Kenya Flags Off 600 MSMEs to Kigali for 26th EAC Trade Fair

By John Toris 

Kenya has today flagged off exhibits from its micro, small and medium enterprises to Kigali, Rwanda, ahead of the 26th East African Community MSMEs Trade Fair, scheduled for 30th October to 8th November 2026 at the Gikondo Expo Ground in Rwanda. The flag-off, led by Principal Secretary for the State Department for MSME Development, Hon. Susan Mang'eni, took place at the Micro and Small Enterprises Authority's Kariobangi Centre of Excellence in Nairobi. 
PHOTO: PS Susan Mang'eni addressing members of the press during the flag Off  at Kariobangi Centre, 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 including Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, South Sudan, Rwanda, Burundi, DRC and Somalia. Speaking at the event, the PS noted that 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," she 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."

The Micro and Small Enterprises Authority, which is spearheading Kenya's participation, is facilitating 600 Kenyan MSEs to exhibit in Kigali, with all products headed to the fair being 100% Kenyan-made and meeting international market requirements. Kenya enters the fair from a position of strength, ranking among Rwanda's top five sources of imports, with more than 1,300 Kenyan companies already trading in the Rwandan market, and stands as Rwanda's second-largest agricultural supplier and its largest from within Africa. 
MSEA Director General Mr. 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, enabling enterprises to keep trading in the EAC long after the exhibition closes and positioning them to tap into the wider 1.3 billion-person African Continental Free Trade Area market. "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," said Mr. 

John Kihiu, Chairman of the Confederation of Micro and Small Enterprises Organizations Kenya Chapter, who emphasized that access to markets is the prerequisite for enterprise growth, job creation and productive investment in the MSME sector. MSEA is coordinating Kenya's participation in partnership with Kenya Industrial Estates, the Kenya Bureau of Standards, the Women Enterprise Fund, the Kenya National Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the Kenya Private Sector Alliance and Uwezo Fund.

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