NAIROBI: Kenya’s industrialists on Tuesday signed an agreement with a regional investment body to help in the efforts to promote trade and investment under the African Growth and Opportunity Act (Agoa). The deal, which was inked in Nairobi between the Kenya Association of Manufacturers (KAM) and the East Africa Trade And Investment Hub (EATIH), will also support policy reform activities and the expansion of trading avenues. KAM CEO Phyllis Wakiaga said the deal strengthens KAM’s commitment in seizing the opportunity to realise better business opportunities beyond borders.
“We must go beyond the apparel export and strategise ways that we can explore the gains of approximately 6 400 products that are currently eligible for Agoa,” Wakiaga said in Nairobi. Agoa is a preferential market access system given to specific countries in Africa and the Caribbean by the United States. Under the trade agreement, most sub−Saharan African countries are allowed to export over 6 000 products duty−free to the US market.