Economy

UK to inject Sh30b extra funding to boost Kenya trade programme

tmea

Trademark East Africa chief executive Frank Matsaert. FILE PHOTO | NMG

The British government’s aid ministry says its new programme to support technological improvement to the way Kenya trades has proved successful.

The UK says that it is now about to put an additional £211 million (Sh30.2 billion) into the second phase of the Trade Mark East Africa (TMEA) programme.

Following the visit of the UK’s Secretary of State for International Development Penny Mordaunt’s to Kenya earlier this week, a statement by the aid ministry hailed the “incredible power of technology to deliver aid in new ways” through TMEA.

Largest exporter

The UK is the fifth largest exporter of goods to Kenya and trade between the two countries is worth over £1 billion annually.

UK's Department for International Development (DFID) says innovative technology is helping Kenya build resilience to climate challenges, including drought, and to build a modern economy for the future.

It said that Trade Mark East Africa was helping enterprise and creating jobs by “breaking down barriers to trade.”

In Nairobi, Ms Mordaunt saw how the first phase of the programme has cut customs clearance times – from an average of nine to two days – and reduced the cost of trading across the region with new cargo-tracking technologies and improved infrastructure.

Ms Mordaunt heard from British businesses about how this technology has helped them enter the Kenyan market.

New ways

“Here in Kenya technology is delivering UK aid in new ways, from innovative cash transfers using biometrics, through to trade technologies that support economic growth, jobs and investment,” Ms Mordaunt said.

“It is in all our interests that we harness the best of British innovation with African entrepreneurialism – to create jobs, defeat poverty, and support our future trading partners, as we work towards a shared prosperous future.”

Phase two of the programme will concentrate on supporting transport infrastructure and cutting the cost of imports and exports as well as reducing tariff barriers.

DFiD says that infrastructure projects in Dar es Salaam and Mombasa ports are progressing, reducing time to clear and export goods by around half.

It also claims that travel time along the major corridors, from Kigali to Mombasa port, and from Bujumbura to Dar es Salaam, has fallen by 16.5 per cent, despite increased trade and traffic.

Cash transfer

Ms Mordaunt also said that British aid was helping those most in need through the Hunger Safety Net Programme – an innovative cash-transfer scheme bringing together biometric technology and mobile money.

The British aid minister met some of the 100,000 households benefitting from the programme, and saw how cash transfers get aid to those who need it when they need it, by cutting excessive bureaucracy, avoiding duplication by aid agencies and reducing waste.

However, British funding of the 10-year-old aid package to drought-hit communities is to end in 2024. The £143m programme has helped 600,000 vulnerable people in emergencies via direct cash transfers

DFiD says the UK is now “significantly scaling up” its support to trade and regional integration across East Africa, now providing a total of £211 million to the second phase of TMEA.

This will involve investing improving the efficiency and capacity of transport, logistics and trade infrastructure at key port and border points as well as improving trading standards, reducing non-tariff barriers and enhancing transparency in trade processes