NAIROBI, April 3 (Xinhua) -- Kenya on Wednesday launched the 2024 Manufacturing Priority Agenda that seeks to boost the country's industrialization drive.

Juma Mukhwana, principal secretary in the Ministry of Investments, Trade and Industry, told journalists in Nairobi, the capital of Kenya, that the four-point manufacturing agenda provides a roadmap to increase the contribution of the manufacturing sector from 7.8 percent of the gross domestic product (GDP) to 20 percent by the year 2030.

"One of the pillars of the agenda is to advocate for the availability of affordable electricity and fuel which affects the competitiveness of the manufacturing sector," Mukhwana said.

He noted that the manufacturing policy agenda prioritizes the use of export-led industrialization through value addition of the country's agricultural exports.

Rajan Shah, chairman of the Kenya Association of Manufacturing (KAM), noted that small and medium enterprises (SMEs), which are central to Kenya's industrialization agenda, will also be promoted through access to markets and finance.

Shah added that the policy agenda has also identified 32 agricultural value chains involving crops such as oil seeds, species and dairy that will be prioritized for investments due to their positive effects in terms of job creation. Enditem

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