The Kenyan Government, through the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Cooperatives, has underlined the importance of financial capital to address challenges affecting industrialization to critical pillars such as energy supply and infrastructure that are enablers to industrialization that have been at the forefront of government and private sector financing.
Speaking in Vienna, Austria Tuesday, Cabinet Secretary for Industry, Trade and Cooperatives, Adan Mohamed said Kenya is open to increasing its budgetary allocations to eliminate challenges that have impeded Africa’s industrial growth in the past.
“Kenya, like a majority of developing countries, relies heavily on income generated in industry related sectors. With this in mind, it is prudent to increase efforts to amplify our capacity as a continent. We have developed strategies that will accelerate immediate short and long-term sustainable industrial growth,” said CS Mohamed.
United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO) is marking its 50th anniversary of the and the beginning of the Third Industrial Decade for Africa that highlights financial investment as a critical component for the implementation of key industrial projects in Africa.
The critical development challenges are recognized in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, within the Sustainable Development Goal 9 (SDG9), calling to build resilient infrastructure, promote sustainable industrialization and foster innovation on a global scale.
“We urge UNIDO, who have been instrumental in assisting emerging economies, to continue their support with the implementation of the 2nd phase of Programmes for Country Partnership (PCP) that will support individual Least Developed Countries (LDC’s) industrial progression and strengthen inclusive business cooperation across the continent,” said CS Mohamed.
Kenya has been active in its efforts to improving its industrial capacity to compete favorably on the global scale. Regulatory reforms in key sectors; Infrastructure Development and Technology upgrade are among areas that the country has been keen on to realize its industrial potential.
With Africa being ranked the second fastest-growing continent at 3.7% a year, and an expected GDP rise to over 4% by 2017, the continent has the potential to double its growth rate by 2030 with specific focus on industrial capacity building.
A report conducted by UNIDO this year on Industrialization has played a crucial role in supporting the design of the G20 Initiative on supporting Industrialization in Africa that will allow governments to take ownership of their country’s industrialization efforts.