According to statistics, the Kenyan government loses approximately Ksh.30 billion annually in tax evasion as a result of the production of unlicensed and counterfeit goods.
Kenya reportedly has the largest market in East Africa for counterfeit goods with about 40% of goods sold in the country being labelled as fake or counterfeit.
One of the most counterfeited goods in Kenya today is mobile phones. Mobile phones reportedly account for about 20% of all counterfeited goods in the Kenyan market.
Many Kenyans have reportedly bought counterfeited phones for as low as $5 to make phone calls, send messages, for business use, sending and receiving money etc.
One of the most attractive qualities about these phones is their affordability, they are very cheap, and their advertised extremely long battery life.
Many small-scale traders used these counterfeit phones also to receive money for payments of goods and services sold.
According to statistics from the Anti Counterfeit Agency (ACA) about 75% of Kenyans purchased counterfeit goods in 2019.
The agency estimated that only 19% of Kenyans purchase these counterfeit goods intentionally.
