The Anti-Counterfeit Authority (ACA) participated in the two-day Eldoret International Business Summit 2026, held at the New Rupa Grounds in Eldoret, where government institutions, private sector leaders, investors, entrepreneurs and development partners gathered to explore opportunities for trade, investment, innovation and economic growth.

Held under the theme “Gateway to Africa’s Trade, Innovation and Economic Future,” the fourth edition of the Summit unfolded across two days of sector sessions, exhibitions and stakeholder dialogue. Day one centred on the official opening and thematic discussions on regional trade and investment, while day two gave exhibitors and the public deeper access to the exhibition floor, where ACA and other institutions engaged directly with visitors. Across both days, the Summit examined Eldoret’s multiple identities as a commercial centre, an agricultural hub, a renowned sporting city, and a major transit corridor linking Kenya to Uganda and the wider East African region and what each of these means for protecting legitimate trade.

During the Summit, ACA contributed to the Sector Session on Regional Trade Integration, where Eldoret Regional Manager Peter Wanjala represented the Authority as a panelist. The session, moderated by Nancy Muthoni, brought together representatives from KenTrade, the Export Processing Zones Authority (EPZA), Tsavo, CEO Reale and St. Luke’s to discuss ways of enhancing regional trade, strengthening cross-border collaboration and creating an enabling environment for businesses. Mr. Wanjala highlighted the importance of intellectual property protection in promoting fair competition, safeguarding consumers and encouraging innovation. He noted that combating counterfeit trade is critical to protecting consumers from unsafe products, preserving the competitiveness of legitimate businesses and building confidence among investors and traders.

Beyond the boardroom discussions, Eldoret’s identity as one of Kenya’s premier sporting cities gave the Summit an added dimension. The city’s reputation as home to world-class athletes and a magnet for sports tourism means large, diverse crowds regularly pass through, an audience ACA leveraged through its exhibition booth to widen the reach of its consumer awareness message beyond the usual business and trade circles. Visitors to the booth, including business owners, entrepreneurs, farmers and members of the public, were sensitised on how to identify counterfeit products, report suspected cases and understand the health, safety and economic risks associated with illicit trade, messaging tailored to reach a cross-section of the public rather than industry insiders alone.

The engagement was particularly significant given agriculture’s central place in Eldoret’s economy. As a hub for the wider North Rift breadbasket region, Eldoret’s marketplaces handle a high volume of agricultural inputs and produce, making farmers especially vulnerable to counterfeit seeds, fertilisers, pesticides and other fake agro-inputs that can devastate yields and livelihoods. ACA used the platform to sensitise farmers directly on identifying genuine products and reporting suspected counterfeits, reinforcing that IP protection is not only a trade or consumer issue but an agricultural one with direct bearing on food security in the region. As a gateway to Uganda and the wider East African Community, Eldoret sits at a strategic point where cross-border trade volumes are high, goods moving along this route need to be genuine both for consumers within Kenya and for the region’s trading partners, and porous cross-border movement can become a channel for counterfeit goods without coordinated oversight between agencies on both sides of the border. This makes regional collaboration a recurring theme in ACA’s engagement at the Summit.

ACA’s participation in the Eldoret International Business Summit 2026 demonstrates its commitment to integrating anti-counterfeit initiatives into national and regional trade conversations, while strengthening partnerships that promote fair competition and consumer protection across businesses, sports, agriculture and cross-border trade alike.

Through continued public awareness, stakeholder engagement and collaboration with government and private sector players, ACA remains committed to fostering a marketplace where innovation is protected, legitimate businesses thrive and consumers can make informed purchasing decisions.