Michael Mandu is the the acting Secretary Trade. His work spans over thirty years and covers a wide spectrum of national and international assignments. He leads a team of 150 technical officers dealing with Kenya’s trade at both domestic and international level. He has served in the trade sector and risen through the ranks from entry level to current level as the acting Secretary Trade. The role includes overseeing implementation of Kenya’s domestic trade policy to ensure the trade sector contributes significantly to Kenya economic, growth and employment creation.

He also ensures on the global front, that the country maintains an international view on export trade performance and investment relations with international partners by addressing policy challenges in foreign countries that could impact negatively on Kenya’s trade, investment and tourism, and supervision of trade officials based at Kenyan Missions Abroad; and overseeing implementation of international trade agreements, etc.

Mandu served a seven and half year stint in the Foreign Service, as a trade representative at the Kenya High Commission in London. He was also the secretary to the Committee and Taskforce that merged the Export Promotion Council and Brand Kenya Board into the Kenya Export Promotion and Branding Agency.

During the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic, he co-chaired the Business Situation Room established by the former CS Betty Maina for industrialization, Trade and Enterprise Development to develop policy guidelines and other interventions that enabled businesses operate through the pandemic. He as well as headed the technical Secretariat negotiating the recently concluded and signed Economic Partnership Agreement between Kenya and the United Kingdom, and Economic Partnership Agreement between Kenya and the European Union.