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Kenya’s tea is among the most prized in the world. A cup of Kenyan tea — bright, brisk, and unmistakably distinct — commands the attention of buyers from London to Tokyo and everywhere in between. Yet for all its global reputation, Kenyan tea remains almost entirely unprotected as a legally defined geographical indication (GI). Any producer anywhere in the world can market a product as ‘Kenyan tea’ with near-impunity, capturing the premium that rightfully belongs to the farmers and counties who have cultivated it across generations.
1 October 26
The Geographical Indications Bill, 2026 (the GI Bill) changes that. Developed by the Kenya Industrial Property Institute (KIPI) and advanced with the support of producers, commercial partners and development finance institutions, the Bill establishes Kenya’s first sui generis (standalone, purpose-built) legal framework for the protection and registration of geographical indications — a legal tool recognised under the TRIPS Agreement and deployed with transformative effect in the European Union, India, and beyond.
This Policy Brief, authored by ALN Kenya in collaboration with Equity Group Holdings, KIPI, AFD/Proparco, and CIRAD, argues that the GI Bill represents not only an essential intellectual property intervention, but a strategic economic and trade policy opportunity for Kenya to strengthen the protection and valorisation of origin-linked products, support market differentiation, improve producers’ capacity to capture value, and create new opportunities for investment and rural development across Africa. The extent to which these outcomes are realised will depend on broader market conditions, value chain organisation, and the institutional capacity of producers.
To maximise the Bill’s impact, this brief recommends that Kenya’s Parliament, the Cabinet, and key stakeholders undertake the following;
- Enact the GI Bill in the current parliamentary session without delay, providing producers and investors with the legal certainty they need to commit to the GI framework;
- Strengthen key provisions — particularly on value chain inclusion and the delimitation process — before the Bill is passed;
- Deploy coordinated fiscal, trade and financial incentives — including GI-linked credit products through participating commercial banks — to accelerate producer uptake; and
- Build Kenya’s GI architecture as the foundation for East African Community harmonisation, positioning Kenya as the regional model for IP-driven agricultural development and, more broadly, local sustainable development.
Click here to download and read the full joint policy brief.
Should you require more information about this policy brief, please do not hesitate to contact Rosa Nduati-Mutero, Faith Macharia, Carlotta Dal Lago or Ivy Aruasa.