State Department for Industrialisation: Policies and Legal and Regulatory
Framework, Special Economic Zones Act 2015
- Review of the Special Economic Zones Policy
- Amendment of the Special Economic Zones Act No.16 of 2015
- Review of the Sessional Paper No. 9 of 2012 on National Industrialization Policy (NIP)
- Development of the National Manufacturing Policy and Strategy
- Review of Intellectual Property Rights Policy
- Finalization of the Intellectual Property Bill, 2020 and enact it into law
- Development of the Quality and Standards Policy
- Review of the Micro and Small Enterprises Authority Policy
- Review of the Micro and Small Enterprises Act, 2012
- Finalization of the Kenya Leather Development Policy
- Implementation of the Kenya Investment Policy 2019
- Development of the Local Content Policy Sector Guidelines
- Development of the Local Content Act
- Review of the Investment Promotion Act, 2004
- Enactment of the KIRDI Bill 2020
- Finalize the Iron and Steel Policy
- Finalize development of the incubation and sub-contracting policies
Legal Metrology Bill 2017
Provides for the manufacture, sale and use of weighing and measuring equipment in trade, health and safety, environment and the sale of goods, in line with international best practices.
Provides for administration of legal metrology services in the devolved system of government and for connected purposes.
Trade Descriptions Bill 2020
Prohibits false trade descriptions in the sale of goods, and provision of services, accommodation and facilities in the course of trade
Prohibits false or misleading indications as to price and the supply of goodsProhibits the importation of goods bearing false indication of the place of origin and to confer powers for the enforcement and making of orders relating to the marking or to accompany the goods or to be included in advertisement
Draft Micro and Small Enterprise Development Fund Regulations, 2020, National Co-operative Development Policy
Formulated under the theme “Promoting Co-operative Societies for Industrialisation
Seeks to transform co-operatives into vibrant social and commercial entities.
Identifies contemporary challenges limiting the growth of co-operative societies
Offers solutions towards a more proactive engagement between the national government, county governments, the co-operative movement and other stakeholders in addressing co-operatives’ challenges.
Streamlines the role of national and county governments in co-operative development in line with the Constitution of Kenya, 2010 and national development goals set out in Kenya Vision 2030.
Draft National Automotive Policy
Seeks to streamline the motor assembly industry to phase out the importation of second-hand vehicles by 2026.
The National Industrialisation Policy
- Focuses on value addition for both primary and high valued goods
- Identifies linkages between industrial sub-sectors and other productive sectors to drive the industrialisation process
- Creates enabling environment for private sector-led industrial development
- Creates a business environment friendly to potential and current local and foreign investors
- Highlights need to promote resource-based industries, in particular, labour intensive, export-oriented ones, for increased productivity and growth in all the industrial sub-sectors
- Encourages sustainable creativity and innovation to improve production processes and the quality of products
- Encourages development of appropriately skills in industrial human resource to enhance competitiveness
- Identifies the foundational pillars and measures for the vibrancy and growth of the industrial sector
- Recommends appropriate policy interventions for the realisation of the sector goals
- Provides a legal and institutional framework for substantial improvements in intra-governmental coordination, under a Public Private Partnership arrangement.
Scrap Metal Act 2015
Regulates dealings in scrap metal and establishes the Scrap Metal Council
Micro and Small Enterprises Act (No.55 of 2012)
Targets businesses with an annual turnover of less than KSh500,000 or companies that employ less than 10 people and manufacturing plants with an investment and capital base of less than Kshs 10 million.
Created the National Council for Small Enterprises in the Ministry of Labour mandated with marketing goods and services of SMEs to both the local and international markets. It is also the link between Government and the enterprises.
Establishes a credit Bureau for SMEs keen on expansion to access credit and financial services and free financial advice.
The Export Processing Zones Authority Act
Establishes export processing zones and the Export Processing Zones Authority
Provide for the promotion and facilitation of export-oriented investments and the development of enabling environment for such investment and for connected purposes
Achievements
Kenya ranked 56th globally in the World Bank’s Doing Business 2019 report, rising 80 places since 2014 – one of the most improved countries in Africa and globally.
Infrastructure Facilities for Ngozi Kenya Leather Park at Kinanie, Machakos County:
Construction of a 500-acre leather cluster host services to promote the sector including:
- 5-6 leather footwear manufacturers
- 8-10 leather tanneries
- 3-4 packaging and logistics company
- A small and medium enterprise (SME) park
- Training centre for increased value addition
- Low costs of labour and electricity
- EPZ benefits on taxation and trade
- Integrated amenities – residential complex, schools, health facilities, recreation centre
Ongoing construction almost complete - Will create investment opportunities in local leather industry including value added services
- Will create an estimated 35,000 jobs and add USD 150-250 million to Kenya’s GDP
- Will contribute to substitution of shoe imports worth USD 86 million annually and reduce exports of semi-processed leather
- Will reduce smuggling of raw hides and skins and influx of illicit leather in the market
USD 50 million Kenya Industry Entrepreneurship Project (KIEP)
Component 1
Strengthen innovation and entrepreneurship by boosting capacity of incubators, accelerators, and rapid technology skills providers (collectively called ‘intermediaries’).
