The Micro and Small Enterprise Authority (MSEA) in collaboration with the Investing in Young Business in Africa-Supporting Entrepreneurial Ecosystem Development (IYBA-SEED) and SNV has conducted the second phase of business policy awareness forum on the proposed MSME Policy 2025 in Eldoret, Uasin Gishu County.
Speaking during the forum that attracted more than 200 MSE operators, mostly youth and women across the county, MSEA Regional Director, North Rift, CPA Alton Kogo noted that most of them were not aware of the support and opportunities available in MSEA and other government institutions.
He emphasized the need for thorough sensitization of the youth and women from different sectors of the economy like hotel industry, manufacturing, agro-processing and others, on the already existing business opportunities and support available in the government institutions like MSEA in order to make them understand the proposed MSME Policy 2025, National Youth Opportunities Towards Advancement (NYOTA), Kenya Jobs and Economic Transformation (KJET), and others.
“The purpose of this forum is to open their minds to seize up these opportunities, encourage them to do formalization of their enterprises and understand all the mandates of MSEA and IYBA-SEED Project,” noted Kogo.
The regional director hinted at opportunities in infrastructure and industrial development noting that enlightening the MSEs would enable them to conduct their daily activities as per the policy guidelines.
In her remarks, MSEA Senior Assistant Director Tabitha Gicheru affirmed the Authority’s support to MSEs in terms of capacity building, market access, mobilization and registration of micro and small enterprises, infrastructure development, affordable credit, and MSE centres of excellence to promote development.
The SNV IYBA SEED Project Manager Nduta Ndirangu underscored that they support MSEA in terms of policy formulation and implementation of entrepreneurship legislations that facilitate participation and support of SEED beneficiaries who include business and entrepreneurs, young and women entrepreneurs.
“We are supporting the ecosystems and all agencies like MSEA that work to support youth and women in business and entrepreneurship to be able to create a conducive business environment for women and youth so as to create more jobs,” she said.
She indicated that the IYBA SEED aimed at ensuring that policies supporting entrepreneurship were well implemented, monitored and responsive to the needs of young and women entrepreneurs through capacity building for ecosystem players with focus on agriculture, blue economy, infrastructure development, digital economy, manufacturing and financial services sectors.
The Kenya National Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KNCCI), Uasin Gishu Chapter Assistant Chairman Dan Melly, implored the policymakers to develop friendly policies like the proposed MSME Policy 2025 to enable businesspeople to leverage their businesses and to sustain them to support their livelihoods.
“We would engage more with policymakers to ensure that in their future policies, they should include opportunities for women and youth, less privileged, to ensure they benefit more through programmes like AGPO,” said Melly.
He called on the government through MSEA to come up with policies to support business communities and young people and to strengthen the private sector through friendly policies since it is the largest sector that absorbs the youth and women by offering them employment.
By Ekuwam Sylvester and Dorothy Chepkwemoi
