NCBA to take 100-plus East African firms to Beijing and Guangzhou from 13 October

More than 100 businesses from Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania and Rwanda will travel to Beijing and Guangzhou from 13 to 24 October 2026 on a programme run by NCBA, according to Capital FM, which reported the plan on 2 October. The itinerary includes a visit to the Canton Fair in Guangzhou.

NCBA calls the trip its China Market Linkage & Business Exposure Programme. The lender said it would provide participating firms with trade finance, working capital, foreign exchange and other banking services, Capital FM reported.

“Businesses need more than financing to compete in an increasingly interconnected world,” Dennis Njau, NCBA Group Director of Retail Banking, said, according to Capital FM. “They need access to knowledge, technology, markets, networks and the right partnerships.”

What the programme offers

Biznakenya, in a report dated 16 July, said NCBA had opened recruitment and that this was the first time the programme had been extended to commercial and SME banking customers across the four countries.

The 12-day programme includes visits to advanced manufacturing facilities and industrial parks in Beijing, time at the Canton Fair, supplier meetings, networking sessions and logistics consultations, Biznakenya reported. Capital FM lists the target sectors as manufacturing, agribusiness, electronics, construction, automotive, renewable energy and technology.

Biznakenya said applications were set to close on 7 August 2026 and that a non-refundable 50 per cent deposit was required to secure participation. Participants could register through an NCBA Relationship Manager or Branch Manager, and would get access to NCBA’s trade finance, foreign exchange, treasury and business-trip financing products, it said.

Why it matters: imports still dominate

Capital FM notes that trade between East Africa and China has historically been dominated by imports. Kenya’s own figures show how lopsided it is. Citing the Economic Survey 2026, The Star reported on 2 May that Kenya’s imports from China reached KSh 671.2 billion in 2025, up from KSh 576.1 billion in 2024. Exports to China were KSh 16.9 billion, down from KSh 26.3 billion.

At the Central Bank of Kenya’s indicative rate of 129.71 shillings per US dollar on 1 October 2026 (as reported by the Rio Times), those figures are roughly US$5.2 billion of imports and US$130 million of exports. The conversion is a Fica News calculation from that rate and The Star’s figures; it applies a 2026 exchange rate to 2025 trade.

The trip follows the Early Harvest Arrangement that China’s Minister of Commerce Wang Wentao and Kenya’s Cabinet Secretary for Investments, Trade and Industry, Lee Kinyanjui, signed on 24 March 2026, according to China’s Ministry of Commerce. The ministry has also said that China’s zero-tariff measure for 53 African countries with diplomatic ties, Kenya among them, took effect on 1 May 2026. The Star reported that about 98.2 per cent of Kenyan exports stand to benefit from the Kenya–China Early Harvest Agreement; the ministry says China will apply zero tariffs to 100 per cent of tariff lines for Kenya, a different measure. Mr Kinyanjui described the agreement, according to The Star, as “an immediate opportunity for Kenyan businesses to expand exports”.

The Star also listed requirements that exporters must meet: registering with Kenyan authorities and with China’s General Administration of Customs, obtaining licences, meeting sanitary and phytosanitary requirements, using Chinese labelling and keeping complete documentation.

What to watch

Neither the Capital FM nor the Biznakenya report says how many of the 100-plus participants are looking to export rather than to source goods, or whether any deals are expected from the trip. Nor do the reports say how NCBA will measure the outcome.

The programme runs from 13 to 24 October 2026.