Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) play a crucial role in Kenya’s economy driving employment and innovation across various sectors, including agriculture, manufacturing, retail and trade. Implementing strategic initiatives, partnerships and influencing supportive policies for these enterprises would significantly enhance their growth, leading to a substantial boost in the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
The Ministry of Co-operatives and Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) development states that the MSME economy contributes over 85 percent of non-farm jobs which are equivalent to about 15 million workforces, further emphasizing their critical role. However, despite their role and the opportunities available for development, MSMEs are still faced with a myriad of issues ranging from difficulties in accessing credit, to inhibits in access to markets, integration of technology for mass production and challenges in innovative skills.
Therefore, there is a need to develop an enabling environment and enhance increased business linkages, training and capacity building to strategically position these MSMEs for opportunities of growth in their sectors. In this regard, the USAID Strategic Partnership Program, a five-year United States Agency for International Development implementing Kenya Small Business Development Centers (Kenya SBDC) and Transformational Resilience Programming (TRP) is at the forefront in contributing to empowering MSMEs to be change makers.
Kenya SBDC provides business advisory services, training and mentorship to MSMEs on how to access finance and find favourable markets for their products. Through these one-on-one advisory services, the program is changing many lives in the counties of operation: Kisumu, Nakuru, Isiolo, Makueni, Mombasa, and Kiambu.
Based on the data from the Kisumu SBDC, for every individual reporting the creation of one job, an average of 1 hour and 45 minutes of business advisory was provided. This means that there are available opportunities for increasing jobs by investing more in advisory services through initiatives such as the SBDCs.
Besides this, the program has been at the forefront of forging strategic partnerships with other organizations for collaborations in training the MSMEs and priming them for more opportunities. Owing to this, the Kisumu Small Business Development Center (Kisumu SBDC) recently hosted a team from the AgriJobs4Youth Project to discuss how agribusiness can promote youth employment and sustainability. The discussions focused on various strategies for leveraging agribusiness to create meaningful jobs, share knowledge, and scale impactful solutions. The team, led by Kisumu SBDC coordinator Brian Juma, an expert in Social Development and Management had impactful deliberations on the best engagements going forward to empower youth, women and PWDs.
“AgriJobs4Youth Project seeks to change perceptions of the youth about agriculture and influence them to make a shift from subsistence farming to sustainable agribusiness.’’ John Shivisi, the Youth Organization Advisor commented during the discussions. Going forward, Kisumu SBDC and AgriJobs4Youth Project are looking towards unlocking new agribusiness opportunities through harnessing climate change adaptation, digitization and AI as drivers for growth.
Like the other 47 counties in Kenya, Kisumu significantly benefits from MSMEs, which employ many youths, ultimately boosting their incomes. They are essential for the county’s ongoing development, especially in agribusiness, trade, and services. Empowering these enterprises will unlock the county’s economic potential and contribute to the nation’s GDP.
A recent report by the Kenya Bankers Association emphasizes the importance of gaining a deeper understanding of MSMEs by comprehensively capturing information about their operations. This approach aims to bridge the information gap between MSMEs and financial service providers, ultimately facilitating increased access to credit and supporting their growth.
As Kisumu SBDC and initiatives like AgriJobs4Youth continue to engage various stakeholders, it is essential to scale innovative solutions that enhance MSME growth. Therefore, the national government and county governments must increase their efforts in bringing together various key stakeholders like development partners to find ways of unlocking the potential of MSMEs through strategic partnerships with such initiatives as the USAID Strategic Partnership Program.
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