Nairobi, Kenya – Tuesday October 7, 2025: Kenya’s Deputy President, Professor Kithure Kindiki, has called on regional leaders and the private sector to accelerate digital integration, value addition, and innovation-driven trade to strengthen competitiveness and inclusive growth across the COMESA region.

Speaking at the official opening of the 18th COMESA Business Forum in Nairobi, the Deputy President said the region’s future lies in “bold and practical collaboration between the public and private sectors” to unlock opportunities through technology and industrial transformation.

He noted that digitalization remains central to unlocking intra-African trade, reducing non-tariff barriers, and creating new economic opportunities for youth and women.

“Digital transformation creates a more dynamic business environment, including promoting initiatives like the system of Electronic Certificate of Origin and smart border concepts to facilitate the flow of goods and services,” said Prof. Kindiki.

The Deputy President emphasized that Kenya, which assumes the Chairmanship of COMESA during the ongoing Summit, will champion a new era of regional integration focused on using digital tools to deepen value chains and enhance competitiveness.

“The goal is to move beyond the export of raw materials and create more sophisticated, higher-value products that can be traded within the region and globally. This approach also seeks to create more opportunities for (SMEs) businesses led by the youth and women within the agricultural value chains,” he said.

COMESA Secretary General, Chileshe Mpundu Kapwepwe, hailed the Forum as a milestone moment in the region’s integration journey.

“We celebrate a remarkable milestone—over 30 years of COMESA regional integration since our founding in December 1994. Over these three decades, our achievements include steadily growing intra-COMESA trade to almost $14 billion and innovating trade facilitation tools like the Regional Customs Guarantee Scheme and Yellow Card System, which have become continental standards,” he said.

Dr. Hassan Kibeya, Burundi’s Minister for Trade and Industry and Chairperson of the COMESA Council of Ministers, highlighted the need for faster implementation of trade facilitation protocols to expand intra-regional commerce. He noted that COMESA’s new digital trade systems — including the e-Certificate of Origin — could cut transaction costs by up to 30 percent.

Kenya’s Cabinet Secretary for Investments, Trade and Industry, Hon. Lee Kinyanjui, reaffirmed Kenya’s commitment to driving policy reforms that strengthen regional competitiveness.

“The recommendations that will emerge from this forum will not remain as mere words but will be distilled into the COMESA Business Declaration, which will be presented at the 24th COMESA Summit of the Heads of State and Government,” he said.

The 18th COMESA Business Forum has brought together over 300 policymakers, private sector leaders, and development partners from across the region and beyond. Running alongside the Forum is a multi-sectoral trade exhibition, showcasing innovations from across COMESA’s 21 Member States.

The outcomes of the Forum will inform the 2025 COMESA Business Declaration, to be presented to the 24th COMESA Heads of State and Government Summit on 9 October.