Connect the sector to international talent and support infrastructure
Foster links between startups and traditional industry.
Bridge gaps in technical skills by linking young talent and academia to the private sector
Component 2
Provide managerial and technical skills training and access to technology for Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) to improve their productivity
Component 3
Provide communications and Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) support to SMEs.
Component 1 of project ongoing
Components 2 of project launched and ongoing with 250 SMEs participating
Ministry launched Startup Savanna, an international business acceleration programme linking Kenyan startups to global angel investor and business support resource networks, including global network of events, accelerators and incubators, mentors, investors, and corporate partners attracting much needed technical expertise and funds to enable them to scale their operations within and beyond Kenya.
Free Trade deal with US to open bigger market for participating SMEs, making up for the expiry of the Africa Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) in 2025
SMEs gaining managerial and technical skills necessary to improve their capital and upgrade their machinery and equipment for more productivity
Project is fostering innovation in SMEs and promoting market linkages to the best specialists
Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Competitiveness Project seeks to increase productivity and employment in SMEs through:
- Access to finance
- Improved business environment
- Strengthened enterprise skills and markets linkages to meet the demands of SMEs
The Project met development objective outcomes with satisfactory overall implementation. Its achievements include: - Development of new financial products for SMEs such as Asset Financing, receipt warehousing, weather insurance, credit referencing, deposit taking by Micro Financial Institutions and Cooperative Societies and two financial access (Finances) studies undertaken.
- Over 47 pilot projects undertaken in the cotton, coffee, leather and pyrethrum value chains thereby increasing productivity and competitiveness through implementation of Good Agricultural Practices (GAPs) and certification of co-operatives.
- Establishment of the Cotton Development Authority (CODA) and the Kenya Leather Development Council.
Over 1,000 Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) and Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) to benefit from an ultra-modern laboratory, calibration and testing facility to be set up by the Kenya Bureau of Standards (KEBs) in Nakuru County. The facility will reduce turnaround time for testing and associated costs as samples will be tested locally instead of being ferried to Nairobi. KEBs will also use the proposed facility to train small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) on standards and certification, to increase their compliance levels and enhance chances of getting their products certified upon submission of samples. Facilities will be equipped with four laboratories: Food and Agriculture, Microbiology, Biochemistry, and Instrumentation. Laboratories will offer testing, metrology, and calibration services to the industries in Rift Valley region and speed up issuance of the Standardization Mark to Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) and Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs), within the devolved unit and over 14 other counties in the region.
Test Procedures for five (5) selected electrical appliances completed and submitted to KEBS
Minimum Energy Performance Standards for five (5) selected items drafted and submitted to KEBS for mainstreaming and Gazettement
Undertook awareness campaigns through trade fairs/shows and media publication on Energy Efficiency Standards and Labelling
Carried out the Medium-Term Evaluation (MTE) and made recommendations to guide the remaining part of the programme.
Implementation of the Kenya Youth Employment and Opportunities Project (KYEOP) in partnership with the ministries of ICT Innovation and Youth Affairs and Labour and Social Protection and supervised by the Kenya Private Sector Alliance (KEPSA).
Cycle 5 launched and underway. Government allocated KSh400 million for training of successful candidates in 17 counties, before receiving grants to start their businesses. Counties include Mombasa, Kilifi, Nairobi, Nakuru, Kiambu, Nyandarua, Mandera, Turkana, Wajir, Bungoma, Kakamega, Kwale, Kisumu, Kisii, Machakos, Kitui and Migori.
Over 30,000 youth have received training and internship in both the formal and informal sector out of which an estimated 75 per cent have secured employment.
Business support beneficiaries have received grants of KSh40,000 each while others have received business support services
750 youth-owned enterprises financed through Business Plan Competition dubbed ‘MbeleNaBiz’ under KYEOP to the tune of KSh1.3 billion.
Four organisations received KSh120 million from the FutureBora Innovation Challenge launched in October last year for creating income-generating opportunities for orphaned youths and those affected by conflict, persons living with disabilities, young single mothers, street youths and those from vulnerable and marginalised communities. The four are Afya Research Africa, Hydroponics Africa Limited, Life in Abundance-Kenya, and TakaTaka Solutions Limited
County Youth Sector Working Groups (CYSWG) inaugurated by Ministry of ICT Innovation and Youth Affairs to prioritize youth empowerment programs in the county including access to KYEOP.