An analysis of the operations of export trade Promotion Organisations in Kenya

Abstract

Export Trade Promotion in Kenya has gained a lot of importance over the years due to its contribution to Kenya's participation in international trade. It requires the cooperation and partnership of various stakeholders including government agencies,the business community and the private sector in order to pave the way for growth of trade and exports from all the key sectors in the country. The study has examined the selected export trade promotion organisations in Kenya that have been incorporated in the last few decades. The objective of the study is to examine the current operations of export trade promotion organisations and to determine the extent to which they are effective in their service delivery. The research instrument used to collect data was a questionnaire with open ended and closed ended questions. To achieve the objective of the study, primary data was collected from the selected export trade promotion organisations in Kenya and secondary data was sourced from publications, newsletters, annual reports and previous studies. A list of these organisations was obtained from the export promotion arm of the Ministry of Trade and Industry. Analysis of data indicate that all the organisations strive to promote Kenya's external trade to a good extent. They do this by developing trade promotion strategies that focus on Kenya's premier export products. Some of the strategies include capacity building in international trade, provision of targeted market intelligence information and identification of trade opportunities using new technologies. The findings from the analysis-also reveal that these organisations face many challenges in their daily operations. These challenges include funding and resource constraints, bureaucracy, lack of skilled staff and unclear guidelines in the working environment. The organisations have been proactive in formulating ways to address these challenges including approaching donors for technical assistance, training and funding, developing strategic plans to steer their operations and forming joint collaborations with other export trade promotion organisations in order to have a greater impact on Kenya's international trade and to boost economic growth in Kenya.