EU Plans to Import North African Solar Power

Bridges Trade BioRes • Volume 10 • Number 12 • 25th June 2010

Gunther Oettinger, Europe’s Energy Commissioner, has announced that the EU is expected to begin importing hundreds of megawatts of solar energy from North Africa within the next five years. The Commissioner’s comments came following a 20 June meeting with Algerian, Tunisian, and Moroccan ministers aimed at moving the renewable energy initiative forward. Importing energy from arid regions south of the Mediterranean has been proposed by Brussels as one of several strategies for helping the EU to meet its long-term goal of decarbonising its economy.

The EU currently aims to have 20 percent of its total energy requirements come from renewable sources by 2020. To help meet this goal the EU is looking to import solar energy to supplement domestic renewable energy initiatives. The solar energy captured in northern African nations would be transmitted to Europe via an inter-connector - a high voltage cable that will run under the Mediterranean Sea.

Launched in July 2009, the Desertec Industrial Initiative, which comprises 12 companies including Siemens, Deutsche Bank and REW, is in the process of developing a plan for solar power development in northern Africa. The consortium will seek public funding for its projects. The EU has stated that it will assist with updating regulations to allow transmission across European borders, coordinating stakeholders and conducting feasibility studies. The consortium has yet to produce a business plan for the proposed projects.

“I think some models starting in the next 5 years will bring some hundreds of megawatts to the European market,” Oettinger told Reuters on Sunday after the meeting. The long-term vision for the project is to provide thousands of megawatts to Europe in the next 20-40 years. The project will require a projected investment of about €400 billion and will aim to provide 15 percent of EU electricity demand. Subsidies from the EU will not be considered until the consortium produces a business plan for the project but are expected to go towards the construction of the interconnector.

Because the cost of transmitting energy from North Africa will be significant, officials must first determine whether the costs are offset by the amount of green energy the EU will actually receive. Even if solar power plants in the Sahara exhibit much higher performance, there could be a significant energy loss in the transmission to the EU.

The ministers from Algeria, Tunisia, and Morocco have agreed they are ready to start trade negotiations. In response to past concerns from Algerian officials regarding the EU’s exploitation of North African resources, Oettinger responded in a Reuters interview by saying, “maybe a bigger percentage of the electricity will be exported to Europe but at the same time we have to export the technology, tools, machines, experts, and so it’s a real partnership, not only a partnership by selling and by buying.”

There are concerns over how the EU will ensure that the energy transmitted is, in fact, green energy, not cheap and dirty fossil fuels. Oettinger says the problem of monitoring must be resolved in the next couple of years.

China Reduces Tariffs on Imports from Kenya and Other States

According to the Africa Report, Kenya has now been included in the list of 41 countries enjoying reduced tariffs into China.  Other recipients are largely LDCs as agreed in the 4th Ministerial Conference of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation- Sharm El Sheikh Action Plan (2010-2012).

BEIJING (Reuters) - China is adding 33 states to the list of developing countries whose goods are largely exempt from import tariffs, the Ministry of Finance said on Wednesday. It said that from July 1 it would scrap tariffs on about 60 percent of imports from countries on the list, which include Ethiopia, Kenya, Liberia, Mali, Madagascar, the Comoros and the Democratic Republic of Congo. Burundi, Malawi, Mozambique, Benin, Togo, Uganda, Zambia, Central African Republic are also on the list. In Asia-Pacific, beneficiaries include Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Samoa and Vanuatu. Since 2001, China has had 41 countries on the zero-tariff list.

This is especially interesting especially because Kenya is not an LDC.

Further reports show that China would grant zero tariffs status to 4,762 categories of commodities.  China imports scrap metal, fruits, nuts sisal fibre, row hides and skins, fish, black tea, coffee, and leather wares from Kenya and scrapping tariffs on these produce means their cost will fall in China by between three to 30 per cent — the current range of the Asian country’s external tariffs.

According to other sources, the balance of trade between Kenya and China has worsened over the last five years in favour of the Asian countries. Official statistics indicate that while Kenya’s exports to China only grew at a snail pace from Sh1.2 billion in 2005 to Sh2.5 billion in 2009, imports have risen phenomenally to Sh74.5 billion from Sh19.4 billion in 2005.

