At least 200 SMEs in Kisii county will benefit from a business empowerment tour organized by Absa Bank Kenya in collaboration with the Kenya National Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KNCCI).
Mr. Yusuf Omari, interim Absa Bank Kenya PLC Managing Director, said during a stakeholder engagement session with businessmen and women at a hotel in Kisii town that the campaign aims to build the capacity of businesses in the region.
“We are keen on identifying and exploiting opportunities for growth among SMEs in Kisii. As an enabler of business, we understand that empowering SMEs makes a substantial contribution to livelihoods and fosters inclusive growth for the region,” said Mr. Omari.
The campaign, which will also take place in Kisumu, Bungoma, Trans Nzoia, and Uasin Gishu counties, is part of Absa’s commitment to working with Kenyans to achieve shared success and open up new opportunities.
Mr. Omari praised the Kisii county government for creating an investor-friendly environment for the private sector, noting that the bank had formed strategic alliances to drive grassroots engagement with businesses at both the industry and institutional levels.
As part of their efforts to support enterprise development, the Managing Director stated that they have partnered with KNCCI to provide mentorship and networking opportunities to businessmen and women across Kisii.
He stated that the forums address issues such as how to formalize business, gain access to the right business products, and find ready markets for their goods and services.
Absa trained over 1000 women entrepreneurs in Nairobi, the Coast, Western, Nyanza, and the Rift Valley earlier this year, in collaboration with the KNCCI, on business fundamentals such as sustainability, fundraising, bookkeeping, and networking in order to transform them into profitable operations.
Furthermore, over 20,000 women-owned businesses have benefited in the last year from the Women in Business proposition, which provides unsecured lending of up to Sh. 10 million over 5 years for existing borrowers and Sh. 7 million over 4 years for new borrowers.
Absa has disbursed over Sh. 50 billion in loans through the Wezesha Biashara Program in the last five years, repositioning itself as an enabler for SMEs.
According to Financial Sector Deepening (FSD) Kenya, SMEs account for 24% of the country’s GDP, more than 90% of private sector enterprises, and 93% of the total labor force in the economy.
