Kenya plans to set up special economic zones to woo global textile and apparel firms to look at the country as a manufacturing hub. Kenya wants to be the preferred gateway to Africa for foreign investors and home to a thriving army of local entrepreneurs. The country is now sub-Saharan Africa's largest apparel exporter to the US under the African Growth and Opportunity Act, having exported 83 million pieces.
Kenya Vision 2030 seeks to transform the country into an upper middle income economy driven by industrialization. To lower the cost of doing business, the government has put in place an elaborate program to make the business sector more productive and globally competitive. The textile and clothing sector, with a potential to create 2,00,000 jobs in the next two years, is a key priority area which the government has targeted for job creation.
Some of the initiatives include: 40-month program to inject over 5,000 mw electricity into the national grid, reducing the cost of power by over 40 per cent by end of this calendar year, fast tracking the Standard Gauge Railway project, and building the 10,000 km road infrastructure through an innovative financing model.