Through the State Department of MSMEs and other agencies that provide support to the MSMEs sector including the Micro and Small Enterprises Authority – MSEA, Ministry of Co-operatives is channeling its efforts towards addressing one of the major bottlenecks that the sector is facing— Credit Access.
Cabinet Secretary Simon Chelugui says the the Financial Inclusion Fund (Hustler Fund), The Uwezo Fund, Kenya Industrial Estates KIE, and other catalytic funds like Women and Youth Funds have provided seed and working capital for many MSMEs, in the process helping them grow and become credit worthy and elegible to get more funding from mainstream financial institutions.
“We are also engaging in capacity building and skills Development as a Ministry and also in partnership with the private sector players like Yara Kenya among others,” he said.
He reiterated that the Ministry is working hard to deepen response to both financial and capacity needs of the sector.
Already the process of rolling out the Kenya Jobs and Economic Transformation (KJET) and National Youth Opportunities Towards Advancement Project (NYOTA) in partnership with the World Bank is on.
The CS spoke on Tuesday June 4, 2024 when he officiated launch of YARA Second Cohort Leadership Academy for SMEs 2024 in Nairobi.
“I note with appreciation the important role that YARA is playing in East Africa and Kenya specifically in the Agriculture sector since it set foot in the country in 1995,” he said.
The CS lauded YARA’s vision of “A world without Hunger and a Planet respected” terming it a noble one that will take them closer to achieving their vision.
YARA’s contribution to the local fertilizer sector with its products of NPK, Foliar, Top Dressing and blended fertilizer have made tangible contribution to the productivity and growth of the agricultural output in the country.
YARA has also contributed to reserve and is a trailblazer in the search for smart farming solutions to deepen productivity and widen its reach.
Author: Pristone Mambili
A trained Journalist with passion for Radio and online Writing.