Dubai Exports sharpens focus on fast-growing East African markets

(Press Release) – Dubai Exports, the export promotion agency of the Department of Economic Development in Dubai, is leading a

Engineer Saed Al Awadi, Chief Executive Officer of Dubai Exports
Engineer Saed Al Awadi, Chief Executive Officer of Dubai Exports

trade mission to Kenya in a bid to further strengthen bilateral exchanges and connect more and more UAE businesses to the promising East African markets. The five-day mission will include conferences, business-to-business (B2B) meetings and site visits in the Kenyan cities of Nairobi and Mombasa.

Political stability and competitive human capital along with a strong agricultural sector and transport infrastructure have enabled Kenya to lead the East African Community (EAC) by way of a 40% GDP share. In 2014 Kenya was ranked 136 by the World Bank in the Ease of Doing Business and 133 in Trade Across Borders.

In Mombasa the Dubai Exports mission organised a business forum together with the local government, supported by the UAE embassy in Kenya. A series of meetings with senior officials, buyers, and government agencies was also organised and field visits conducted to a number of companies in Nairobi and Mombasa. More than 100 B2B meetings were also held as part of familiarising UAE companies with government tenders and export procedures.

“We are delighted to be partners with Dubai Exports in organising this event, which indeed is a strategic opportunity to highlight export opportunities for UAE companies. Kenya is regarded as the fast growing in Africa in light of the economic boom in the region around us,” said His Excellency Ali Hassan Joho, Governor of Mombasa.

“We will support the UAE companies and seek to learn from their experiences in the fields of quality of service and speed of delivery. We are striving to develop our investment infrastructure in Mombasa to facilitate such partnerships, and we thank Dubai Exports and the UAE Government for their continued co-operation through these forums and initiatives to promote our bilateral relations,” His Excellency added.

The mission includes UAE companies from the industrial, food, trade, construction, metals and commodities, security and safety sectors as well as clean energy companies.

His Excellency Abdul Razak Mohamed Hadi, UAE Ambassador to Kenya, remarked that the trade mission is significant in the context of the growing bilateral relations between the UAE and Kenya as well as the strong prospects for further co-operation between the two countries.

“Organising such business gatherings for UAE companies complements the role of our embassy in Kenya, and we co-operate with the authorities concerned in Kenya to ensure their success,” said the Ambassador.

“Kenya is key to Dubai’s standing as a supply chain hub for Africa as well as to any effective strategy to tap East Africa. Connecting to Kenya will open up new possibilities for the growing number of manufacturers and exporters in the UAE who are looking towards emerging markets worldwide,” commented Engineer Saed Al Awadi, Chief Executive Officer of Dubai Exports.

“Widely acknowledged as the economic anchor and gateway to the expanding East African Community Kenya is also one of the UAE’s prominent trade partners in Africa. Exports and re-exports from Dubai to Kenya in 2014 were together worth more than AED3.2 billion, comprising petroleum products and automobiles to glass, cement and electrical goods,” said Al Awadi.

Al Awadi said the Dubai Exports Trade Mission will enable delegates to identify market opportunities in East Africa and connect with potential private and government partners.