Eldoret: Micro and Small Enterprises operators dealing in leather and textile products in Uasin Gishu County have been enlightened on the Draft MSME Policy 2025 and Amendment Act 2025 and other existing policies. The key focus is on integrating medium-sized enterprises into the legal framework, expanding access to finance through the Hustler Fund and credit guarantees, and facilitating digital transformation. It also seeks to formalize informal operations, boost market access, and include tailored support for women, youth, and persons with disabilities.
According to Kenya News Agency, the forum, known as the Phase 5 Business Policy Awareness Forum, was held in Eldoret, Uasin Gishu County. MSEA Regional Coordinator, North Rift CPA Alton Kogo, indicated that the Micro and Small Enterprises Authority (MSEA) organized these policy awareness forums in collaboration with other stakeholders like SNV’s Investing in Young Businesses in Africa – Supporting Entrepreneurial Ecosystem Development (IYBA-SEED). The aim is to educate entrepreneurs, particularly youth and women, on existing policies, business formalization, and available support services to foster a more informed and competitive business ecosystem in Kenya.
‘Today, we are gathered here with over 60 MSMEs entrepreneurs, majorly from the leather and the textile sector, basically to provide a platform and discussion about the policies that the different ecosystem players are having in supporting them,’ explained MSEA North Rift Regional Coordinator. He noted that the objective of the forum is to bring on board all the ecosystem actors who are supporting MSMEs in different ways, like SNV Netherlands Development Organization, Kenya Industrial Estates (KIE), Uwezo Fund, Kenya Bureau of Standards (KEBS), County Government, and others. These actors are present to explain to the enterprises key policy issues which are favorable to them and explore how they can collaborate to improve these policies further.
The forum also provides an opportunity for MSMEs to interact with private enterprises like Inkomoko, which offered a range of Business Development Support (BDS) services and financial access opportunities. Additionally, the Juakali Federation and its leadership shared information on how they are supporting the ecosystem through affordable housing programs and other initiatives.
Nduta Ndirangu, SNV Project Manager for the IYBA-SEED project in Kenya, affirmed their support to MSEA in strengthening policies to support MSMEs’ growth and the ecosystem that supports young businesses owned by youth, women, and persons with disabilities, thus creating decent employment for them. She noted that the project is being implemented in three counties: Nakuru, Uasin Gishu, and Kisumu, in collaboration with other stakeholders who form part of the entrepreneurship ecosystem supporting young businesses like the MSEA.
The IYBA-SEED Project Manager revealed that Micro and Small Enterprises (MSEs) in Kenya and Africa face critical growth bottlenecks, including limited access to finance, poor market access, high-interest rates, inadequate infrastructure, weak managerial skills, and regulatory constraints. ‘Major issues faced by the MSEs, not only in Uasin Gishu but across Kenya, number one is access to finance, which is the key challenge that MSMEs face. We also have access to markets and regulatory. Therefore, sensitization needs to be done so that they are aware of the available support opportunities,’ she noted.
Richard Opar from the Kenya National Federation of Jua Kali Associations commended the MSEA, SNV-IYBA SEED, and other stakeholders for hosting such a forum. He noted it is crucial to enable them to understand fully the new regulations and support policies and explore available opportunities to boost their enterprises’ growth and contribute meaningfully to the Kenyan economy.
