Protect small businesses from exploitation

Jua Kali artisan at work

A government initiative to help the jua kali sector benefit from new inventions is long overdue. For far too long, inventions and innovations by small businesses have been unfairly exploited because the requisite patents, trademark and intellectual property rights protections have not been acquired.

The Ministry of Industry, Trade and Co-operatives says it is aware of this and that is why it will soon unveil the National Intellectual Property Policy and Strategy in an attempt to reverse this trend.