As Kenya drafts its post-2028 industrial strategy, commercial leaders in Nairobi are pressing Chinese vendors to trade simple import channels for factory floors, joint ventures, and technology transfers.
By Our Reporter
NAIROBI — Local manufacturing firms, equipment vendors, and industrial groups gathered in the capital on Thursday for the opening of the ninth International Industrial Expo and Kenya Investment & Trade Fair, with commercial leaders urging a shift away from finished foreign imports towards localised manufacturing and high-tech equipment transfers.
The three-day exhibition at Nairobi’s Sarit Expo Centre brings together East African businesses alongside international commercial delegations, most notably a delegation from China’s Guangdong province. Organised by Afripeak Expo Kenya in partnership with the Kenya National Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KNCCI) and InvestKenya, the conference comes as Kenyan officials craft a national policy framework dubbed “Beyond Vision 2030”.
Organisers stressed that the summit’s success depends on establishing long-term industrial capacity rather than generating short-term sales figures.
“The success of expo should not be measured only by the number of the exhibitors or visitors,” an event representative stated. “It should be measured by partnership created, the technology introduced, and the investment encouraged for both Kenya and the international businesses.”
Afripeak Expo Kenya Managing Director Gao Wei called on visiting vendors to establish assembly operations and production facilities within the region rather than viewing the country purely as an end-market for manufactured goods.
“Selling one container of goods is a transaction,” Mr Gao said. “Building a partnership, transferring a technology, assembling or producing here, training local technicians and creating jobs, that is cooperation, and that is what lasts. We encourage our exhibitors from China and other countries to look beyond trade and seriously consider investment, local manufacturing, assembly and technology transfer in Kenya.”
Speaking under the summit’s banner, Investing in Tomorrow, Trading for Prosperity, KNCCI National Director Joseph Mutavi Kithu urged local small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to adopt advanced processing machinery, such as industrial laser-cutting and engraving systems, to scale their output across East African trade corridors.
“To our Kenyan manufacturers and industrialists here today, we would like ask you to walk this floor with purpose,” Mr Kithu said. “Ask questions, negotiate boldly, form partnerships. The technology and capital in this room can be the difference between a small workshop and a factory that exports across the continent.”
Mr Kithu pushed domestic executives to secure direct manufacturing commitments from foreign delegates. “Make sure, as discussed yesterday, as you engage them, tell them to come and establish their companies here,” he added. “Kenya’s economic transformation will depend on our ability to invest in productive sectors, strengthen local manufacturing, embrace technology and innovation, and expand opportunities for businesses to access both domestic and international markets. Industrialisation is not only about large factories. It is also about the thousands of MSMEs, suppliers, distributors, technology providers and service businesses that form the backbone of our economy.”
KNCCI President Dr Erick Rutto echoed those priorities, describing the summit as “a platform for business growth, innovation and industrial transformation” rather than a standard product showcase.
Visiting trade representatives indicated an expanding footprint for foreign capital in the regional economy. “Next year will be 100 Chinese factory come here to work together with the Kenya peoples,” an international delegate noted during the opening proceedings.
Local and international firms participating in the exhibition include SPIRO Kenya, Robert Bosch East Africa, the Building Materials Association of Kenya, Jonerics Cargo Forwarders, Hegazy Pack, Mizztech Equipment Supplies, Canon Aluminium Fabricators, Javans Coffee, and Kenya Orient Insurance.
