Governors pledge support for County Industrial Parks in push for local manufacturing

COG Chair and Wajir Governor Ahmed Abdullahi has said county governments are ready to partner with the national government in industrialising Kenya through County Aggregation and Industrial Parks.

Speaking on Thursday, during the signing of the Agreement on Establishment of County Aggregation and Industrial Parks ceremony at the State House, he said all 34 counties have committed to co-funding and urged focus on operationalising facilities to support small-scale industries and local manufacturing growth.

The governor praised the initiative, saying it had revived the long-standing vision of decentralised industrial development across the country.

He noted that the industrial parks initiative reflects earlier economic ideas that had not been fully realised, but which are now being revived through government policy.

Abdullahi highlighted that the programme had created a renewed hope that every part of the country could participate in industrial development, particularly through infrastructure placed in counties rather than concentrated in major urban centres.

“It has integrated hope that every part of this country can industrialise, Your Excellency, when you visit our counties, and you see these types in most counties, they're the biggest industrial estates that you see, just in the same way that the affordable housing that we have has now become the biggest estate that exists in most of our countries,” he stated.

The County Aggregation and Industrial Parks (CAIPs) programme is a national government flagship initiative under the Bottom-Up Economic Transformation Agenda (BETA) designed to industrialise agriculture and expand manufacturing across Kenya’s counties.

It was launched as a joint national and county government programme, with rollout beginning around 2023–2024, and has since moved into implementation and construction phases across the country.

The initiative is intended to establish industrial parks in all 47 counties, with about 39 currently under development and at least 18 already under construction in the first phases of rollout.

Its main purpose is to create hubs where farmers, SMEs, and cooperatives can aggregate, process, store, and add value to agricultural produce, reducing post-harvest losses and increasing farmer incomes. It also aims to promote exports, support SMEs, and create jobs through agro-processing and light manufacturing.

Early implementation has begun in counties including Meru, Kisumu, Nakuru, Uasin Gishu, Bungoma, Nyeri, and Kilifi, among others, with the long-term goal of ensuring every county hosts at least one fully equipped industrial park linked to local value chains.

Wajir Governor added that governors were committed to working with the national government to ensure the success of the programme and the broader goal of industrial transformation.

“As governors, we are ready to partner with you in industrialising this country today,” he said.

Abdullahi further disclosed that significant progress had already been made in terms of participation and financing across the country’s devolved units.

“18 counties had already signed, all 34 counties have contributed their co-funding and have fully received the national government funding, and in many places are now fully orchestrated,” he highlighted.

He noted that the next critical stage would be ensuring that the industrial parks are fully functional and able to support small and medium-scale enterprises through shared infrastructure and services.

“What we now need to think through together, is the operationalisation on the common user facilities that are needed, so that small scale industries can have sets where they can be incubated,” he added.

The COG Chair emphasized that successful implementation of the programme would help unlock local manufacturing potential, create jobs, and strengthen county economies by decentralising industrial activity.

He noted that governors were appreciative of the government’s efforts in driving economic transformation and reaffirmed their readiness to continue supporting national development priorities.

The County Aggregation and Industrial Parks initiative is expected to serve as a key pillar in Kenya’s broader strategy to boost manufacturing, reduce unemployment, and promote balanced regional development through county-based economic zones.