Climate Change and Africa’s Food Deficit

"Africa is now facing the same type of long-term food deficit problem that India faced in the early 1960s". This is according to a Study by the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) which recommends that Africa should spend more on Agriculture in order to avert a possible crisis. Sub-Saharan Africa’s (SSA) food deficit is also increasingly compounded by climate change. In fact, one-third of the African population lives in drought-prone areas while two-thirds of SSA’s surface area is desert or dry land. The major impact of climate change on food security includes changes in precipitation and insulation, changes in the length of growing seasons and changes in carbon uptake. Additionally there are declines in agricultural yields, decline in the quality of pasture and livestock production, and reduced vegetation cover which place local people at risk of famine.

Climate change also affects rain-fed agriculture which is the main safety net of poor people in rural areas where agriculture employs about 70 percent of the population. The rain related challenges can either cause drought or floods and the maps shown (Source: World Bank Development Report 2010) indicates the countries likely to be affected by either.

Despite the fact that most people in SSA are engaged in agriculture, its productivity has stagnated for several years across the whole sub-region making the region a net food importer. In fact, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization’s (FAO) list for 2010 of Low-Income Food-Deficit Countries (LIFDC) - 44 of the 77 low income food deficit countries in the world are in Africa.

An example is the disappearance of Lake Chad over a 40 year period as shown in the image (source: GRID Arendal UNEP). Lake Chad is shared by Nigeria, Chad, Cameroon and Niger and its disappearance is a grim reminder of the dramatic ecological challenges and food shortages that lie ahead. The lake's area has decreased by 80 per cent over the last four decades, with catastrophic impacts on those reliant on its resources. Lake Victoria is receding as well and projected reductions in the rivers in the Nile region signal difficult times ahead. 

Another dimension is that of water, storage and infrastructure. Most rivers cross more than one country, necessitating effective cooperation across borders. Africa’s 63 transboundary river basins together account for 90 percent of its surface water resources necessitating regional water control systems.  Armed conflict further complicates agriculture and climate change risk management. For poor people living in weak or unstable states, climate change will deepen hunger, suffering, and intensify the risks of food insecurity, mass migration, violent conflict, and further fragility.

According to a World Bank Publication, by 2050, Sub-Saharan Africa will need to feed more people in a harsher climate. Agriculture will simply have to become more productive, getting more crop per drop while protecting ecosystems. Water resources need to be managed better by scaling up existing infrastructure to manage watersheds, rainfed agriculture and protecting forests. Improved planning for storage, power transmission, and irrigation including screening investments for climate risks will also be necessary. Countries will need to develop mechanisms for collaboration across sectors and countries.

There is a role for innovation and academic research institutions as well. This could be done by adopting simple technologies suitable for small farmers such as low-cost drip irrigation and storage of rainwater. African farmers should also be helped to work with new crop varieties. One example is "New Rice for Africa" (Nerica), an Asian-African hybrid developed in Africa with support from the Japanese International Cooperation Agency (JICA), that combines drought resistance with high yields and high protein content. 

NERICA, the new rice variety was the result of years of work by a team of plant breeders and particularly Sierra Leonean molecular scientist Monty Jones at the West Africa Rice Development Association (WARDA – now the Africa Rice Center). When Dr. Jones (a 2004 winner of the WFP) set up the biotechnology research program in 1991, some 240 million people in West Africa were dependant on rice as their primary source of food energy and protein, but the majority of Africa’s rice was imported, at an annual cost of US$1 billion. According to WIPO, the most popular Nerica rice takes only three months to ripen, as opposed to six months for the parent species, thus allowing African farmers to “double crop” it in a single growing season with nutritionally rich vegetables or high-value fiber crops. 

Meanwhile in 2009, Dr. Gebisa Ejeta of Ethiopia, was the recipient of the World Food Prize for his sorghum hybrids which are resistant to drought and the devastating Striga weed and which has dramatically increased the production and availability of one of the world’s five principal grains and enhanced the food supply of hundreds of millions of people in sub-Saharan Africa.

Overall, a Climate Strategy for Africa and food security should also include: sustainable land and forest management; increased knowledge and analytical capacity, improved weather forecasting, research, extension services, market infrastructure and renewal energy generation systems. Farmers will also need to benefit from integrating biodiversity into the landscape and reducing carbon emissions from soil and deforestation.

The Green Wall of the Sahara and Sahel

going green... 


