ACG attends UK – Kenya Roadshow

The Director General Phil Lewis joined the UK – Kenya Roadshow which was in partnership with the British High Commission Nairobi and the Department for International Trade.

Phil attended the Government Market Access Roundtable which had an open dialogue between UK and Kenyan technical experts in specific policy areas. This was to help the Kenyan delegates to better understand how the UK have dealt with similar issues domestically and to learn from UK experience.

The Anti-Counterfeiting Group (ACG) was present for the Barriers to Trade: Intellectual Property protection and counterfeit goods. The session which was led by Phil who presented on the impact of counterfeit goods on UK-Kenya trade.

The second part of the session followed with a presentation from the UK Intellectual Property Office (IPO) who presented on IP protection and the reforms that are being introduces to improve anti-counterfeiting activities in the UK.

One of the many issues faced is that businesses often report that IP rights are poorly enforced, resulting in UK manufacturing businesses competing against cheaper counterfeit versions of their own products in Kenya. One of the many benefits of resolving the barriers for Kenya is that the enforcement of IP rights for consumers and traders ensures that products are safe and increases the likelihood of accessing cutting edge and innovative products and services.

Other benefits that were noted during the seminar for Kenya and protecting IP rights is that, it will help the Kenyan economy and the surrounding countries where Kenya is the major distributor to.

The ACG will be more face forward in 2022 and beyond as there are more changes to meet people nationally and globally on a bigger and personal scale.