Players in the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) have urged the government to formulate strong import related policies to protect local manufacturers from unfair competition. The investors decried that the influx of cheap imports was a major impediment to their operations expressing fears that the trend could negatively affect the economy and eventually see the country lose its competitive edge in the global market.
Speaking in Nyeri during a public participation exercise held to review the draft MSME Policy and MSME amendment Bill of 2025, the entrepreneurs asked the government to put in place laws that will promote local manufacturers to produce high quality products that meet international standards.
They also want the government to protect local businesses from unfair competition occasioned by influx of cheap imports in the market. "We import almost everything but instead of doing this we should be utilizing our ties with manufacturing giants like China to sensitize our local manufacturers on how to improve the quality of our products to attain the global standards or even opening up our country to investors so that they can set up industries in the country. "We should also come up with a policy that bans importation of goods that can be manufactured locally as a way of giving an opportunity to our local industries to thrive," said James Mugo, a Jua kali artisan from Kirinyaga.
His sentiments were echoed by Kariuki Muriuki from Nyandarua who challenged the national governments and county governments to partner and establish decent infrastructures that foster entrepreneurship.
