From raw cotton to KES 62 — every added cost.
The Value Chain Cost Model (VCCM) maps every fiscal and regulatory charge to its retail-price impact, validated with government, manufacturers, importers, and social enterprises at the August 2026 National Stakeholder Validation Workshop.
Cotton, super-absorbent polymer, and packaging carry non-refundable para-tariffs plus excise duty on SAP (20%) and release liners (25%).
Finished pads are VAT-exempt (not zero-rated) — manufacturers pay 16% input VAT on raw materials with no output VAT to reclaim it against.
One manufacturer reports USD 24,000/year in distribution-licencing fees across all 47 counties — plus a USD 0.24/day rural trading fee that hits small distributors hardest.
Every upstream cost reaches the buyer — most of it avoidable with the right policy. The KES 7 gap between pathways is an access difference, not a cost one: SMEs reach duty remission at ~10% vs. ~60% for large manufacturers.
Source: MH Fiscal & Regulatory Reform — Abridged Validation Report (NAYA Kenya / UNFPA Kenya, July 2026); VCCM stakeholder validation, 28 July & 4 August 2026.
Same costs. Different doors.
SMEs pay KES 7 more per pack than large manufacturers — not because their costs are higher, but because duty remission is structurally out of reach. The bond ties up 100% of the duty value, so the relief reaches whoever can afford to wait for it.
Share of raw-material imports actually covered by duty remission.
The charges that never scale down.
Everything above is charged per pack. These are charged per firm — so they land identically on a national manufacturer and on a social enterprise running one line, which is what makes them the heaviest burden at the small end of the market.
KES 40,000
KEBS certification — charged per product, per site, plus a KES 15,000 registration fee.
USD 45,000
Upper bound for an importer maintaining an S-mark, per product, every three years.
100%
Of the duty value tied up as a remission bond — before any insurer fee — which is why SMEs cannot reach it.
USD 0.24/day
Rural trading fee, charged daily to the smallest distributors and retailers.
Source: MH Fiscal & Regulatory Reform — Abridged Validation Report (NAYA Kenya / UNFPA Kenya, July 2026), summary of tariffs, levies and taxes charged.
Cheaper over time. Taxed more anyway.
Over three years, a reusable pad set costs a fraction of disposables — yet carries a heavier tax burden on its fabric inputs than the product it should be undercutting.
One set of 3 reusable pads, covering a full 3 years of use.
The equivalent 3 years of single-use pads, repurchased monthly.
Source: MH Fiscal & Regulatory Reform — Abridged Validation Report (NAYA Kenya / UNFPA Kenya, July 2026).
