between the two parties. A quick look at about a dozen of areas of stated cooperation and fostering the synergy between KIFWA and KenTrade give me the confidence to hold onto this positive outlook.
These include:

Source: Standard Digital

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