Over 150 enterprises have received information and skills vital to grow their investments at the 10th edition of Grow with Safaricom Business in Kisumu City.

The forum facilitated by telco giant Safaricom PLC seeks to empower entrepreneurs with the capacity to accelerate their expansion.

According to Safaricom, this is the second time the forum is taking place in the Greater Western region, following a similar forum held in November 2024.

“I work with fishermen along the shores of Lake Victoria to collect and transport the hyacinth to the workshop where we convert the weed into pulp to make paper. We then produce book covers, notebooks, cards, envelopes among other products. I however need to make my business more tenable,” Michael Otieno, founder of Takawiri Craft, said.

His venture is a social enterprise that makes paper from water hyacinth. With skills gained from the forum, Otieno says the forum will enable him gain insights on how to make his business financially sustainable. 

The Grow with Safaricom Business forum which is taking place as part of the M-PESA Sokoni festival is designed to empower entrepreneurs with the knowledge and skills that can help them to sustainably accelerate their growth.

“At Safaricom Business, we support businesses through four key pillars—Connect, Enable, Protect, and Transform in line with Safaricom’s vision to be Africa’s Leading Purpose-led technology company by 2030. Through the Grow with Safaricom Business forum, we are enabling and transforming businesses across the country. We believe that the forum will enable MSMEs to sustainably accelerate their growth,” said Frankline Okata, Ag. Chief Enterprise Business Officer, Safaricom PLC.

Since its inception in March last year, the forum has reached over 1200 businesses through forums organized at the Coast, Nairobi, Rift, Mt. Kenya and Greater Western regions.

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