Kenya mulls incentives to boost manufacturing sector

NAIROBI, April 11 (Xinhua) -- Kenya plans to put in place a number of incentives in order to boost the manufacturing sector, a government official said on Wednesday.

Betty Maina, Principal Secretary in the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Cooperatives told journalists in Nairobi that the incentives will help manufacturers to overcome challenges that make Kenya, a high cost region for production of goods.

"We will soon roll out policies that will offer manufacturers serviced industrial parks at concessional rates in order to expand overall output from the sector," Maina said during the release of the 17th edition of the Kenya Economic Update.

Maina said the government has set a target of expanding contribution of the manufacturing sector from the current 9.2 percent of Gross Domestic Product to 15 percent by end of 2022.

She said the country is currently developing a number of industrial parks that will offer serviced land for manufacturers in textile, leather and the agro-processing sectors.

The PS added that Kenya is prioritizing the development of manufacturing sector due to its huge multiplier effect in the economy.

"Manufacturing tends to be labor intensive and hence helps to create numerous job opportunities especially for the youth," Maina said.

She noted that the industrial sector is ideal for the economy because it supports other sectors through forward and backward linkages.

The government official added that Kenya will focus on the export-led manufacturing model in order to tap into lucrative overseas markets. Enditem