The Sahara desert experiences one of the harshest weather conditions in the world. The very dry, sandy winds and hot weather conditions certainly affect trade output and patterns in this region. For instance as sand dunes move, they bury villages, roads, oases, crops, irrigation channels and dams, causing major economic damage and increasing poverty and food insecurity.This groundbreaking transcontinental project tries to address this.

African nations on the desert border south of the Sahara are taking action to halt the march of sands by creating a great wall of green. They are contributing to the prevention of desert advancement and the development of the Saharo-Sahelian zones in order to ensure sustainable natural resource management and poverty reduction.

The “Great Green Wall” project is largely a multi-species vegetal belt 15 km wide that will link Dakar and Djibouti and stretch over a distance of about 7000 km. However it won’t be a continuous band of trees, but may be rerouted if necessary to avoid obstacles (streams, rocky terrains, mountains and rock hills) or go through inhabited areas, stretching from Mauritania in the west to Djibouti in the east.

The initiative will be a set of cross-sectoral actions and interventions aimed at the conservation and protection of natural resources with a view to achieving development and particularly, alleviating poverty. The trees however will be "drought-adapted species", preferably native to the areas planted, and so far about 37 suitable species have been identified. 

The African Union officially adopted the Great Green Wall initiative in December 2006 as one of the pillars of a rural strategy which reconciles development and environment. At the 8th common session of the Conference of the Heads of State and Government held in January 2007, the African Union adopted Declaration 137 VIII approving the Initiative "Green Great wall of Sahara. "

The plan benefits from Africa-EU Climate Change Partnership support and is implemented in collaboration with the Community of Sahel-Saharan States (CEN-SAD). The Project has been in the works for several years with sources indicating funding difficulties and concerns regarding its maintenance. Nonetheless, it is expected that tree planting will soon begin. The great green belt will be 7000km long and 15km wide, at a cost $3 million to plant. The west-most section will be planted in Mauritania, Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger, Nigeria, and Senegal, while the eastern section will be planted in Chad, Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia and Sudan.


Being a transboundary Programme, the implementation of the Great Green Wall Initiative would require some degree of policy harmonization for the implementation of issues such as transboundary range, ecosystems, water management and joint afforestation programmes. The participating countries would need to review their relevant policies and legislation to accommodate community involvement in environmental resources management and ownership of the benefits. 

Meanwhile the Food and Agriculture Organization has recently published a manual featuring a project in Mauritania which successfully fixed dunes and stopped sand encroachment. Sand encroachment is what happens when grains of sand are carried by winds and collect in dunes on the coast, along watercourses and on cultivated or uncultivated land.

According to a Study by the Sahara and Sahel Observatory (OSS), the threat prosed by desertification is particularly acute in Africa, one of the continents most affected by the processes and impacts of land degradation and the deterioration of the communities' living conditions, particularly in the CEN-SAD area characterized by climate ranging from hyper-arid to dry sub-humid. 

Livelihoods in the countries located in this sub-region are heavily dependent on soil, water and vegetation resources, which have become increasingly fragile due to the mounting pressure being exerted on them.

Investment and Leadership in Africa

What Africa needs most is private sector-led growth, investment and not aid. While this may not be new, it is refreshing to hear the west call for more investment than aid into Africa. This is according to a Chatham House Report  (see video below) which finds that Africa sits at the base of the global supply chain, with almost forty percent of the mineral resources, arable land, fresh water and energy required to secure global growth. 

With a billion people, Africa offers valuable market share, and for the past decade growth across much of the continent has outpaced every other region of the world. The truth is, if Africa's low income countries are to become middle income, the additional value to the global economy would be equivalent to that of another China: over $4.5 trillion. 

Certainly the time for Africa to step up its investment policies is now. However the missing link is leadership that translates challenges and opportunities into sustainable development solutions. Personally it has been useful to see President Obama spearhead initiatives to double exports, create jobs, engage the private sector (Presidents Executive Council) and he recently spelled out his trade policy and innovation agenda. 

Tom Cargill, Chatham House on Investment in Africa

In a previous post on China, we saw how investment was facilitated by joint ventures in Special Economic Zones. Investment between foreign firms and (mostly State-owned) firms, was key in China's export development, transfer of technology and dramatic increase in a strong domestic producer base.  A strong domestic producer base was important in diffusing imported technologies and creating domestic supply chains. However, facilitating technology transfer through investment requires a strong focus on Research and Development by regional organisations and the State based institutions as well. 

