Deep dive into market access to Finland – Finnpartnership and KEPROBA host a webinar for Kenyan companies

Finnpartnership in collaboration with the Kenya Export Promotion and Branding Agency (KEPROBA) organised an online forum with Kenyan exporters on 30 March. The webinar ‘Market access to Finland and greater EU market for Kenya products’ attracted about 170 participants.

Finland’s Ambassador to Kenya, Pirkka Tapiola graced the event and gave insights about the EU market and exporting to Finland and the EU. He underscored the importance of understanding the import regulations for various products. Ambassador Tapiola further explained that it is easy to trade with the EU because the process entails minimal paperwork and few agencies compared to other countries or regions. In his keynote, Tapiola also brought to the exporters’ attention the fact that the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) is going to be in place soon and encouraged the exporters to be in the lookout for opportunities as the EPA will enable deeper trade relations.

Speaking at the event, the KEPROBA Ag. CEO, Floice Mukabana highlighted some of the top Kenyan products exported to Finland, which include coffee, tea, handicrafts, horticulture products and flowers. There are more opportunities for the products, stemming from the already-existing high demand, and for a wide range of other products which were mentioned by the Finnpartnership team at the event.

Consumer protection is key to the EU market. Hence clear rules have been put in place to ensure that the products imported into the region are safe and meet the market and regulatory standards. Some of these rules include phytosanitary standards, rules of origin as well as trade and sustainable development aspects among others. It is important that activities surrounding the production of various products are sound, sustainable and environmentally friendly.

The participants were excited to hear about Finnpartnership’s services, presented by Patrik Bredbacka, Grants and Impact Manager; Axel Sointu, Business Partnership Lead; and Elizabeth Okunda, Regional Coordinator for Africa. Particular interest was expressed regarding Finnpartnetrship’s Matchmaking service. Many participants were interested in exporting to Finland and EU, and highlighted the need for partners in the Union.