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Kenya’s government is currently considering the final iteration of a bill that would establish three special economic zones (SEZs) within the country. The SEZs will allow lower levels of taxation and fewer regulatory hurdles, and will focus primarily on industrial activity, in particular textile production. The Cabinet Secretary for Industrialization and Enterprise Development also announced in February that the zones would specifically target foreign textile firms, with a view to enticing producers from the textile industries in Myanmar, China, Vietnam and South Africa. Kenya has established Export Processing Zones (EPZs), which contributed $543m to the Kenyan economy in 2013. EPZ Authority CEO has said that EPZs account for roughly 10% of Kenya’s total exports – the bulk of which are textiles and apparel sent to the US – as well as 3.2% of GDP. As of 2012, garment manufacturers accounted for 29% of EPZ companies, 56% of EPZ exports and 30% of EPZ private investments. Currently, textile manufacturing accounts for around 4% of Kenya’s manufacturing industry
