Kenya and UNCTAD to champion global trade

Kenya and the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) will work together to champion matters on global trade and development.

President William Ruto and UNCTAD Secretary-General Rebeca Grynspan agreed that was a promising path to growth.

This, they added, was also key to integration and uplifting developing countries.

The UNCTAD Secretary-General said the agency will launch its African Report in Nairobi in August.

The report will, among other things, assess Kenya’s e-commerce level. The two spoke at a meeting in Geneva, Switzerland.

President Ruto had earlier Thursday addressed the International Labour Organisation World of Work Summit.

He said Kenya has the financial infrastructure to support e-commerce.

The President said Kenya’s global leadership places it in a unique position to drive the growth of e-commerce.

“Kenyans are tech-savvy and online financial services have moved the bankable population from a low of about 30 per cent to about 80 per cent,” he said.

This foundation, he noted, had enabled the government to move thousands of services online.

The government, President Ruto explained, has been onboarding public services online. In September last year, only 320 government services were online.

“Since then, more than 4,000 services have gone online and will hit the 5,000-mark by the end of June, ” the President said.

The government’s programme to install 25,000 WiFi hotspots at markets and urban centres is also on course.