The Kenyan manufacturing dream is taking a beating on the pavement, as a massive surge in footwear imports exposes the crippling cost of doing business for local producers.

In a damning indictment of the local manufacturing environment, new data from the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) reveals a staggering 63.42% increase in shoe imports. In the first nine months of 2025 alone, Kenyans imported 18.99 million pairs of shoes, a sharp jump from the 11.62 million pairs imported during the same period the previous year. This flood of foreign footwear is not just a statistic; it is a direct reflection of a local industry gasping for air under the weight of soaring production costs.

The Kenya Association of Manufacturers (KAM) has minced no words in identifying the culprits. High power tariffs, punitive taxation, and the chronic unavailability of raw materials have made "Made in Kenya" a luxury that few producers can afford to sustain. As the cost of local production skyrockets, the market naturally drifts towards the cheaper, mass-produced imports that are now filling the shelves and stalls from Gikomba to Westlands.

The Cost of Competitiveness

The implications of this trend are dire for the economy. Every imported pair of shoes represents a lost opportunity for value addition and job creation within Kenya. The breakdown of the crisis reveals a systemic failure:

• Energy Crisis: Manufacturers are paying through the nose for electricity, making energy-intensive production processes unviable compared to competitors in Asia.
• Raw Material Shortage: The leather value chain remains disjointed, with high-quality hides often exported while local tanneries struggle for supply.
• Policy Misalignment: Stringent trade policies intended to protect local industry often backfire, creating bottlenecks that choke legitimate manufacturers while doing little to stop the influx of cheap, often illicit, imports.

A Step Backwards

For a country that prides itself on the "Buy Kenya, Build Kenya" initiative, these numbers are a sobering reality check. The local cobbler and the industrial shoe factory are both losing the war for the Kenyan foot. Unless the government intervenes with tangible incentives—lowering power costs and streamlining the raw material supply chain—the local footwear industry faces extinction.

The 18.99 million imported pairs are walking all over the local economy. The question now is whether the policymakers will lace up their boots and do the work required to save a sector that is visibly dying on its feet.