Anti-Counterfeit Authority (ACA)

Counterfeiting is a billion-dollar industry which is widespread and rampant throughout the world but more so among low-income economies like Kenya. Counterfeiting is generally perceived by society as a victimless crime with counterfeits simply constituting a cheap alternative purchase. Counterfeit products are made to closely imitate the appearance of the product of another so as to mislead consumers. This includes the unauthorized production and distribution of products that are protected by intellectual property rights. At the same time; counterfeiters believe it carries relatively lower risk as compared to potential rewards.

The study aims to assess the prevalence of counterfeiting in the country in terms of the most counterfeited products as well as the most counterfeit prone areas in Nairobi. Such information will help enforcement officers know the target areas and also target products for counterfeiting.

A standard structured questionnaire with open and closed ended questions was used by team composed of research assistants and supervisors. Data was collected from manufacturers around Nairobi. Data was collected from 243 manufacturers. Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) computer programme was used to enter, clean and analyse quantitative data while content analysis was employed to analyse qualitative data.

56.6% of the respondents confessed to have purchased / used a counterfeit product against 22.3% who have never, while 21.1% were not sure if they have purchased / used a counterfeit product.39.2% of lower class consumers confessed to have purchased counterfeit goods and 13.6% are not sure if they have ever used a counterfeit product or not while 17.4% of upper class consumers confessed to have purchased counterfeit goods and 7.5% are not sure if they have ever used a counterfeit product or not.19.77% of the consumers said they bought it knowingly, while 80.23% did not know. 26% of the consumers said they are still using counterfeit product to date.

Markets most prone to counterfeiting in Nairobi River road have 22.21%, Gikomba has 13.09%, Eastleigh has 11.76%, and Kariobangi has 9.60% while others markets have 43.34% prone to counterfeit. The study sought to provide a prevalence assessment of counterfeiting in Nairobi. The study revealed among many other parameters that China is the largest exporter of counterfeits to Kenya.