By June 2025 only 152 centres were fully operational, 54 partly operational and 58 non-operational PS Micro Small and Medium Enterprises Susan Mang’eni together with KPLC MD Joseph Siror when they appeared before the National Assembly Committee on Trade to discuss the status of implementation of the constituency Industrial Development Centres (CIDCs) at Bunge Towers on October 6, 2026./DOUGLAS OKIDDY Some of the industrial development centres across the country will not be viable without supporting infrastructure, the State Department for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Development now says.
Principal Secretary Susan Mang’eni warned that the Constituency Industrial Development Centres (CIDCs), continue to face major infrastructure and funding challenges that are limiting their economic potential. The facilities were established to provide shared production facilities and equipment for small businesses across the country.
The government had developed 235 of the targeted 290 centres by the end of the 2024-25 financial year, representing about 80 per cent of the target. However, only 152 centres were fully operational, while 54 were partially operational and 58 remained non-operational.
According to the PS, the partially operational centres are constrained by inadequate machinery, incomplete infrastructure and lack of three-phase electricity, while some of the non-operational facilities face power connection challenges, land disputes, vandalism and poor access.
“The operationalisation of all the 290 CIDCs is a progressive undertaking contingent upon sustained budgetary support, availability of land and the resolution of site-specific challenges,” Mang’eni told the Trade Committee. The State Department is targeting completion of the 232 already-built centres by the 2027-28 financial year, with the remaining 58 expected to be completed by 2028-29.
Electricity has emerged as one of the biggest obstacles to getting the facilities fully operational. The department said it has paid Kenya Power Sh40.2 million to facilitate electricity connections to various sites, while an alternative arrangement with the Directorate of Energy Renewable Energy Cooperation has also been used to connect additional centres.