The business community in Kisumu now wants the region to explore value addition for products that can be exported to other regions and countries for the county to earn revenue.
The traders want a change in the way industrial development is approached in Kisumu.
"The government should also focus on putting up value addition industries that target fish, beans, horticulture and mangoes which we can easily export because we have an airport," said Israel Agina, Kisumu Business Coalition Chairperson said on Tuesday.
Mr Agina cautiously welcomed the President Uhuru Kenyatta's promise to revive Kisumu Cotton Mills (KICOMI) but urged him to do more for the region.
The community feels politicians have been using the revival of industries in Kisumu as a bait to lure voters but are not keen on reviving the industry to provide employment to the many unemployed youth.
"I want to believe that President Kenyatta consulted with experts who gave him sound advice in reviving the named industries," said Agina.
Some people have been proposing that textile industries should be replaced with another viable venture that can employ thousands of residents of Kisumu.
The business community termed corruption, high cost of power, bureaucracy and the poor state of roads as some of the issues affecting the cost of doing business in the region.
“These issues can easily be sorted out through consultation between the government and the business community,” said Agina.