NAIROBI, Kenya, Aug 12 — The Kenya Association of Manufacturers (KAM) has called for the manufacturing sector to be placed at the centre of Kenya’s proposed Vision 2060, saying industrialisation will be critical to creating jobs, increasing government revenue and driving long-term economic growth.
Speaking during discussions on the proposed long-term development blueprint, KAM Vice Chairperson Mary-Ann Musangi said the private sector must have a meaningful role in shaping Vision 2060.
Musangi said Kenya’s next development blueprint must be ambitious enough to deliver significant economic transformation over the coming decades.
“A vision needs to be bold and audacious and, if it’s not bold and audacious, the country just won’t move forward,” she said.
Musangi said KAM’s ambition is to see Kenya become the leading manufacturing nation in sub-Saharan Africa.
She noted that the manufacturing sector has remained resilient but its contribution to the economy has largely stabilised at about seven per cent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
Musangi said Kenya must find ways of growing the sector beyond that level and unlocking its wider contribution to the economy.
Musangi said Kenya should seek to raise manufacturing’s contribution to GDP to approximately 20 per cent, comparable to levels in countries such as Singapore and Vietnam.
She said achieving such growth would have a significant impact on employment and economic activity.
“If we were to move from the seven per cent mark to where Singapore or Vietnam is, which is the 20 per cent mark of their GDP, we’re talking about direct employment of over two million people, if not higher on an indirect perspective,” she said.
She said the impact would extend beyond manufacturing plants to small businesses, traders, transport operators and other enterprises linked to factories through supply chains.
Musangi cited the matatu sector as an example of the broader economic activity generated by manufacturing.
“Nation-building industrialisation is driven by the manufacturing sector,” she said.
Musangi said manufacturing contributes a disproportionately large share of government revenue compared with its contribution to GDP.
She said the sector accounts for approximately 16 per cent of Kenya Revenue Authority collections.
She also described manufacturing as one of the country’s largest sources of employment, saying it is the second-largest employer after government.
Expanding the sector would therefore help Kenya create jobs while increasing government revenue and stimulating economic activity, she said.
Musangi said manufacturers should be involved in policy decisions because the sector has strong linkages with agriculture, trade, transport and other areas of the economy.
She said manufacturers also play an important role in adding value to agricultural products destined for international markets, including China, Spain and the United States.
Kenya has trade agreements covering a significant portion of the global market, Musangi said, but the country has yet to fully exploit those opportunities.
“We have trade agreements with 70 per cent of the world, but we’re not even leveraging a third of that today,” she said.
She called for stronger political commitment to manufacturing and industrialisation, saying much of the infrastructure needed to support industrial growth is already in place but requires greater prioritisation from national leadership.
“The infrastructure is in place, but it needs to be prioritised from the top leadership,” she said.
Musangi also called on the government to support established local manufacturers, saying stronger domestic businesses would help create an environment capable of attracting more investment.
She said the growth of established manufacturers would also create opportunities for small and informal businesses to enter formal supply chains.
Musangi cited women producing personal care and beauty products from their homes as examples of small-scale entrepreneurs who could be integrated into formal value chains as the manufacturing sector expands.
She said a stronger industrial ecosystem would enable such businesses to grow, create employment and participate more fully in the formal economy.
According to Musangi, expanding manufacturing would therefore have benefits beyond increased industrial output, including job creation, higher tax revenues, stronger exports, greater value addition and increased opportunities for small businesses.
She urged policymakers to make industrialisation a central pillar of Vision 2060, saying Kenya’s long-term development ambitions will depend on its ability to establish a competitive and sustainable manufacturing sector.
