Africa stands at a pivotal point. Countries are taking deliberate actions to deepen regional eco-nomic ties, overcome shared challenges and create linkages to pave the way for prosperous, inter-connected regional economies.
However, one thing stands out: success and inclusive growth depend not only on policy but on strong collaboration with all stakeholders —government, the business community, development partners and the public.
This was the ensuing conversation during the Common Market of Eastern and Southern Africa (Comesa) Summit 2025, hosted in Kenya.
Member states, businesses, governments and other stakeholders converged to deliberate on how to deepen regional integra-tion, inspired by a mission for a fully integrated and globally competitive economic community.
These conversations could not come at a better time. The Comesa remains one of Kenya's most important trading partners and a key source of raw materials and intermediate products.
Today, Africa accounts for about 42 percent of Kenya's export market, with Comesa contributing 11 percent. The East African Community (EAC), whose majority of member states are also in Comesa, makes up 30 percent. Therefore, these blocs are critical pillars of Kenya's economic ar-chitecture.
However, the opportunity is far greater than what the current numbers reflect. Only 11 percent of Kenya's imports are currently sourced from Africa. This calls for a renewed focus on building our sourcing capacity from within the Comesa and strengthening regional value chains.
The upcoming implementation of the Tripartite Free Trade Area (TFTA), bringing together Comesa, EAC, and the Southern African Development Community (SADC), offers a strategic path to expand regional integration, connecting Cape to Cairo through free trade.
The Tripartite Free Trade area provides Kenya and other member states a chance to tap into at least 55 percent of the potential presented by the African Continental Free Trade Area.
By harmonising trade policies across the member trading blocs, it promises to be a game-changer for African economic integration, presenting a real opportunity to enhance Kenya's and the region's capacity to trade and industrialise more efficiently.
Central to Comesa's economic transformation agenda is manufacturing. In Kenya, the sector plays a pivotal role in job creation, value addition, and export diversification.
Yet, despite Comesa's potential, a population of 560 million people and a combined gross domes-tic product of more than $780 billion, intra-Comesa trade remain low, currently standing at 14 percent. We are trading more with non-Comesa countries than we are with ourselves.
We must leverage opportunities to develop regional value chains, particularly in manufacturing and in agro-processing, to fully leverage Comesa.
The potential of Comesa for Kenya's manufacturing sector —and, indeed, for the entire region —is enormous. But to turn potential into progress, we must commit to action.
As Africa implements the AfCFTA, it would be strategic to ensure that Comesa member states take advantage of the markets already within their own borders. This is in line with AfCFTA's principles that con-sider regional economic blocs as its building blocks. Comesa is not only a trading bloc, but also a platform for progress.
Additionally, there is a high concentration of similar product lines across the Comesa region, just like in the rest of Africa, with different countries producing similar goods. Herein lies the opportunity to create diversity through backward and forward integration that enables us not only to trade in raw and finished materials, but also in intermediary products.
Although Comesa has proven to be a relatively seamless market for Kenyan manufacturers, we still face some bottlenecks which hamper the growth of intra-Comesa trade.
First, is the resolution of persistent trade barriers. Even though Comesa has a small number of non-trade barriers, some existing ones have taken over 10 years to resolve.
While such measures may be driven by well-intentioned local policy objectives, they distort regional markets, going against the spirit of the free trade area.
They disrupt supply chains, increase production costs, and discourage cross-border trade and investment. Ultimately, they weaken the very integration we are all working hard to achieve and could undo years of progress.
Tobias Alando is the Chief Executive Officer of Kenya Association of Manufacturers (KAM).
