Aarti Krishnan, Dirk Willem te Velde and Anzetse Were, May 2019
The Government of Kenya has developed a range of policies, strategies and measures to promote industrialisation as part of President Kenyatta’s ‘Big Four’ agenda. However, this risks missing the opportunity for broad-based economic transformation if implementation of the strategies occurs without more focus on the role of small, local firms in the manufacturing sector. This study aims to support Kenya’s Executive Office of the President by suggesting ways to better integrate leather, textiles and garments MSMEs into value chains, economic zones and industrial parks. It concludes that Government should focus on three priorities, including restructuring MSME institutional support structures, introducing dedicated MSME incubator programmes and involving county governments in MSME support.
The paper was launched on Thursday 16 May 2019 by the Hon. Peter Munya, MGH, Cabinet Secretary, Ministry of Industry, Trade and Cooperatives, Government of Kenya, at the ‘Growing an Inclusive Economy’ event, organized by the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Cooperatives, Government of Kenya, ODI, Msingi East Africa and Invest in Africa.
Photo: Curt Carnemark / World Bank CC BY-NC-ND 2.0