A four day exposition showcasing Indian products opened on Friday in the Kenyan capital of Nairobi as part of the Indian government’s efforts to strengthen trade with Africa.

The India Trade Expo 2015, held at the Kenyatta International Convention Centre, is part of the government’s ‘Make in India’ programme, a campaign which aims to transform India into a global manufacturing hub.

Through the expo in Kenya, the campaign aims to improves cost efficiency for Indian manufacturers by connecting businesses with suppliers, customers and labour sources in the African region.

The show was officially opened by Indian High Commissioner to Kenya, Yogeshwar Varma and Walter D’Souza, Chairman of the Federation of Indian Export Organisation (FIEO).

D’Souza commented, “We are here to improve trade and investment in diverse areas such as agro, auto components, electronics, food, healthcare, infrastructure and pharma. As Kenya is gateway for the East African region, we are focusing more on bilateral trade and investment due to labour availability in the region.”

D’Souza estimated that Indian investments in Kenya would double over the next five years from US$1.5 billion in 2014.

Over 200 Indian products are on display at the expo ranging from cosmetics, agricultural machinery, audio and hearing equipment, auto components, electronics, food-processing machinery, high fashion, incense sticks to pharma.

Bilateral trade between the two countries grew sharply to USD 4.17 billion in 2014 from USD 1.5 billion in 2010.