Kenya Positions Itself as Africa’s Economic Anchor Ahead of COMESA Summit
As Kenya prepares to host the 24th Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) Summit in 2025, the country is presenting itself not only as a regional hub but as a continental anchor for Africa’s economic integration and prosperity.
COMESA is a 21-member regional economic community that embodies the Pan-African philosophy that Africa’s destiny must be built by Africans.
With a population of more than 600M, the bloc’s agenda is to end the historical pattern of exporting raw materials and importing expensive finished goods.
For Kenya, this moment provides an opportunity to showcase how its economic reforms are aligning with COMESA’s vision of shared prosperity.
An Integrated African Market
Kenya’s approach is built on the conviction that borders should connect, not divide.
Through digitized trade systems, One-Stop Border Posts, and harmonized customs protocols, COMESA is easing the movement of goods, services, and people.
Kenya has been at the forefront of these efforts, investing in smart infrastructure and digital platforms that allow producers, traders, and investors to operate seamlessly across borders.
At the same time, discussions around regional currencies and simplified cross-border payments are gaining traction, aiming to reduce reliance on the US dollar and cut transaction costs for African businesses.
Formal Vs Informal Trade
Informal trade remains one of Africa’s most dynamic but under-recognized forces.
Thousands of traders, especially women, move goods across border points daily.
Kenya and COMESA are working to bring them into the formal economy through initiatives like Jukwaa markets, providing structured and transparent spaces that secure livelihoods and increase bargaining power.
This reflects Kenya’s Bottom-Up Economic Transformation Agenda (BETA) – turning borderlines into business lines.
The Five Keys for Economic Transformation
Kenya has identified five golden keys that underpin its bottom-up vision, each tied closely to COMESA’s integration goals:
1. Macroeconomic Stability
Kenya has moved from the 8th to the 6th largest economy in Africa by managing inflation, forex, and debt prudently, restoring investor confidence.
2. Revitalisation of Key Value Chains
From agriculture and livestock to fisheries, mining, and the blue economy, Kenya is adding value through County Aggregation and Industrial Parks (CAIPs) while protecting industries like sugar and fisheries with trade safeguards.
3. Infrastructure Development
Roads, ports, energy, water, ICT, and Special Economic Zones (SEZs) are driving growth. Major projects like the Standard Gauge Railway, Konza Technopolis, Naivasha SEZ, and cross-border road corridors are linking Kenya to regional markets.
4. Jobs and Income Opportunities
Programmes like Kazi Kwa Ground (public sector jobs), Kazi Mtandaoni (digital and creative economy), and Kazi Majuu (diaspora labour mobility) connect youth to local and global work.
MSME development strengthens small enterprises as engines of growth.
5. Social Sector Reforms
Universal health coverage (Taifa Care) and education reforms (CBE, TVET, higher education financing) are creating a healthier, skilled workforce to power regional competitiveness.
Trade, Industry and Agriculture
Through COMESA, Kenya enjoys access to larger markets for exports such as tea, coffee, flowers, apparel, and processed foods.
Trade safeguards have revived the struggling sugar sector, especially in Western Kenya, while farmers benefit from mechanisation, certification, and climate-smart practices that meet global standards.
Industrialisation is the next frontier.
SEZs in Naivasha, Dongo Kundu, and Konza, along with EPZs in Athi River, Tatu City, and Sagana, are attracting global and local manufacturers who produce for export and invest in skills transfer.
Each trained worker becomes part of a knowledge economy, able to spread innovation across industries.
Skills, Labour and Mobility
Kenya is also investing in making its workforce regionally and globally competitive.
Over 700 youth recently completed German language and technical training, preparing them for jobs in Europe.
This reflects a broader strategy of equipping Kenyans with skills that serve both domestic industries and COMESA’s labour market, aligning with the African Union’s Agenda 2063 Aspiration 6: People-Driven Development.
In a Nutshell ….
As host of the 24th COMESA Summit in 2025, Kenya is positioning itself not just as a participant but as a leader shaping Africa’s economic future.
By embedding stability, value addition, infrastructure, jobs, and social reform into its policies, Kenya has emerged as an economic anchor for the region.
The choices being made today – to train youth, digitise trade, empower MSMEs, and integrate markets – will define Kenya’s place in a self-reliant, prosperous Africa.