Without state support and publicly funded R&D, small producers in Africa would not be able to evolve given the technological dynamism today. Certainly more could be done by our leaders to enhance south-south cooperation in investment, technology development and transfer.

EU Raw Material Shortages and Elimination of Export Restrictions

According to a European Commission Report, the EU faces shortages of 14 key raw materials used in making cell phones, solar power cells, batteries, and other electronics. The materials that are critical for the EU include: Antimony, Beryllium, Cobalt, Fluorspar, Gallium, Germanium, Graphite, Indium, Magnesium, Niobium, PGMs (Platinum Group Metals), Rare earths, Tantalum and Tungsten.  According to the Report, demand for these metals and minerals could triple over the next 20 years. 

The low global supply of these raw materials is mainly due to the fact that a high share of  worldwide production mainly comes from a handful of countries: China (antimony, fluorspar, gallium, germanium, graphite, indium, magnesium, rare earths, tungsten), Russia (PGM), the Democratic Republic of Congo (cobalt, tantalum) and Brazil (niobium and tantalum). This production concentration is compounded by low substitutability and low recycling rates. Nonetheless, this puts pressure on European nations to maintain strong trade relations with the primary exporters of those materials namely; China, Russia,the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Brazil.

Source: Europe Press Release Rapid

However, as shown above, China is the major source of most of these raw materials.  However she has been accused of restricting the export of certain deposits thereby affecting global supply and prices. A notable illustration of the growing importance of export restrictions, was the establishment of a panel by the WTO Dispute Settlement Body (DSB) in December 2009 to examine complaints brought by the United States, the European Union, and Mexico concerning China’s export restrictions on selected raw materials. Meanwhile Argentina; Brazil; Canada; Chile; Colombia; Ecuador; India; Japan; Korea (Republic of); Mexico; Norway; Chinese Taipei; Turkey and Saudi Arabia have also joined this dispute as third parties. 

According to the USTR, China is the top or near top producer of these materials and these measures skew the playing field against the US and other countries, by creating substantial competitive benefits for downstream Chinese producers, that use the inputs in the production and export of numerous processed steel, aluminum and chemical products and a wide range of further processed products. 

Meanwhile, there has been considerable debate in the WTO, as to whether export taxes actually violate any WTO disciplines, with some arguing that is an area of policy space that was intended to be outside of the multilateral disciplines and hence within Members jurisdiction- especially in low income developing and LDCs.  

However, in the EPA context, the EU has insisted on the elimination of export taxes, even though EPAs are supposed to meet the development needs of the world's poorest countries. Export taxes are used in Africa for industrial or export diversification, revenue, efficient management of resources, environment, job creation, value addition and macro-economic stability. In fact some have advocated that a policy focus on local content, such as available raw materials, is the most sustainable way of ensuring attainment of broader development goals. (see previous post on local content here).

The irony of the matter is that Europe's critical needs are met largely by China- and not Africa. Can the use of such policy measures by African countries be seen to distort world trade or be expected to help Africa move out of poverty and lessen her reliance on donor aid? 

The Global Structural Realignment of Historic Significance

"The traditional split between North and South makes little sense in an increasingly multi-polar world where the largest and most dynamic economies may no longer be the richest, nor the world’s technological leaders”.

The OECD Shifting Wealth 2010 Report raises an interesting point above regarding the traditional north south divide which seems to have outlived its relevance. In fact, the Report finds that OECD non-member economies have markedly increased their share of global output since the 2000s, and  as shown below,  projections predict that this trend will continue. This realignment of the world economy is not a transitory phenomenon, but instead is described as a structural change of historical significance.Other interesting facts...

"In 2007, just before the global financial crisis hit, no fewer than 84 developing countries grew their per capita income at a rate more than twice the OECD average. Among them were more than 20 countries in sub-Saharan Africa. The five-year growth performance of Latin America was its best since the 1960s.

In 2009 China became the leading trade partner of Brazil, India and South Africa. The Indian multinational Tata is now the second most active investor in sub-Saharan Africa. Over 40% of the world’s researchers are now in Asia. As of 2008, developing countries were holding USD 4.2 trillion in foreign currency reserves, more than one and a half times the amount held by rich countries.

This structural realignment in the trade context can be considered in light of the fact that Africa trades predominantly with the rest of the world and Asia is the fastest growing trading partner and major source of imports with the US, EU the largest export destinations.  


