In Kisii, SMEs find partners to aid recovery and spur growth
To meet the challenges posed by the pandemic, small and micro enterprises (SMEs) in Kenya and around the world had to respond to a dynamic environment in agile and very decisive ways.
As we move into the next phase, now is the time for businesses to seek out and seize the emerging opportunities presented by different market players to accelerate recovery.
For Kisii-based Small and Micro Enterprises (SMEs), this involves among others embracing innovative ideas on how to run successful enterprises as well as adopting better business financing models.
“During this difficult operating environment, our strategy has remained to be a partner of growth for our SMEs as part of efforts to help them mitigate these challenges and support them to pivot for recovery and growth,” interim Absa Bank Kenya CEO Yusuf Omari said to hundreds of SME owners in Kisii during an ongoing empowerment campaign in western Kenya.
In an effort to aid the recovery for small businesses, Absa Bank has been reaching out to SME owners and in particular women in business across the country with tailor-made solutions to keep the engines of the economy running.
“We also want to learn more about the products and solutions that are relevant to your businesses and to this region (Kisii) in particular,” Mr Omari explained, adding that in order to meet SME needs better, the lender wants to “hear the challenges that you encounter when dealing with us and how we can improve your banking experience with us.”
In partnership with the Kenya National Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KNCCI), the Nairobi Securities Exchange-listed lender is reaching out to an estimated 1,000 SME owners in Kenya’s western belt this week.
The target SMEs are getting the chance to sharpen their skills in business sustainability, funding, bookkeeping, and networking so as to ensure they become bankable.
Absa is committed to supporting its SME customers’ portfolios with business insights, networks, and expertise to transform their enterprises into centres of creating value, jobs, and economic growth.
Under the lender’s Women in Business offering the lender seeks to empower over one million women entrepreneurs in the next five years.
Read also: Absa giving a hand up to 1000 SMEs in western Kenya
Already, Absa Bank has impacted over 20,000 active customers in the last year, providing unsecured loans of up to Kes10 million, payable over five years for existing borrowers, and Kes7 million unsecured credit for new borrowers payable in four years.
What’s more, in the western belt campaign, the bank has set sights on liaising with county governments to help realize their plans in revenue collection as well as anchor investment in key projects including water, solid waste management, and agri-business through public-private partnerships.
A study by Alma Economics and the World Bank shows that counties collect just 40 percent of their potential revenue from key income streams such as Early Childhood Development, agriculture, health services, water, and urban development.
“We are keen to lend our expertise to your County Government’s efforts to venture into the processing of bananas, avocado, and sugarcane as well as value addition in the soapstone industry which are among the county’s priority sectors for industrial growth,” Mr Omari said at the business forum that was graced by Kisii County Governor, Mr Simba Arati.
Absa is already implementing asset-based financing products with Laikipia County and plans to spread the offering to more devolved regions.
“We are keen on partnerships that address environmental threats such as the use of wood fuel and the management of solid waste. As part of our sustainability agenda, we stand ready to collaborate with the Kisii County Government to address these issues that rank as a top priority worldwide on the back of effects of climate change,” the CEO added.
Kisii County, where agriculture accounts for 80 percent of the devolved unit’s GDP, has a population of over 1.3 million according to the 2019 census.
