NAIROBI, Kenya, Oct 25 – Kenya has dispatched locally made products from micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) to Rwanda ahead of the 26th East African Community MSME Trade Fair, scheduled for October 30 to November 8.

The products were flagged off by Principal Secretary for MSME Development Susan Mang’eni at the Micro and Small Enterprises Authority (MSEA) Centre of Excellence in Kariobangi, Nairobi.

The fair will be held at the Gikondo Expo Ground in Kigali under the theme “Advancing Regional Value Chains in Leather and Horticulture”. More than 600 Kenyan exhibitors are expected to participate.

Mang’eni said the East African Community market, with about 331 million people and a combined gross domestic product of $356 billion, offered Kenyan businesses an opportunity to reach more customers and expand regional trade.

She said the fair would help businesses understand market trends, establish trade links and test products against regional demand.

MSEA Director General Henry Rithaa said the authority was using its online marketing portal and product aggregation initiatives to help small businesses continue selling their products beyond trade fairs.

He said the initiatives would also help Kenyan enterprises access the wider African Continental Free Trade Area market, which has a population of about 1.3 billion.

Confederation of Micro and Small Enterprises Organisations Kenya Chapter chairman John Kihiu said access to markets was key to business growth and job creation.

“When our enterprises find buyers, everything else follows. They grow, they hire, and they reinvest in their businesses. Platforms like this Fair open doors that many small businesses could never open on their own,” Kihiu said.

Kenya is among Rwanda’s top five sources of imports, with more than 1,300 Kenyan companies already trading in the country. Kenya is also Rwanda’s second-largest agricultural supplier and its largest supplier from within Africa.

The government said all products sent to the fair were made in Kenya and met international market requirements.