The Ministry of Investment, Trade and Industry wants to demystify the myth that only foreigners can successfully run industrial and manufacturing sector in the country.
Cabinet Secretary Rebecca Miano said the government was working on modalities to promote home grown companies to exploit the investment potentials in the sector and challenged the local business community to venture in industrial production of goods.
Speaking during the dissemination forum for the Fourth Medium Term (MTP IV) in Laikipia County that was held at a Nanyuki hotel, Ms. Miano said that any Kenyan can venture into manufacturing so long as they have some little start-up capital.
“Those who grow tomatoes can start making tomato paste at their backyards, others can do tanning of raw hides and skins while others can start manufacturing nails, and all that is manufacturing. We have to start with small industries,” The CS said.
She noted that even the developed nations globally also started with smaller Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) that grew and scaled into big industries.
The CS added that her Ministry was sensitizing Kenyans on the local manufacturing and availing opportunities to access financing citing the Kenya Development Corporation (KDC) as one of the government organisations that was supporting local manufacturing.
“I am urging all those with bankable and feasible ideas on manufacturing to come to KDC, discus their project ideas so that they can get start-up capital and start their industries,” Miano advised.
The CS noted that the MTP IV was aligned to the Bottom-Up Economic Transformation Agenda (BETA) that was highlighting the five pillars; Agriculture transformation, HealthCare, Housing, Digital superhighway, and creative arts and MSME economy.
She added that the MTP IV would specifically address water scarcity, food, insecurity, and the value chain that Laikipia could take advantage of such as agro processing, livestock, leather and meat value chain and leverage on manufacturing.
The CS revealed that the National government had released Sh. 1.12 billion for the ongoing construction of 18 County Aggregation and Industrial Parks (CAIPs) adding that her ministry would soon release an expression of interest to invite investors to put up aggregation facilities in the CAIPs.
“These CAIPs are very important since they are going to devolve manufacturing and industrialization to the county level, offer job opportunities, increase manufacturing and processing and enable counties to participate in the export of manufactured goods and products,”
She also noted that the CAIPs, once operational will help reduce the post-harvest losses farmers suffer especially when there is a glut of farm produce.
The CS was accompanied by Defense Principal Secretary Patrick Mariru who hailed the MTP IV as a game changer for Laikipia in tapping into livestock and leather value chain owing to the large number of livestock in the region.
By Martin Munyi