On Africa-EU trade, the EPAs are deep policy instruments that open Africa's markets to Europe yet Asia is the largest source of imports. One can wonder if EPAs will accelerate or hinder Africa's integration with other developing countries especially with their restrictive rules of origin.

In the WTO Doha Round, traditionally the focus has been on developed and major developing countries with LDCs, (predominantly in Africa) exempt from multilateral liberalization. Hence Africa's south-south engagement would need to be concluded outside of the WTO for developing countries. 

What does this new economic geography mean for global governance, the G20, BRIC economies and is Africa adequately represented in this new world order?

Genesis of the EC's MFN Clause in the EPAs

There has been much discontent regarding the Most Favoured Nation (MFN) Clause found in the Africa-EU Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs), and the effect the clause would have on south-south trade and the standing of the Enabling Clause.

The genesis of the MFN clause can be understood in the context of OECD's recent 2010 publication: Shifting Wealth, which finds that between 1990 and 2008, world trade expanded almost four-fold, but South-South trade multiplied more than ten times. Hence developing countries now account for around 37% of global trade, with South-South flows making up about half of that total. This trade could be one of the main engines of growth over the coming decade, especially if the right policies are pursued.

It would seem that the EU would like a slice of this rapidly expanding south south pie.  In fact as shown above, the contribution to world GDP and PPP growth by developing countries has risen sharply since the nineties and has outpaced the contribution of advanced economies, and has doubled it.  Hence, the MFN clause could be intended to accelerate the EC’s ability to benefit from south south market-opening especially with fast growing economic giants that the EU has not concluded an FTA with.  These include the BRIC countries (Brazil, Russia, India and China).  

As an example, Africa's south-south trade with non African countries, has increased from a low of 8% of Africa's total trade to almost 30% and this increase is largely trade with Asia. Trade between Africa and China was estimated at US$6.5billion in 1999 but in 2008 was valued at US$107 billion, making China, Africa's second largest single country trading partner following the United States (see previous posts on Asia China Trade). Meanwhile, in the last 30 years, Africa's trade with the EU has continued to decline, from a high of 55% in the mid eighties to about 35% share of total Africa trade in 2008.

In light of the above, it is necessary for African countries to take caution with regard to forward-looking concessions between Africa and fast growing economies and concessions between Africa and shrinking economies.  In addition, it should be noted that the EU is undertaking numerous FTA negotiations with developing and BRIC economies. Therefore, the future standing of the MFN clause in the EPAs should also be considered in light of the EU's rapidly expanding list of future FTAs. 

Other legal and systemic concerns regarding the EPAs can be found here. 

Shifting Wealth: Recommendations for the Future

According to the 2010 Perspectives on Global Development: Shifting Wealth, by the OECD Development Centre, the economic and financial crisis is accelerating a longer-term structural transformation in the global economy. In fact, longer-term forecasts in the Report suggest that today’s developing and emerging countries are likely to account for nearly 60% of world GDP by 2030.  

These findings should indeed transform the way we configure ourselves in Africa especially with the key economic engines of the world; China and India. 
To this end, the Report makes useful recommendations below with regard to development strategies in developing countries, which need to be adapted to harness the opportunities of shifting wealth. 

National development policies should:

● promote South-South foreign direct investment and learning the lessons from successful examples of clusters and Export Processing Zones. They should harness investment links to achieve technological upgrading through national innovation systems;

● ensure appropriate revenue management policies in resource-rich economies and consider using sovereign wealth funds to smooth consumption and channel resources to promote growth and investment in the domestic economy;

● respond to the growing demand for agricultural exports and increasing pressure on arable land by strategies to improve agricultural productivity, through greater support to R&D and extension services, and through South-South technological transfer;

● implement pro-poor growth policies, focusing on providing more and better jobs and improving social protection through further development and replication of institutional innovations such as conditional cash transfers;

● expand South-South peer learning to help design policy based on successful experiences in the South.

A shift from predominantly North-South cooperation to predominantly South South (African and non African) cooperation especially with india and china may require a shift in foreign policy for some African countries. However, that shift is not only necessary but crucial. 

Scoring for Africa: An Alternative Guide to the 2010 World Cup

This is clever.


Chair of the Africa Progress Panel, Kofi Annan and United Nations Development Programme Goodwill Ambassador and football star Didier Drogba have published ‘Scoring for Africa – An Alternative Guide to the World Cup’. The publication compares the ‘vital statistics’ of each African country in the games against their competitors in terms of development – examining key indicators such as trade, investment, economic growth, CO2 emissions and human development.

