CCA and KEPSA sign US-Kenya private sector SME trade initiative
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.
Download AGOA Forum 2021 documents at this link
Read related news articles
USTR releases summaries from US – Kenya Strategic Trade and Investment Partnership negotiations
Consistent with the Biden-Harris Administration’s commitment to the highest levels of transparency in trade agreement negotiations, the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) today released summaries of texts proposed by the U.S. side on good regulatory practices, workers’ rights and protections, and a second tranche of agriculture text. Negotiations on these texts are ongoing. USTR will negotiate the workers’...
08 April 2024
Kenya: 4th AmCham business summit to advocate for enhanced partnership and investment In US-East Africa trade
The fourth edition of the regional American Chamber of Commerce Kenya (AmCham) Business Summit, the premier platform for strengthening bilateral trade and investment between the United States, Kenya, and East Africa is set to be held on April 24–25, 2024, in Nairobi, Kenya. Kenya’s President William Ruto is confirmed as Chief Guest, leading a government delegation to the summit that aims to expand commercial opportunities and markets....
19 March 2024
US-Kenya: Ruto’s US state visit needs to navigate America’s uncertain political future
President William Ruto will visit the United States on a State Visit in May during what is likely to be one of the most turbulent US elections in memory. Barring some miracle, or catastrophe, the US presidential election will be a showdown between the same two contenders—albeit older and less energetic—as in 2020. The US presidential election in November is the most significant geopolitical risk event of 2024. Its outcome could result in...
26 February 2024
US President Biden to welcome Kenyan President Ruto to the White House in May
President Joe Biden plans to welcome Kenyan President William Ruto to the White House in May, hosting a state visit after reneging on his promise to visit Africa last year. White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Friday that the visit set for May 23 will mark the 60th anniversary of U.S.-Kenya diplomatic relations and "celebrate a partnership that is delivering for the people" of both countries while affirming "our strategic...
18 February 2024
US keen to strengthen Kenya’s public procurement system as trade talks resume [incl. Readout]
The US plans to strengthen Kenya’s public procurement systems in what is seen as a strategy to put in place sound structures ahead of the planned trade pact. This comes as talks on the Strategic Trade and Investment Partnership (STIP) resumed last week with a meeting in Nairobi. Kenya is pushing for the deal and renewal of the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) which expires next year. Washington in a statement on Tuesday said the...
07 February 2024
'Nigeria missing as Kenya, Ghana tap AGOA opportunities to boost foreign exchange earnings'
Africa’s biggest economy is still failing to tap the opportunities that the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) present to boost its foreign exchange, amid acute dollar shortages. The AGOA has been on for over twenty-three years as it was enacted in 2020. In 2015, the program was modernised and extended to 2025, implying that there are only about 15 months before the window closes. Some countries have taken advantage of the AGOA more...
05 February 2024
US officials to fast-track talks on Kenya-US Strategic Trade and Investment Partnership (STIP)
US authorities will expedite negotiations on the Kenya-US Strategic Trade and Investment Partnership (STIP) and consider extending the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) beyond its expiry next year. Prime Cabinet Secretary and Cabinet Secretary for Foreign and Diaspora Affairs Musalia Mudavadi who spoke after a meeting with US Secretary for State Mr Tony Blinken said these initiatives will facilitate expanded duty and quota-free access...
02 February 2024
Kenya, US trade talks resume in Nairobi, go for common ground
The third round of the Strategic Trade and Investment Partnership (STIP) negotiations between Kenya and the United States opened in Nairobi yesterday. Investment, Trade and Industry Cabinet Secretary Rebecca Miano said Kenya’s delegation is being led by Trade Principal Secretary Alfred K’Ombudo. The main agenda items for the meeting which wraps up tomorrow revolve around agriculture, good regulatory practices, and workers’ rights...
30 January 2024
Kenya, US talks shift to agriculture
Kenya and the United States are set to begin talks on contentious clauses in a proposed bilateral trade deal amid fears the agreement could flood the market with cheap agricultural imports from America. The delayed third in-person round of talks will focus on agriculture, good regulatory practices and workers’ rights and protections, according to a statement from the US Trade Representative Office (USTR). The three-day negotiations...
27 January 2024
Kenya-US far from trade deal as year ends
Kenya’s hopes of concluding a trade deal with the US by end of this year seem unlikely pushing the long draw talks into next year. The Kenyan government had in March this year expressed optimism of sealing a deal before the year ends, in its quest to secure preferential trade terms way before the expiry of the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), in September 2025. Kenya and the US have held three rounds of in-person negotiations...
21 December 2023
Kenya-US to deepen ICT, apparel and agriculture trade
Kenya and United States are in talks to identify areas of interest in information communication technology (ICT) sector that can interest US firms. A meeting between The US Ambassador to Kenya, Megan Whitman, and the Cabinet Secretary for Investments, Trade, and Industry Rebecca Miano, the states sought cooperation in six key areas. The meeting laid the groundwork for an enhanced collaboration between Kenya and the United States in...
09 November 2023