The number of Kenyans employed in firms under the African Growth and Opportunity Act (Agoa) increased by 15,222 in the period under review.
Official data shows that 82,026 employees were working for the Agoa-accredited companies last year, from 66,804, a year earlier in the same period that the number of firms grew to 44 from 40.
The increase in workforce and firms signals that the country was not hit by a temporary suspension of Agoa and introduction of 10 percent tariffs for entry of Kenya goods to the US market.
The Agoa-a 25-year old piece of US legislation guaranteeing duty-free access to American consumers for certain goods from Africa. The duty free access was reinstated in February.
‘The number of enterprises operating under Agoa increased from 40 in 2024 to 44 in 2025. Subsequently, employment grew by 22.8 per cent to 82,026 persons during the review period,’ the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics says in the Economic Survey 2025.
The increase in the number of firms operating under Agoa drove capital investment in the sector to Sh42.25 billion last year from Sh38.26 billion a year earlier.
Agoa’s expiry triggered layoffs at some of the companies such as Shona Export Processing Zone (EPZ) while United Aryan EPZ had said that it would shed 1,000 jobs on expiry of the pact.
A number of firms had recorded reduced orders late last year amid the uncertainties before the pact was extended. Kenya’s textiles and apparel sector, where most of the Agoa-accredited firms operate, employs over 80,000 people directly and more than 250,000 indirectly.
The World Bank had warned that Kenya, Lesotho and Madagascar would be hit hardest by the expiry of AGOA. The Bretton woods institution said that exporters of apparel and textiles in the three countries would be forced to shed jobs.
But official data shows the value of exports under Agoa dipped slightly, making it the only item affected as the country faced four months of uncertainty, awaiting a decision from President Trump’s administration.
The value of the textiles and apparel dipped to Sh58.07 billion last year from Sh60 billion a year earlier even as the volumes surged to 148 million pieces.
‘Despite the decline in export value, the quantity of apparel shipped to the USA rose significantly from 116.0 million pieces in 2024 to 148.0 million pieces in 2025,’ KNBS added.
President Trump’s administration signed a one-year extension of AGOA on February 2, 2026, which lasts until December 31, 2026.
The extension, which is a major reprieve to the select sub-Saharan countries, will allow the US to review the trade agreement to favor its companies.
AGOA, was signed into law in 2000 by former President Bill Clinton and allows eligible countries in sub-Saharan Africa to sell around 7,000 products to the United States duty-free.
The duty-free exports have added to the competitiveness of the products and in turn allowed local companies to hire more workers.