Nairobi, Kenya 26^th June 2023

Today we played host to a delegation from the Kenya Association of Manufacturers led by the Board Director, Legal and Regulatory Committee Mr. Rajan Malde at ACA headquarter offices in Nairobi. The purpose of the meeting was to discuss ways of strengthening collaboration between two organizations in the fight against counterfeit trade among others.

The Kenya Association of Manufacturers (KAM) has been at the forefront of advocating for policy and legal reforms to protect the manufacturing sector members from the scourges of trade in counterfeit products that are threating their profitability and sustainability.

Welcoming the guests, the Anti-Counterfeit Authority Executive Director Dr. Robi Njoroge Mbugua recognized the KAM for their policy advocacy in the fight against counterfeiting and illicit trade in the country. He welcomed the initiative for reinvigorating the existing collaboration between government agencies and the private sector in the face of emerging challenges.

“The authority will continue to maintain an open-door policy to work together with all partners. By working together in partnerships, we can bring unique insights to the problem and help to develop a multi-faceted response to face this menace”, added Dr. Robi.

The KAM Secretariat Executive Officer Anti-Counterfeiting &Illicit Trade, Mr. Joseph Wairiuko recognized ACA for the significant efforts in the fight against counterfeit and illicit trade over the last few years. He added that while much was expected from the government, the Authority had played a great role in controlling the proliferation of both sub-standard and counterfeit that affected fair trading practices and saved consumers from the health and safety risks posed by counterfeit products.

KAM Board Director & Legal and Regulatory Committee Chair, Rajan Malde called for enhanced collaboration in enforcement and protection of members against counterfeit trade. He also called for increased public education and consumer awareness to cut the demand for counterfeit products.

Among the deliberations of the meeting was the resumption of multi-agency enforcement activities and renewal of national consumer campaigns through joint outreach activities. Both parties also agreed to enhance information and statistics sharing to enable informed decision making.

“ACA is embarking on renewed strategy that uses technology for proactive enforcement. We have implementing the IPR Recordation system to deter importation of counterfeit products into the country. We call on stakeholders to collaborate as we use the innovative technology”. Added Dr Robi Mbugua.

According to the baseline study on the extend of counterfeiting and illicit trade, the value of illicit trade was estimated to be Ksh 726 billion in 2017 and grew up to Sh830 billion in 2018. Currently it is estimated to have grown over Ksh 1 trillion. The Kenya Association of Manufacturers (KAM) estimates that 40% of their market share is lost annually due to counterfeits, with estimates of Ksh 30 billion (US$ 42 million) per year.