Kenya Leather Development Council (KLDC) CEO Charles Ndung'u has claimed the need for more investment in the local leather industry. As Kenyan-made leather footwear allegedly accounts for only 3.3 million pairs of the 42 million pairs bought locally, there are significant business opportunities that can be explored while turning leather into finished goods.

The East African nation has the third largest number of livestock in Africa, and such an abundance of raw materials carries potential for the country to become an important exporter of finished leather goods.

The local industry, mainly focusing on exports of unprocessed or semi-processed goods, is highly subject to global price variations. To move away from this situation, the Kenya Leather Development Council claims more investments in the leather sector.

Kenya’s authorities have held meetings and presentations with potential international investors in the leather and textile sectors. Incentives such as zero-rate import and excise duty were discussed.