Dubai-based apparel manufacturer, Nava Apparels LLC-FZ plans to acquire the entire assets of Mombasa Apparel (EPZ). This acquisition has been approved by the Competition Authority of Kenya on the condition that the Nava Apparels retains all of Mombasa’s 4,478 employees.
Nava Apparels LLC-FZ does not have any operations in Kenya. Clothes manufactured by the company are exported to the UTS, Canada, and Europe. On the other hand, the garments manufactured by Mombasa Apparel (EPZ) are exported to the UAE and the US.
Kenya earns most of its foreign exchange through the export of textiles and apparel products. The country’s apparel sector is divided into three-tiers.
The first of these is the Export Processing Zone (EPZ) housing 36 large companies. Currently, there are seven operational EPZs in the country including Athi River EPZ, Nairobi EPZ, Mombasa Port City EPZ, Kilifi EPZ, Malindi EPZ, Voi EPZ, and Kimwarer EPZ, with 36 registered apparel manufacturers.
These EPZs earn most of their revenues from garment exports to the US under the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA).
Post the proposed merger of Mombasa Apparel into Nava Apparels, the market share of the merged entity will increase marginally to 3.83 per cent.
