On Monday, October 11, 2021, H.E. Uhuru Kenyatta, President of the Republic of Kenya witnessed the signing of the Corporate Council on Africa (CCA) and Kenya Private Sector Alliance (KEPSA) U.S.-Kenya SME Trade Initiative. 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 Kenyan Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) through partnership, information sharing, training, logistics, financing, and more.
A key component of the Initiative is to empower Kenyans 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.
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 Kenyan 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 event included a select group of U.S. and Kenyan SMEs and multinationals active in Kenya-U.S. trade and investment, including Flutterwave, Kentegra, Pfizer, Talanton Impact Fund, Visa Foundation, BizSoultions 360, and Swahili Village, among others.
CCA and KEPSA were also honored to have a high-level Kenyan 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 thanks KEPSA for their partnership, and looks forward to successfully implementing this important initiative to scale up U.S.-Kenya trade, investment, and business through the power of SMEs.