MITI Presents 2026 Budget Policy Statement, Calls for Strategic Resourcing to Accelerate Export-Led Growth and Industrial Transformation
The Ministry of Investments, Trade and Industry presented the 2026 Budget Policy Statement before the Parliamentary Departmental Committee on Trade, Industry and Cooperatives.
Cabinet Secretary Lee Kinyanjui, accompanied by Principal Secretary for Trade Regina Ombam and Principal Secretary for Investment Promotion Abubakar Hassan, alongside Chief Executive Officers of State Corporations led the Ministry’s engagement with the Parliamentary Departmental Committee.
The Cabinet Secretary highlighted the Ministry’s central role in driving job creation, wealth generation, export growth and investment facilitation, underscoring the need to align budgetary allocations with Kenya’s broader economic transformation agenda.
He noted that adequate and predictable resourcing is critical to delivering on the Ministry’s mandate, particularly in a rapidly evolving global trade environment where competitiveness, resilience and industrial capacity are key.
The Ministry’s strategic priorities include:
* Driving export growth, targeting sustained 10 percent annual expansion by deepening market access under regional frameworks such as EAC, COMESA and AfCFTA, while leveraging strategic agreements including the Kenya–EU Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA), the Kenya–UAE Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA), the China Early Harvest Arrangement and the extended African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) framework with the United States to anchor Kenya within regional and global value chains.
* Advancing investment reforms, including implementation of the National Investment Strategy and strengthening ease of doing business frameworks to raise private investment from 15 percent of GDP to 20 percent by 2027 and 24 percent by 2030.
* Spearheading industrial transformation by increasing manufacturing’s contribution to GDP from 7.2 percent to 15 percent by 2027 and 20 percent by 2030 through the rollout of County Aggregation and Industrial Parks (CAIPs), leather value chain reform, local automotive development, strengthened standards infrastructure and green industrialisation initiatives.