The Government has called for a shift in the way enterprise support programmes measure success, and shift their focus to business growth, job creation and poverty reduction rather than repayment rates alone.
Principal Secretary (PS)for MSMEs, Susan Mang’eni, disclosed that funds such as Uwezo Fund must move beyond repayment rates as the sole measure of success and focus on sustainable businesses, employment and poverty reduction.
She was speaking during a two-day retreat of the Uwezo Fund Oversight Board and Management in Machakos, to review performance and set a roadmap for efficiency and impact.
Ms. Mang’eni said even where a supported business does not survive in the long term, beneficiaries can gain valuable entrepreneurial skills and experience that make them better prepared to participate in the wider economy.
“Repayment should not be the only measure of success. We must look at the businesses that have grown, the jobs created and the livelihoods transformed,” Mang’eni said.
She said the State Department is developing a framework to help returning diaspora Kenyans invest skills and capital gained abroad into local enterprises, noting that remittances remain a key foreign exchange earner.
CS called on enterprise funds to expand targeting beyond constituencies to include demographic, sectoral and diaspora groups.
Uwezo Fund Board Chairperson, Anne Njuguna, said the Fund must accelerate adoption of technology and Artificial Intelligence in line with the Bottom-Up Economic Transformation Agenda, but apply it responsibly.
Njuguna said the Fund should anchor decisions on data and evaluation, and strengthen monitoring to ensure tangible outcomes for women, youth and persons with disabilities.
She called for deliberate partnerships with government agencies, the private sector and development partners to mobilise resources and expand markets.
CEO Peter Lengapiani said the retreat is reviewing policies, operations, compliance and impact, and will produce resolutions on governance, innovation and operational efficiency.
The retreat is expected to strengthen Uwezo Fund’s role as an enterprise development vehicle by ensuring resources entrusted to the Fund translate into sustainable businesses, employment opportunities and improved livelihoods for beneficiaries.
By Alex Mulili
