KenTrade’s new Business Intelligence (BI) Tool has released its first import and export report, which indicates that Kenya’s export earnings for 2021 went up by 17 percent to Sh666.7 billion compared to Sh567.4 billion in 2020 due to the strengthening of the dollar.
Recently, KenTrade invested Sh 90 million in the tool to extract and analyze real-time data on international trade. This was out of the increasing importance of economic data in global trade. The tool is assisting government organizations and trade facilitators in making data-driven decisions.
“In the past, the TradeNet System’s report generating functions had limits, and it was necessary to improve reports and gather data, particularly for cross-border trade. For better decision-making and efficiency, we have also observed a need to harness extra pertinent data from stakeholder systems,” Amos Wangora, Chief Executive Officer of KenTrade said.
The tool became live on June 30, 2022 and was funded by TradeMark East Africa (TMEA). It will offer more analytical and complicated reports at a cost to support the Business Intelligence, Data Warehousing, and the Integration Layer, IL infrastructure. The Mombasa Port and Northern Corridor Community Charter (MPNCCC)-related reports will be uploaded to its website.
KenTrade has in recent years become a major trade enabler. Kenya TradeNet System was launched by the East African Community (EAC) regional Heads of States in Nairobi in May 2014.
It was recently anchored on a strong legal foundation following the signing of the National Electronic Single Window System (National Assembly Bill No. 15 of 2021) into law by former president of Kenya Mr. Uhuru Kenyatta on June 21, 2022.
The tool has enhanced better visibility of MPNCCC for improved decision-making and efficiency. The system will address the challenge of limitations of report generation features on the TradeNet System.
“We have also seen a need to harness additional relevant data from stakeholders’ systems for improved decision making and efficiency,” Mr. Wangora explained.
The BI tool will also help the agency visualize internal and external strengths and weaknesses, detect opportunities for more innovation and will be instrumental in the agency’s goal of reducing the cost of doing business in Kenya, Mr. Wangora explained.
KenTrade currently interfaces with 38 Partner Government Agencies, banks, and insurance firms. The launch of the BI comes when KenTrade has upgraded its system to enhance its users’ experience.
The government collects over US$22.19 million through the system per year, with most Government agencies recording double-digit growth in revenue, according to Mr. Wangora.
The System has recorded over 14,000 users, registered with 41 stakeholder organisations, drawn from both public and private sectors. To date, the system has implemented all the Modules that were envisaged on the Kenya TradeNet System.
Other Trade Facilitation tools by Kenya TradeNet System include the Information for Trade in Kenya (InfoTradeKenya) System, which was launched in 2017.
The Watchlist Screening (i-ScreenKenya) was first introduced in March 2019 before upgrading to enable the trading community and other stakeholders to access and search for information about their potential trading partners.
Kenya Maritime Authority (KMA) and KenTrade were given the responsibility of overseeing the implementation of the FAL agreement through the automation of passenger and ship clearance procedures which entailed enhancing the existing Kenya TradeNet System to cater to Maritime Single Window functions. The system went live in July 2021.
The Electronic Single Window System is one of the key trade and transport facilitation instruments prioritized by most of the EAC partner states to improve the ease of doing business environment and to enhance intra-regional trade in East Africa. Other countries that have implemented the electronic Single window system are Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi and the United Republic of Tanzania.