A delegation from the European Union led by Mr. Martijn Boelen, the European Union (EU) Trade Counsellor to Kenya, and Mr. Gregor Schneider, the EU Africa Regional Counsellor Intellectual Property made a visit to the Anti-Counterfeit Authority (ACA) Executive Director Dr. Robi Mbugua Njoroge at his office in Nairobi. In attendance was Mr. Filipo Amato from the EU, and senior members of ACA management. 

The meeting aimed at reviewing existing areas of collaboration targeting capacity building and legislative interventions towards effective protection of intellectual property rights (IPR) in the country.

Dr. Robi Njoroge welcomed the continued support from the EU saying the support areas not only focused on protecting IPRs, but also created an enabling environment to facilitate trade between Kenya and European nations. 

“We are looking at building partnerships to enhance our enforcement capacities and creating a network to exchange best practices and experiences in the IPR field”. Said Dr. Robi Mbugua.

The European Union finances and oversees a number of initiatives aimed at protection of IPR in Africa through the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) and African
Intellectual Property Imitative (AfrIPI) with an overarching objective to facilitate trade within Africa and encourage both African and European investments.

In the past year, the EU through AfrIPI sponsored a two-day awareness workshop on Recordation of Intellectual Property Rights, targeting Kenyan Enforcement Officers. The
workshop was designed at increasing the customs and front-line enforcement officers’ skills in the IPR recordation for imports into the country.

As the government agency at the forefront of the battle against intellectual property theft, the Authority maintains a strong alliance with domestic and international entities, including the European Union in forging strategic partnership to counter infringements on intellectual property rights.