For example, on trade and investment in Africa the report shows that in:

• GROUP A South Africa-France: While France is still one of the largest wine producers in the world, South Africa is catching up fast. In 2010, South African wines outsold their French competitors in several markets, including the UK. Since 1994, wine exports from South Africa have increased from 50 million litres to nearly 400 million litres, making the country the world’s 9th largest wine producer.

• GROUP B Nigeria-South Korea: Trade between Nigeria and South Korea has been on a steady rise, totaling $2.65 billion in 2008. As a result, Nigeria has emerged as South Korea’s third largest trading partner in Africa. South Korea is Nigeria’s fourth largest trading partner.

• GROUP C Algeria-UK: The UK is the largest foreign investor in Algeria and is particularly interested in the country’s oil and gas sectors.

• GROUP D Ghana-Germany: Having a long history of trade relations, both countries are aiming to increase the total trade volume to €500 million this year. Germany is Ghana’s fifth largest supplier and seventh most important export destination. Ghana’s exports to Germany are dominated by three traditional export goods:cocoa, gold, and timber.

• GROUP E Cameroon-Netherlands: While negotiations on an EPA continue, interim agreements have been signed by Cameroon, which has allowed for duty free access to the EU for all cocoa and chocolate products. This has meant an improvement in comparison to the taxes the country was subject to previously. However, under the EPA agreement, some of the cocoa products are not covered by the duty free access and are subject to a higher tariffs

• GROUP G Brazil Cote D' Ivoire:  In line with Brazil’s renewed focus on South-South relations, the government has expanded and prioritized trade ties with African countries. As a result, Brazil’s annual trade with Africa has jumped from $3.1 billion in 2000 to $26.3 billion last year. While trade between Brazil and Côte d’Ivoire is still relatively small, both countries are major cocoa producers and founding members of the Cocoa Producers’ Alliance (COPAL).

Kenya's Economy; Driven by Services With Merchandise Exports Declining

While telecommunications, construction and transport sectors continued to drive Kenya's economy in 2009, merchandise exports have shrunk over the years and the Port of Mombasa has been identified as one stumbling block to Kenya's continued economic growth.  

This is according to the 2010 Kenya Country Report by the World Bank which finds that Kenya's growth rate was 2.5% in 2009 with higher projections of 4.0% foreseen in 2010. Even tourist arrivals registered a 18.9 percent growth in the first quarter of this year showing positive signs for this sector. Nonetheless, for the third consecutive year, Kenya's growth will continue to lag behind its EAC neighbours, as shown below.  

     The Report finds that overall, services grew by 4.2% and increased share of GDP from 50 % in 2000 to 55% of GDP in 2009. Agriculture contracted by 2.4%,and the role of agriculture in the economy  declined from 32% in 2000 to 26% in 2009, due in part to drought. Meanwhile, industry grew at 3.9% in 2009 due to the construction sub sector. 

This mixed performance is in part structural and in addition, Kenya remains sensitive to climatic conditions.  For instance, the 2009 weak performance in manufacturing was caused by the spillover effects from the drought which caused higher electricity costs, power outages and reduced water supply. The drought had spill-over effects in all sectors and clearly increased efforts in key infrastructure services will be necessary, to sustain increased growth.

Kenya’s economy is currently more dependant on domestic consumption than exports, and Kenya’s highest value exports, especially horticulture and tourism remain heavily dependant on Europe. This high degree of export concentration makes Kenya vulnerable to external shocks and points to the need to further diversify export markets. 

Surprisingly, Kenya has an export strategy, which was approved by Cabinet in 2004.  See previous post here on the weaknesses of export-led strategies. 

While exports of goods have been unimpressive, services exports increased from 8% in 2000 to 12% of GDP in 2009.  The strength of the domestic sector and the weakness in exports has created a large and growing current account deficit which reached 5.5% of GDP by end 2009. This current account deficit was financed mainly by increasing short term financial inflows including investment. 

                              One lesson learnt- so to speak- is that Kenya has not yet developed a targeted and strategic industrial policy. This is despite having several national policy documents such as the Vision 2030, the Private Sector Development Strategy, the Master Plan for Kenya’s Industrial Development, and the recently drafted National Trade Policy.