Kenya and Ghana are looking towards increased bilateral trade under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) through a market entry expedition in Nairobi.
Dubbed 'Ghana Expo 2023 – Kenya', the showcase aims at facilitating Ghanaian businesses' entry into the East by providing an opportunity for selected Ghanaian companies to explore trade and investment prospects in Kenya.
The expo has been organised by the Ghana National AfCFTA Coordination Office in collaboration with the Ghana Export Promotion Authority (GEPA), to take place from 23rd-27th May at the Sarit Expo Center.
As part of the expo, the Ghana Trade House (GTH) has also been officially launched.
In late March this year, Ghana had announced its plans to boost its business relations with Kenya by tapping into the AfCFTA through the setting up of an Export Trade House (ETH).
According to Damptey Asare, Ghana's high commissioner to Kenya, the expo and the trade house will provide a platform for promoting Ghana products to the East African market, using Kenya as the gateway.
"The Expo will also provide an avenue for Ghanaian businesses to plug into value chain opportunities in East Africa and vice versa," Asare said.
The move is in line with the continental commitment to making intra-Africa trade through the AfCFTA a reality.
In September last year, Kenya shipped its first consignment of locally made batteries to Ghana, two months after it was picked among seven countries to pilot the continental free trade area that seeks to unlock the movement of goods and services in Africa.
Kenya Exports to Ghana was $10.3 million (Sh1.4 billion) in 2021, according to the United Nations COMTRADE database on international trade.
The main products that Ghana exported to Kenya in the same period were Cocoa Powder, Rubber and Other live plants, cuttings and slips, mushroom spawn.
The initiative looks to further the trade as a total of 70 Ghanaian and 20 Kenyan businesses will be participating in the expo.
They will be representing sectors such as agro-processing, beverages, cosmetics, ceramics, cocoa processing, garments, textile, roofing sheets, services, craft, leather, and pharmaceutical.
The Expo will feature a business-to-business engagement format, meetings with business associations, seminars and presentations on strengthening trade relations between Ghana and Kenya.