Kenya has ranked position 115 out of 152 countries in the Competitive Index Report (CIP) Index Report, 2020. The Report benchmarks the ability of countries to produce and export manufactured goods competitively. It provides a yardstick against which Kenya can compare its manufacturing competitiveness on a global level.
This rank puts the country lower than other competitor African countries but high compared to its East African counterparts. Egypt and South Africa rank at position 64 and 52, respectively, whereas Tanzania is 123 and Uganda is position 128.
The Competitive Index Report indicates that China, which is ranked second in the CIP Index report, is very strong in manufacturing due to the use of high technology which is applied by 30.6% of its manufacturers whereas only 9.3% are resource-based manufacturers.
Comparatively, Kenya’s manufacturing sector export structure is dependent on resource-based manufacturers at 42.9% with high tech manufactures only accounting to 5.5%.
Competitiveness is very key to our industrialization. With robust industrialization, we can create employment for our people, get more taxes and provide more tax incentives and waivers. Quantifying the competitiveness of the manufacturing sector provides an evidence-based basis to which we can make policies.
Principal Secretary for National Treasury, Dr Julius Muia
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