Kenya welcomed a landmark gathering of global and continental standard-setting bodies this week, as the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) Africa Regional Centre (IEC‑AFRC) celebrated its 10th anniversary in Nairobi, alongside the inaugural Africa Electrotechnical Quality Infrastructure Week.

Hosted by the Kenya Bureau of Standards (KEBS) (KEBS) under the auspices of the Ministry of Investment, Trade & Industry, the forum brought together government ministers, industry captains, standards-experts, and international delegates from across Africa and beyond. The two-day forum positioned Kenya as a hub for electrotechnical standardisation, conformity assessment and trade facilitation.

A reflection on the decade

Since its establishment in 2015, the IEC-AFRC in Nairobi has served as a platform for Africa to engage within the IEC’s global framework, to build capacity, and to elevate the continent’s voice in electrotechnical standard-setting.
“At the frontline of the clean-energy transition and digital transformation, Africa must not only adopt global standards, we must define them,” declared KEBS Managing Director Esther Ngari during her opening remarks.

She noted that over the past decade, Kenya and its regional peers have progressed from passive adopters to active contributors in the standards ecosystem. “For the past decade, the Centre has served as a hub for capacity building and knowledge transfer. It has ensured Africa’s voice is heard in global standards-setting,” she said.