By Editorial Team.
Nairobi, Kenya – July 31, 2025 — The Kenya Export Promotion and Branding Agency (KEPROBA) has signed a strategic partnership with DHL Group to boost the export readiness of Kenyan Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs).
The new collaboration aims to equip SMEs with vital skills and knowledge needed to access international markets. By leveraging DHL’s global network and KEPROBA’s export promotion expertise, the partnership will provide tailored training sessions focused on export processes, compliance, and market access strategies.
Speaking during the MoU signing, KEPROBA CEO Floice Mukabana said the deal comes at a crucial time. “Despite their potential, SMEs account for less than 15% of total exports due to challenges in compliance, visibility, and market access,” she noted. “This MoU will help address last-mile delivery issues, warehousing, and fulfillment abroad all key for scaling cross-border trade.”
Mukabana emphasized that empowering SMEs to go global is central to KEPROBA’s mandate, adding, “This partnership aligns with our vision to make Kenyan products visible, competitive, and accessible in global markets.”
DHL Express Kenya Managing Director Paul Makolosi echoed the sentiment. “We’re excited to work with KEPROBA to support Kenyan SMEs. This is more than training it’s about enabling real economic transformation,” he said. “When SMEs thrive globally, communities prosper and economies grow sustainably.”
Highlighting the broader impact, DHL Supply Chain CEO Donavan Brent remarked, “Across Africa, SMEs provide over 60% of jobs and contribute up to 40% of GDP. They’re a powerhouse of innovation and a pillar of economic stability.”
Pramod Bagalwadi of DHL Global Forwarding added, “Our commitment to SMEs runs deep. Through this partnership, we’re arming entrepreneurs with the tools they need to compete and grow — both within Africa and beyond.”
The initiative directly supports Kenya’s vision of accelerating SME growth as a catalyst for national development. It also taps into opportunities presented by the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).
With structured capacity-building, trade enablement tools, and access to sustainable financing, the partnership aims to create real growth opportunities — helping SMEs scale up and contribute to a more competitive and diversified ecosystem.
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