A transformative initiative called dubbed Chanuka, Jipange na Business Opportunities is igniting a revolution among Micro and Small Enterprises (MSEs) in Kirinyaga County, empowering entrepreneurs to shift from survival to progressive approach.
Through trainings the initiative aims to equip the stakeholders with knowledge on how to identify opportunities at the same time looking for profitable solutions to systematic challenges.
Eunice Mburu, officer Chanuka, Jipange na Business Opportunities initiative, while training youths at ACK-Church Kerugoya, today, noted they want to activate the micro and small enterprises in different counties by ensuring the entrepreneurs get right mindset
“Our dreams and aspirations are that they are able to grow 20 times because it’s possible. You’ll find a micro enterprise could be making even a thousand shillings per day. How can that 1,000 shillings become 20,000 shillings per day? We train them on how to spot opportunities,” Ms Mburu noted.
She added that behind every complaint in society, there is a business opportunity in the process of solving the problem, giving an example of banana surplus in Kirinyaga, which can be a new venture in coming-up with another product that uses bananas as raw material.
“Where people complain, there lies an opportunity, for example in Kirinyaga surplus of bananas could be processed into flour, chips, or juice, creating value-added products for local and regional markets,” the officer said.
The initiative further prepared entrepreneurs to align themselves with government policy, Bottom-Up Transformation Agenda (BETA), which emphasizes agribusiness, health, affordable housing, and market development, encouraging them to find their niche in the value chains.
“The other way of identifying an opportunity is understanding the government policies, every new government comes with new policies and now it’s our responsibility as business people to align with the policy. This government has BETA Policy and it is important that we ask, what this means for me, how do I tap into these opportunities,”
Ms. Mburu challenged the participants to stop and start acting as the initiative aims to create a network of thriving MSEs, supported by peer learning and County government partnerships.
“For builders, there’s Affordable Housing; for health enthusiasts, there’s demand for sanitary products, by tapping into these policy-driven opportunities, MSEs can access larger markets and government support, paving the way for sustainable growth,” she observed.
By Mutai Kipngetich
