KENYAN WOMEN ENTREPRENEURS GO THROUGH HELL ACCESSING FINANCES FROM BANKS

Proceedings during a workshop to discuss ways of easy loan accessibility by Kenyan business women. PHOTO/ DOMINIC KIRUI

Kenyan business women always get difficulties accessing loans from banks . PHOTO / CORRESPONDENT

Panel discussion during a two day workshop held in Nairobi County Kenya. PHOTO / DOMINIC KIRUI

KENYAN WOMEN ENTREPRENEURS GO THROUGH HELL ACCESSING FINANCES FROM BANKS

By Dominic Kirui

Business Advisory Service Providers

(BASPs), Financial Institutions (FIs),

business executives, international

investors, senior government officials,

and multilateral stakeholders held a

workshop to discuss access to finance by

SMEs in the country.

For many women in the country,

initiating and successfully running a

business is an uphill task, because of

many hurdles by players in the sector,

from financial institutions to

government licensing institutions.

Angela Odero, the Chief Executive

Officer for Rio Fish, a Kenyan social

enterprise based in HomaBay County that

is providing a consistent supply of fish

and linking women fish farmers with

economic opportunities, says that

accessing credit is an issue for women

in business.

“Most banks demands for audited accounts

before they can lend money to majority

of SMEs. Walk with us. You find that

most women small businesses don’t even

have records, but I am sure as any

finance person, if you can look at money

coming in and money going out, you will

find something you can work with”, she

says.

Odero also says that the issue of

collateral requirement by financial

institutions is a huge hurdle.

“If I go there with a title with my name

and my husband’s name and he has signed

all the documents, they still want to

talk to him. If he goes there with the

title in our names and I have signed the

documents, no one wants to talk to me.

So I don’t know what difference it

makes,” she explains.

There is, however, need for non-

governmental organisations and private

sector to ensure that Kenyan businesses

benefit from their investments in the

country.

While speaking at the launch of the two-

day event, David Osiany, the Chief

Administrative Secretary for the

Ministry of Industrialization, Trade &

Enterprise Development said that Kenya

is already having progressive

conversations with the American

government to ensure that mutual

interests are met.

“I’m really hoping that all our funders

coming into the country for impact

really come to support our businesses to

grow, then we will comfortably and

confidently speak. shared prosperity

then we will have employed many more

Kenyans and our women will be dignified.

Then our manufacturing sector will

bulge,” Osiany says.

He also adds that his ministry is in

talks with the United States government

to ensure a win-win situation for the

two countries.

“I know that we are having wonderful

conversations and negotiations in my

ministry with the United States. Our

trade negotiations are ongoing. And each

time we have those conversations it

demonstrates the mutuality that we have

towards shared prosperity even when we

are trying to ensure that our interests

are best case,” he says.

Osiany also identified agribusiness as a

sector that is underfunded, yet employs

a majority of Kenyans, its potential

which is yet to be fully exploited.

“Africa accounts for upwards of 40% of

the world’s arable land. And to focus on

agriculture is inspiring for me. It is

important as Kenya makes its

contribution to the African dream of

reviving and finding its capability

within the outer space feeding the

world,” he adds.

Lucy Mitei, the gender specialist at

USAID’s Kenya Investment Mechanism say

that there is hope for a better future

for the Kenyan women in business.

“The financing landscape is looking

promising for Kenyan businesswoman as we

have made notable strides with regard

to accommodating the strategic needs and

interests of women-SMEs. Moving

forward, we need more honest

conversations on how best to address the

key barriers to financing as I feel

that in the past, we have modeled

financing solutions without the women’s

voice and views, and thus missed out on

a huge potential”, she advises.

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