Players in the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) in Kenya want the government to borrow a leaf from US President Donald Trump’s protectionist policies to shield local manufacturing industries from unfair competition from imports.

Kenyan investors have decried the influx of cheap imports, which they described as an impediment to their businesses and expressed fears that the trend could negatively affect the economy and eventually see the country lose its competitive edge in the global market.

Kenya faces a rising unemployment precipitated by dawdling manufacturing sector and a surge of cheap imports.

President Trump imposed stiff import tariffs tailored to protect a slew of American industries to spur manufacturing and generate employment.

Speaking in Nyeri during a public participation exercise to review draft MSME Policy and MSME Amendment Bill of 2025, the entrepreneurs asked the government to put in place laws that will promote local manufacturers to produce high quality products that meet international standards.

They also want the government to protect local businesses from unfair competition occasioned by influx of cheap imports in the market.

“We import almost everything. Instead of doing this we should be utilising our ties with manufacturing giants like China to sensitise our local manufacturers on how to improve the quality of our products to attain the global standards or even opening up our country to investors so that they can set up industries in the country.

“We should also come up with a policy that bans importation of goods that can be manufactured locally as a way of giving an opportunity to our local industries to thrive,” said James Mugo, a Jua Kali artisan from Kirinyaga.

Mugo’s sentiments were echoed by Kariuki Muriuki from Nyandarua who appealed to the national and county governments to partner and establish decent infrastructure that foster entrepreneurship. Muriuki told participants that the youth are shying away from joining the world of entrepreneurship due to lack of a conducive environment for local businesses.  

“The government has invested so much in improving infrastructure for our training institutions but they rarely replicate the same in the working environment that these students transition to. So when the young entrepreneurs graduate they feel afraid of joining the sector due to this poor image that the sector projects to them,” said Muriuki.

Caroline Wairima a deaf businesswoman from Nyeri called on the government to ensure that the policy promotes the inclusion of marginalized groups especially for People Living with Disability from accessing business incentives.

Wairima noted that PWDs are still facing discrimination in entrepreneurship thus denying them a chance to contribute to nation building.

“I would recommend that we have inclusive policies that eliminate barriers such as communication barriers and lack of proper infrastructure which prevent us from doing business,” Wairima told the participants.

The public engagement forum drew participants from Kirinyaga, Laikipia, Murang’a, Nyandarua and Nyeri counties.

State Department for MSMEs is seeking to review the MSME Policy of 2020 and MSME Act of 2012 to make them responsive to the existing business environment.

Youth Development Enterprise Fund Innovations Manager Daniel Mathenge says two documents will address some 11 major challenges affecting the MSMEs. Mathenge said that the review will also come up with practical solutions to the issues bedevilling the sector.

“The operationalization of the MSME Policy 2020 has been challenging because it fails to capture and address issues that are related to MSMEs. Therefore, there was a need to revise it so that it is more inclusive and more responsive to the needs of the current business owner,” stated Mathenge.  

Head of Programme for Promotion of Self Employment and Entrepreneurship at the German Corporation for International Cooperation (GIZ) Irene Omogi explained that some of the key challenges that the policy review will address include putting in place regulations which will ease access to credit for informal businesses.

Ms Omogi says that the new policy has also proposed market linkages with the aim of expanding market reach for the local businesses to the regional and global markets.

“MSMEs want to access international markets but they require certain prerequisites such as quality standards of products and you also have to attain certain quantities. Our MSMEs are non-aggregative and are therefore unable to attain these requirements to even satisfy our own market.

Our aim is to look at how these MSMEs can be able to satisfy the market in Kenya and go to the regional and international markets. We are also looking at how we can integrate our MSMEs into global supply chains so that when they are producing for a certain market, they know what fits that market,” she said

There are also proposals to promote link learning and research institutions, technology developers with MSMEs as a way of encouraging skills transfer. Additionally, the policy has also proposed strategies that will MSMEs incorporate innovations in the daily operations of their businesses and ensure that they are able to meet the client needs.

“Most Kenyans do not have the right skills to help them run their businesses sustainably. This policy review is looking at getting as many MSMEs as possible to have basic skills or advance their skills to be able to run their businesses,” Omogi acknowledged.

Nyeri County Commissioner Ronald Mwiwawi said policy review would go a long way in dignifying the MSME sector and support the growth of industries in the country. Mwiwawi at the same time challenged the youth to embrace entrepreneurship, which he noted contributes up to 90 per cent of the own source revenue collection for counties.

“This is the first time that the country will have a policy that is targeting the SME sector and one that aligns with the Bottom-up Economic Transformation Agenda.Youth constitute the largest majority of our population and many of them are in SMEs but they lack the right guidance on how to grow their businesses. I believe that through this policy, we shall be able to nurture talents, incubate innovations and encourage the youth to become entrepreneurs, “he said.  

• A Tell Media / KNA report / By Wangari Mwangi

Edwin Okoth a jua kali trader in downtown Nyeri in a photo captured on January 15,2025.Players in the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises sector have urged the government to formulate strong policies that will protect local manufacturers from importation of goods that can be manufactured locally.