Kenya Takes 1,200 Entrepreneurs to Rwanda as MSMEs Seek Bigger Markets

Kenya is sending more than 1,200 entrepreneurs to Kigali, Rwanda, for a regional trade fair aimed at helping small businesses reach new customers, build partnerships and expand beyond the local market.

The delegation will participate in the 26th East African Community Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) Trade Fair, scheduled to run from October 30 to November 8, 2026, at the Gikondo Expo Grounds in Kigali.

The Kenyan exhibits caravan was officially flagged off on Sunday at the Micro and Small Enterprises Authority (MSEA) Kariobangi Centre of Excellence in Nairobi, with the government saying the event would give local enterprises an opportunity to promote their products across East Africa.

Principal Secretary for MSME Development Susan Mang’eni said the exhibition was part of longstanding efforts to strengthen economic ties between countries in the region by encouraging them to exchange goods and build on their competitive advantages.

“If we can exchange value from our various competitive advantages, our agricultural productivity and our industrial competence, then we could stay together as brothers and sisters and, of course, in harmony, prosper together and deepen our regional integration,” Mang’eni said.

The PS said businesses participating in the exhibition would showcase locally manufactured products, with the aim of increasing trade in goods produced within East Africa.

She added that the event would also give partner states an opportunity to discuss barriers that make it difficult for businesses to trade across borders.

Mang’eni said the annual exhibition includes symposiums where participants discuss challenges affecting regional commerce, particularly non-tariff barriers.

The government will support 600 Kenyan entrepreneurs to attend the exhibition, while more than 600 others are expected to participate from the diaspora and neighbouring countries.

MSEA Chief Executive Officer Henry Rithaa said the authority had completed preparations and coordinated the collection of products from businesses across the country.

“We are taking 600 serious MSME business people to the other side, through the trucks that you see here. And we have another slightly above 600, Madam PS, from the diaspora and those who are going directly,” Rithaa said.

He added that four trucks had been used to collect products from different parts of Kenya for the exhibition.

“From an organisation point of view, we have done everything as planned, and I believe that we are set for a very successful trade fair,” he said.

This year’s exhibition will focus on advancing regional value chains in leather and horticulture, sectors that provide opportunities for entrepreneurs to increase production and reach new markets.

The Kigali event is expected to give Kenyan businesses an opportunity to showcase their products, seek buyers and establish partnerships that could help them compete in the wider East African market.

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