The United States has once again highlighted the widespread issue of bribery and extortion faced by American investors from Kenyan government officials in order to secure contracts.
Last year, Washington identified this problem as one of the primary trade obstacles with Nairobi, indicating that U.S. companies have struggled significantly in their attempts to win Kenyan government tenders, with corruption being a major factor.
In the latest 2025 National Trade Estimate (NTE) from the United States Trade Representative’s office, it is stated that corruption continues to be a major influence on the outcomes of public tenders in Kenya.
According to Jamieson Greer’s office, “Tenders are frequently not announced in a timely or transparent manner. Foreign companies, some lacking established credentials, have secured government contracts by collaborating with well-connected Kenyan firms or individuals.”
Despite Kenya’s efforts to digitize procurement processes to enhance transparency, the U.S. claims that systems like the Integrated Financial Management Information System (IFMIS) are still ineffective.
Concerns regarding IFMIS include inadequate connectivity and technical capabilities in county government offices, central control outages, and security vulnerabilities that expose the system to potential manipulation and hacking, as noted by President Donald Trump’s trade advisor.
Similar to the previous year, the report also mentions that U.S. businesses have expressed frustrations over the lengthy customs clearance process in Kenya.
It describes this as a “complex and inefficient procedure” that involves “numerous steps with disjointed offices,” inconsistent application of classification and valuation decisions, and “unnecessary transit inspections.”
Additionally, the U.S. has pointed out the prevalent issue of counterfeit and pirated goods in the Kenyan market, referencing an international copyright treaty established by WIPO, a U.N. agency focused on intellectual property, in 1996.
Washington pointed out that Nairobi’s customs record-keeping system and the requirements for Import Permits are not being enforced, which adds extra costs and burdens for Americans importing products that involve intellectual property into Kenya.
This statement from the U.S. Trade Representative follows Kenya’s recent launch of the comprehensive Electronic Government Procurement (e-GP) System, aimed at combating corruption in both national and county government contracts.
The e-GP system, which is integrated with the Integrated Financial Management Information System (IFMIS), is part of reforms supported by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to enhance the efficiency of government procurement processes. The National Treasury expects this initiative to lead to lower costs for goods, services, and works, improved transparency, shorter procurement cycles, greater accountability, and better management of procurement information.
Kenya aims to eliminate the exploitation of suppliers and contractors by unscrupulous individuals involved in payment processing and approval of disbursements within government offices.
