Kenya Preps for US Trade Deal, Afreximbank $40bn Trade Financing Plan
US-Kenya trade deal is set to be ready by October, the Ministry of Investment, Trade, and Industry (MITI) has confirmed while calling on investors in the manufacturing space to take advantage of the deal to set up shop in the country.
In October last year, President William Ruto and his US counterpart, Joe Biden agreed to expedite the Strategic Trade and Investment Partnership agreement.
The agreement will increase trade and investment between the countries, boost manufacturing and create jobs.
Kenya has also sealed Economic Partnership Agreement with the European Union (EU) opening up duty-free and quota-free access for all Kenya’s exports to the US$ 18 trillion EU market.
“We have signed so many agreements but we don’t have factories to manufacture products to be able to sell to these markets,” said Juma Mukwana, Permanent Secretary, department of industry.
Speaking during the launch of smart-metre factory in Athi River (Machakos County) by CHINT Global, the PS called on multinational companies to set up manufacturing plants in the country for their products to enjoy preferential treatments resulting from the deals signed.
“Our buy Kenya build Kenya policy that requires government institutions to buy 40 per cent from locally produced products also offers guaranteed market if you set up shop in Kenya, in turn we create jobs,” he added.
Kenya becomes the fourth hub in Africa after Nigeria, South Africa and Egypt where CHINT Global has set up smart-metre manufacturing plant. The company is targeting to reduce greenhouse gas emission with its meters in the local market but besides also fight counterfeits and reduce theft in the power sector through its Artificial Intelligence (AI) enabled smart-metres.
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Afreximbank Plans to Double Trade Financing to $40bn by 2026
The African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) plans to increase its financing for intra-African trade to $40bn within the next two years.
The bank provided $20bn in trade financing in 2021, and the plan to double this within the next two years is meant to improve the prospects of intra-continental trade.
Afreximbank is a Pan-African multilateral lender focused on promoting intra- and extra-African trade.
It provides capital towards this goal for both governments and private enterprises.
“The Bank is also partnering with the AfCFTA Secretariat and the African Union Commission (AUC) to ensure a successful implementation of the Pan-African Payments and Settlements System, the African Trade Gateway and the Afreximbank African Collaborative Transit Guarantee Scheme,” Haytham ElMaayergi, Afreximbank’s Executive Vice President, Global Trade Bank, said in a meeting in Abuja late last week.
In February, multilateral financial institutions on the continent, including Afreximbank and Africa Finance Corporation, formed the Alliance of African Multilateral Financial Institutions (AMMFI) to facilitate cooperation and boost effectiveness.
During the Abuja meeting, ElMaayergi urged Bretton Woods institutions to work with the alliance to address the continent’s challenges, and to reaffirm the special privileges given to member institutions such as creditor status.
