Last week, KEPSA, was proud to join the rest of the world in commemorating the International Micro Small and Medium-Sized Enterprise (MSMEs) Day celebrated on the 27^th of June every year.

Small businesses account for about 90% of the world’s businesses. In Kenya, MSMEs constitute about 98% of all business entities in the country. This further contributes to employment opportunities with a ripple effect in the global economy.

They however face challenges that end up limiting their growth and scaling up. Some of these challenges include limited access to financing, limited market access, regulatory and bureaucratic barriers, skills and talent shortage, Technology adoption and digitalization, Economic volatility, and uncertainty.

The theme for this year ‘Galvanizing MSMEs worldwide by supporting women and youth entrepreneurship and resilient supply chains’ is befitting and couldn’t have come at a better time when the country and the world are looking at empowering more women and young entrepreneurs in efforts to create a source of livelihood. Women and youth-owned enterprises are said to be the most vulnerable and are often at risk of external shocks.

While more efforts need to be put to enhance the capabilities and promote the advancement of women and youth in order to tackle these challenges effectively; there are already measures and initiatives that the Government of Kenya has put in place. This includes:

• ✅In 2013, The government of Kenya launched Access to Government Procurement Opportunities (AGPO) program to empower the youth, women, and persons with disabilities by giving them more opportunities to do business with Government. The program requires 30% of Government Procurement opportunities to be set aside specifically for enterprises owned by these groups. This is still a working progress with more awareness creation needed and simplification of tendering process to reach the target group from marginalized areas. Other affirmative action funds include the setup of the youth fund to promote employment creation for the youth through enterprise development and the Women Enterprise Fund (WEF) that targets women with the provision of accessible and affordable credit to start or expand businesses for wealth and employment creation.
• ✅The establishment of the Micro and Small Enterprises Authority (MSEA) to provide financial support and capacity building to SMEs.
• ✅Introduction of the e-Citizen portal, that allows SMEs to register their businesses online, business incubation centres across the country to provide training, mentorship, and support services to SMEs.
• ✅Business incubation centres set up across the country to provide training, mentorship, and support services to SMEs. `

The rest of the Private Sector is also not left behind in championing the MSME sector. KEPSA’s current focus is scaling up SMEs into large competitive enterprises that integrate with many more small businesses along their value chains while providing enhanced opportunities for jobs and wealth creation. KEPSA has been working with different partners to support small and medium enterprises in accessing local & global markets, linkage to appropriate and affordable finance, capacity building, innovation, and policy through different initiatives such as SME accelerator programs, E-Booster Commerce program, Technical Assistance for Agriculture SMEs, Financial training, MSME Financing Gateway, Covid-19 Recovery, and Resilience Program which have seen the participation of over 10,000 SMEs in the last three years.

Acknowledging the significance of MSMEs and maintaining partnerships with them showcases the dedication of the apex body of the private sector, KEPSA, to stimulating economic growth and development in Kenya. This collaborative approach can lead to favourable results, benefiting not only MSMEs but also the broader economy and society at large.