Stakeholders call for Continuous Mapping mechanism at Report Validation Forum

There is need for continuous mapping  and geolocation of Industries to keep an up to database and directory for the country.
A stakeholders validation meeting to review and give input to the Report of the Industrial Mapping and Geo-Location of industries, for Nairobi City County, was told to device a regular mechanism for these updates, with participants lauding the report’s comprehensiveness.
The draft report examined 1,241 manufacturing facilities, mining operations, and utility installations spanning 11 sub-counties.The findings revealed Nairobi as a significant manufacturing hub, with an impressive 98.5% of surveyed industries actively producing goods ranging from textiles to technology products. 
Starehe Sub-County emerged as the industrial epicenter, accommodating 38% of all manufacturing operations and serving as the city's primary production zone. 
Industry PS Dr. Juma Mukhwana, whose speech was read by Industrialization Secretary, Prof. Erastus Gatebe, noted that the contribution of the manufacturing sector to GDP has fundamentally stagnated at an average rate of 7.45% for the last decade. 

This is despite the implementation of various policy initiatives aimed at stimulating and deepening the growth and development of the industrial sector in Kenya as envisaged in the Bottom-Up Economic Transformational Agenda (The BETA Plan). 
He reiterated the government's commitment to revitalizing industrial growth, through targeted investments particularly in agriculture, textiles, leather, and construction, with an emphasis on value addition and import substitution.
Professor Gatebe lauded and the team for their dedication, noting that the validation exercise will pave the way for the development of a comprehensive online industrial database and a geo-database of all industries. 
He has also said that the validation will enable the production of a State of Manufacturing Report and a Report of Assessment  of manufacturing opportunities for industrial growth.
The mapping exercise was funded by the World Bank, through the Kenya Industry and Entrepreneurship Project (KIEP) and was undertaken by the State Department for Industry in collaboration with Kenya Industrial Estates (KIE) and the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS).
The comprehensive exercise marks the beginning of a nationwide industrial mapping initiative, with the other 46 counties scheduled for similar evaluations. 
At the validation event, were representatives of the World Bank, KIEP,KIE, KNBS, Kenya Association of Manufacturers (KAM), Kenya National Chamber of Commerce and Industries (KNCCI), Nairobi City County, Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA), MSEA, KIPI, KEBS, NMC, KENAS, among others.