Kenya: SMEs missing out on AGOA - US investors
Kenyan Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises are missing out on the African Growth and Opportunity Act for lack of trade partners, failure to meet international standards and financial constraints, the US National Business League has said.
NBS vice president Malcolm Beech yesterday said only 10 per cent of Kenya's SME's are benefiting from Agoa, despite the initiative targeting them.
According to Beech, oil and gas have dominated 90 per cent of commodities traded under Agoa between Africa and the US in the last fifteen years.
"Agoa has little impact on SME's but we want to change this. We want to work with Kenyans to improve packaging to meet the US standards, improve on product standards and find markets for their products through partnerships," said Beech.
"Kenya is missing out on America which is the largest consumer market yet it has one of the best opportunities than many African countries," he said.
Beech said increasing SME's participation in Agoa will meet its objectives of opening up business opportunities in developing countries.
Agoa was signed into law by the US on May 18, 2000, to offer incentives for African countries, to open their economies and build free markets.
It provides trade preferences for quota and duty-free entry into the United States for 6,000 different types of goods.
NSB was formed in 1900 to support the Black -American entrepreneurship, 35 years after the end of America slavery.
It currently has 10,000 companies under its umbrella with SME's making up 90 per cent of the league.
Beech was speaking in Nairobi yesterday during a conference between US and Kenya investors ahead of this weekend's Global Entrepreneurship Summit.