Kenya is seeking to accelerate export growth and lower the cost of doing business through the proposed National Trade Development Bill, 2025, as policymakers move to address structural trade imbalances and strengthen the country’s competitiveness in global markets.
- •The Bill, developed by the Ministry of Investments, Trade and Industry through the State Department for Trade, aims to establish Kenya’s first comprehensive legal and institutional framework to guide trade development, regulation and promotion.
- •The proposed law comes at a time when Kenya is grappling with persistent trade deficits driven by strong import demand and slower export growth.
- •Among its key proposals is the harmonisation of trade-related licensing systems and the review of duplicative permits, reforms expected to reduce compliance costs for businesses and improve ease of market entry, particularly for small and medium-sized enterprises operating across multiple counties.
Data from the Central Bank of Kenya shows that the country’s merchandise trade deficit widened in the third quarter of 2025 as imports continued to outpace export earnings, highlighting the urgency of strengthening export competitiveness and expanding market access for local producers.
Exports remain heavily concentrated in a few traditional sectors, including tea, horticulture and manufactured goods, exposing the country to commodity price fluctuations and global demand shifts. The new framework seeks to address these structural weaknesses by promoting value addition, supporting manufacturing growth and strengthening export diversification into new products and markets.
What's New in the Bill
To support exporters with market intelligence and regulatory information, the Bill proposes the creation of a National Trade Portal that will integrate licensing data, trade requirements and export opportunities into a single digital platform aimed at improving transparency and efficiency in trade processes.
The legislation also introduces new governance structures, including a National Trade Council tasked with guiding trade policy and overseeing implementation of national trade strategies, as well as a National Trade Development Academyto build capacity in exports, trade facilitation and digital commerce.
Crucially, the framework seeks to strengthen coordination between national and county governments in trade facilitation, local industrial development and export promotion. Counties are expected to play a larger role in supporting value chains linked to agriculture, manufacturing and emerging digital trade opportunities.
Improving coordination between national and devolved trade institutions could help unlock regional export potential, particularly for county-based industries targeting East African Community and African Continental Free Trade Area markets.
Public participation on the Bill is currently underway across several counties and will run until February 11, 2026.
