Kenya flags off exhibits to Kigali for 26th EAC MSMEs Trade Fair.
Principal Secretary, State Department for MSMEs Development, Susan Mang’eni during the flagging Off of the Kenya Exhibits for the 26th EAC MSMES Trade Fair Kigali, Rwanda,Gikondo Expo Grounds.
Kenya has flagged off exhibits from its micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) to Kigali, Rwanda ahead of the 26th East African Community (EAC) MSMEs Trade Fair scheduled for October 30 to November 8, 2026 at the Gikondo Expo Ground.
The flag-off led by the Principal Secretary for the State Department for MSME Development Susan Mang’eni, took place at the Micro and Small Enterprises Authority’s (MSEA) Kariobangi Centre of Excellence in Nairobi.
Held under the theme “Advancing Regional Value Chains in Leather and Horticulture,” the fair is expected to bring together more than 1,200 enterprises from the eight EAC Partner States.
Speaking at the event, Mang’eni said the EAC market of about 331 million people, with a combined GDP of USD 356 billion offers Kenyan MSMEs a major opportunity to reach regional buyers and integrate into regional and global value chains.
“Leather and horticulture are sectors in which Kenya has both depth and history and this Fair gives our enterprises a chance to convert that strength into orders,” Mang’eni said.
“This event will present an opportunity for Kenyan MSEs to understand emerging market dynamics and business practices to build the linkages that sustain trade long after the exhibition closes and to test new and improved technologies against regional demand,” she stated.
MSEA, which is spearheading Kenya’s participation, is facilitating 600 Kenyan MSEs to exhibit in Kigali. All products headed to the fair are 100 percent Kenyan-made and meet international market requirements, positioning the enterprises to compete effectively in regional and global markets.
Kenya goes to Kigali from a position of strength. It ranks among Rwanda’s top five sources of imports, with more than 1,300 Kenyan companies already trading in the Rwandan market. The country is also Rwanda’s second-largest agricultural supplier and its largest from within Africa, placing this year’s horticulture focus firmly within its proven strengths.
Addressing the press, MSEA Director General Henry Rithaa said the Authority continues to market Kenyan MSE products through its online marketing portal and to champion product aggregation work that runs well beyond trade fairs.
He noted that this enables enterprises to keep trading in the EAC long after the exhibition closes and positions them to tap into the wider 1.3 billion-person African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) market.
Confederation of Micro and Small Enterprises Organizations (CMSEO) Kenya Chapter Chairman John Kihiu emphasized that access to markets is the prerequisite for enterprise growth, job creation and productive investment in the MSME sector.
“When our enterprises find buyers, everything else follows, they grow, hire and reinvest in their businesses. Platforms like this Fair open doors that many small businesses could never open on their own,” he said.
MSEA is coordinating Kenya’s participation in partnership with Kenya Industrial Estates (KIE), the Kenya Bureau of Standards (KEBS), the Women Enterprise Fund (WEF), the Kenya National Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KNCCI), the Kenya Private Sector Alliance (KEPSA) and Uwezo Fund.
