The Kenya National Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KNCCI), led by President Dr. Erick Rutto and Livestock Committee Chairman Mr. Abdullahi Hersi, held a landmark partnership meeting with the National Livestock Board of Kenya, chaired by Hon. Mohamed Elmi. Both institutions agreed to deepen collaboration, with KNCCI designated as the primary implementing body for joint projects. The Livestock Board commended the great strides KNCCI has made in strengthening the livestock value chain. Notably, the Board was highly impressed following its visit to the KNCCI Dubai Office last week, affirming the proof of concept, and has committed to support the establishment of a similar KNCCI office in Saudi Arabia – opening a major gateway into one of the world’s largest livestock import markets.

Both institutions further agreed to jointly strengthen livestock SACCOs by leveraging KNCCI’s Chapter network in Arid and Semi-Arid Lands (ASAL) regions, enhancing access to financial services, markets, and capacity building for livestock producers and traders at the grassroots level with the view that livestock sector shall be a major contributor to Kenyan GDP. KNCCI members are encouraged to take full advantage of this landmark partnership, which presents immense opportunities in export market access through the Dubai and upcoming Saudi Arabia offices, SACCO strengthening programmes in ASAL counties, and direct participation in joint KNCCI–Livestock Board projects. The Chamber remains committed to creating an enabling environment for business growth, and this partnership represents a transformative step in positioning Kenya’s livestock sector for greater international competitiveness.

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Speaking during the forum Deputy Director State Department of Industry Nyongesa Wafula said the Kenyan government is keen in creating an enabling environment for business partnerships between local and international firms. He urged investors in the sector to focus on four priority areas including packaging and power generation in agricultural zones.

“We also have a huge potential in the mechanization of agribusiness and aggregation of small scale farmers to allow large scale production. We urge Indian companies to capitalize from the deficiencies in these areas,” Nyongesa Wafula said.

The Indian government on its part through India High Commissioner to Kenya Rahul Chabbra said it is keen help in the modernization of the local agriculture sector and has already set aside $100 million from the Exim bank of which $30 million has been utilized in refurbishing Rivatex. He added that the launch of the weekly Air India flights between Nairobi and Bombay will help improve on the trade between the two countries currently worth over $2 billion in 2018.

“Due to increasing partnerships and joint ventures between Kenya and Indian companies, Air India has seen the need to connect the two cities Nairobi and Bombay after stopping flights over a decade ago. We believe this will increase trade not just between Nairobi and Bombay but to other parts of India due to Air India’s huge footprint,” said Rahul Chabbra, Indian high commissioner to Kenya.

Kenya Chamber of Commerce and Industry 2^nd Vice President Fatma ElMaawy has lauded the increase in trade between the two countries with various commodities including: tea, mate, coffee, spices vegetables, wood products, oil seeds, grains and seeds having witnessed an increase in demand. She added that increased collaboration between the two countries could help address challenges facing the agribusiness sector including: low skills, lack of quality inputs and extension services and poor quality standards.

“As a Chamber we are aware that these challenges have limited access to the international markets and the inability to sustain the local demand. We will be seeking partnerships with Indian companies to help improve production and value addition,” she said.

Speaking on behalf of the 23 Indian Companies Chairman of the Federation of Indian Export Organizations Israr Ahmed said India was interested in taking advantage of challenges of trade in the international market including increasing protectionism and ongoing trade wars by teaming up with local firms.

“These challenges provide more opportunities for India especially through South-South cooperation. India is currently the fourth largest trading partner with Africa and agribusiness been the biggest beneficiary has since leapt forward in trade values. Coffee, tea, mate and spices has since doubled in trade values while oilseeds, grains and seeds have quadrupled between 2017 and 2018,” said Israr Ahmed.

Speaking on the business opportunities in the agribusiness sector KNCCI CEO Angela Ndambuki highlighted the potential in the coffee subsector including: coffee processing, blending with the robusta variety and packaging, provision of finance for small scale farmers. Other subsectors included poultry products (hatcheries), livestock including bee keeping and dairy products.

The Indian delegation in Kenya consist of companies primarily in the agri-sector with different interests including: investment, joint venture and other business opportunities. There will be a panel discussion on investment opportunities in Kenya followed by targeted B2B meetings with each Indian company getting to meet between 3 to 5 Kenyan companies.

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