Uwezo Fund Challenged to Create Jobs

Principal secretary state department for msme’s development Susan Mang’eni Thursday urged Uwezo fund to create job opportunities for 17 million unemployed Kenyans during the Uwezo working session workshop while validating 2023- 2027 strategic plan.

In her remarks she noted: “This moment signifies not only a significant achievement in our progress but also a reaffirmation of our steadfast dedication to fostering socio-economic empowerment and inclusive growth in Kenya.

MSMEs are a crucial trigger towards the realization of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), specifically goal No.8 seeks to promote sustained, inclusive, and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment, and decent work for all.

In Kenya, the sector represents an important part of the economy and plays a major role in employment creation, production and income generation. There are 7.4 million MSMEs operating in Kenya which engages about 14.9 million persons.
About 98% of the SMEs are micro enterprises that employ less than 10 persons.

The medium enterprises account for only 0.2% of MSMEs in the economy and the sector accounts for 30% of GDP.

Female participation in MSMEs sector is relatively higher in micro-enterprises compared to small enterprises. Further, female-owned enterprises are largely informal and therefore face disproportionately higher constraints in access to opportunities such as finance and markets.
Youth make up a third of Kenya’s population. Up to 35% of them are unemployed or Work in informal micro-enterprises.
The Government has prioritized the sector through Bottom-up Economic Transformation Agenda (BETA) under the Medium-Term Plan IV of the Vision 2030. Uwezo Fund is among the agencies established by Government mainly to cater for the unique needs of the respective categories, who would not access credit from the formal system because of stringent requirements that they could not fully meet, for instance, lack of collateral to support their loan applications.”
From our desk we wish her well.