Support for Local Brands will Build Kenya’s Manufacturing and Industry
By Rajul Malde
In his 1974 book, Africa, the Next 30 Years, the late Kenyan academician, Professor Ali Mazrui lamented the paradox of Africa producing what it does not consume and consuming what it does not produce. He was concerned with the trend of African countries exporting large quantities of raw materials and natural resources, but then importing finished products made from those very resources, but at a higher cost.
Mazrui, and many other scholars who came after him have shown how the continent is not fully benefiting from its own natural riches due to inadequate domestic processing and manufacturing capabilities.
And today, 50 years later, a new confusion has been added to the paradox, with buyers preferring imported products, on the assumption that they are of better quality, even when there’s evidence confirming this not to be always the case. Take for instance the textiles industry.
As of 1974, when Mazrui was writing his book, Kenya’s cotton sector was thriving, with nearly 300,000 farmers growing the crop. However, the hype continued to be about imported suits and dresses. As a result, the same cotton produced in the country would find itself abroad, where it was sewn into suits and sent back for the growing elites and middle class to buy at higher prices than locally-made garments. Eventually, the developed countries found other ways of accessing cotton and other cloth fibres, while still retaining the market for finished products in Africa. Today, the bulk of clothes worn in Kenya comes from abroad, majorly in second-hand bales, or as new mass-produced brands from mostly China. As a result, the local cotton industry has rapidly collapsed as have many opportunities for local designers and brands.
Of course there is the aspect of affordability, with exporting countries like China having huge potential to bulk produce cheaper but low-quality products, but which have captured the market due to the increasing number of low-income earners across Africa.
Thankfully, the status quo cannot be maintained forever. Indeed, a reawakening is happening around Africa, with young people getting enlightened on the need for building and supporting local industry. The realization has been that the continent has the capacity to produce nearly all raw materials required for critical items and that with the expansion of local manufacturing, new jobs and other economic opportunities can be harnessed.
At Pwani Oil, we know this to be true; we have seen a radical transformation in Kilifi, where we are based, as farmers of oil crops and many of the raw materials that we use find a new, profitable and accessible market within their localities. At the same time, many new jobs have been created in our plants and around our product value chains.
Yet we are nowhere near exhausting the opportunities available in the country. For example, we are only one of a handful of companies that are producing cooking oil in Kenya, and our output meets just 9% of the national demand. This leaves a 91% gap of opportunities that is fully bridged by imports from countries like Malaysia, Indonesia and Singapore.
Meanwhile, the Buy Kenya, Build Kenya slogan, introduced six years ago by the government of Kenya, remains the hallmark of the movement that will transform the country’s prospects. We have come to a time when we must realize that spending that extra coin on a local product is the foundation of a journey for the growth of local industry to such levels that it can eventually compete with imports in price points. All that is now required is unilateral support from customers, whose patronage will drive a thriving market for local products.
The writer is the head of commercialization at Pwani Oil Products Limited
