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Entrepreneur's Corner

Kwale SMEs Trained On How To Access Funding From Absa Bank Kenya

BY Juma · November 2, 2022 12:11 pm

KEY TAKEAWAYS

Kwale County has a population of 866,820 according to the 2019 Kenya Population and Housing Census with about 85 percent of them residing in rural areas.

Agriculture is the main source of livelihood in Kwale. 85 percent of the farmers in the county practice subsistence farming. At the same time, 54 percent of the county’s population is unemployed with SMEs being their only hope for them.

After a successful SME training tour in Western Kenya where they went to Kisumu, Kisii, Bungoma, Kitale, and Eldoret, Absa Bank Kenya is now in the Coast region, in a series of training that will see SMEs in the regions trained in various aspects of running their businesses.

The SME Tour was in partnership with the Kenya National Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KNCCI) with business owners getting an opportunity to access firsthand information on the products and services offered by the lender that are used to boost businesses.

The first stop at the Coast was in Kwale County, Tuesday 1, November 2022 where Governor Fatuma Achani graced the occasion. The team will then head to Taita Taveta, Kilifi, and wind up in Mombasa County.

Kwale County has a population of 866,820 according to the 2019 Kenya Population and Housing Census with about 85 percent of them residing in rural areas.

Agriculture is the main source of livelihood in Kwale. 85 percent of the farmers in the county practice subsistence farming. At the same time, 54 percent of the county’s population is unemployed with SMEs being their only hope for them.

“Kwale County is home to diverse economic activities ranging from the fishing, tourism, and hotel industries, to agribusiness, manufacturing, and mining. It is against this backdrop that we have chosen Kwale County as part of our multi-county business support tours in the Coastal region as we seek to enhance the capacity of the county’s SME sector as well as projects with high impact in terms of employment creation, increasing county competitiveness, revenue generation,” said Mr. Peter Mutua, Customer Network Director at Absa Bank Kenya.

It needs no gainsaying that SMEs are an important driver of economic growth for any country, county, or region. Yet, despite this, they continue to face innumerable challenges every day. Apart from access to capital, SMEs also face limited market access, lack of skills transfer, changes in technology, and retention of talent amongst other issues.

“As Absa, we understand that these challenges impact business growth for SMEs. We have thus come up with exciting solutions that my colleague Susan Situma highlighted in her remarks as our support to the growth and sustainability of this important sector,” he added.

On her part, the Governor for Kwale County, Fatuma Achani, called on the SMEs in the county to take advantage of the training and form a partnership with both Absa Bank Kenya and KNCCI that will enable them access coaching, training, access funds, and markets.

Those in attendance were trained on how to access finances from Absa Bank to grow their businesses. They were also introduced to how they could apply and access unsecured lending of up to 10 million shillings, payable over 5 years for existing borrowers, and 7 million shillings for new borrowers, payable in 4 years.

Those interested in various products that Absa Bank Kenya is offering to SMEs can get more information through https://www.absabank.co.ke/business/bank/sme-business-accounts/ or send the term #Wezesha to 22268.

Juma is an enthusiastic journalist who believes that journalism has power to change the world either negatively or positively depending on how one uses it. (020) 528 0222 or Email: info@sokodirectory.com

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