The Kenya Export Promotion and Branding Agency (KEPROBA) paid a courtesy call to the Embassy of Ireland to explore on potential areas of collaboration. The objectives of the visit were to:
- Get to learn & identify key priority areas for the Embassy of Ireland.
- Establish collaboration and possible areas of engagement.
- Understand each other's strengths and assessing compatibility.
- Conduct a formal introduction and dissemination of information on the agency’s key activities.
Kenya’s exports to Ireland rose to USD 43.49 million in 2022 from US$21.84 million during the 2021 period further signifying that there is potential for export growth to the Irish market through product diversification.
Key programmes under the Embassy of Ireland
- Ireland Kenya Agrifood Strategy (IKAFS)
The Ireland-Kenya Agri-Food Strategy 2017-2021 (IKAFS) was introduced in 2017 with the intention of fusing Ireland's goals for trade promotion, institutional linkage building, and development of cooperation in agri-food to the mutual benefit of Kenya and Ireland. In 2022, the strategy's initial phase ended.
The next five-year agri-food strategy will be developed by the Irish Embassy and will include an integrated food systems approach and serve as a roadmap for achieving Ireland and Kenya's top development targets. Imani was hired as a programme design and management professional to create and guide the creation of a results-driven Agri-Food strategy through a collaborative and evidence-based methodology.
The embassy is in the second phase of implementing the strategy through activities such as:
a) A Potato Capacity Building project.
b) A Catalytic Impact for Dairy Sector Growth project.
c) Building co-operatives.
2. Africa Agrifoods Development Program Fund (AADP).
The goal of the AADP is to create partnerships between the Irish agri-food sector and African nations in order to promote local food industry growth that is sustainable, create markets for regional produce, and promote commerce between Ireland and Africa.