Factors influencing long-term performance of EPZ-AGOA textile - exporting firms within Nairobi

Abstract

The textile industry in Kenya has gone through a lot of changes since the liberalization tendencies prescribed by the World Bank under the Structural Adjustment Programmes (SAPs) of the 1990s. Almost all the local factories closed shop unable to compete with cheaper new and second hand imports especially from Asia. In a bid to reverse this trend, the United States government enacted an act in May 2000 to under the auspices of African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), which encourages production of textile products in developing economies of Africa and Asia. In Kenya, these outfits have been operating within export processing zones (EPZs) where they enjoy certain concessions from the government such as tax holidays. With the extension of the act constantly under threat, there has risen a need to find out what strategies these firms employ in order to maintain their operations in the global market. The focus of the study is on factors influencing long-term performance of EPZ-AGOA textile exporting firms within Nairobi. These findings will definitely help the policy makers and stakeholders within the industry with future strategies on policy formulation geared at managing and planning for the long term.