KEPSA AND MASTERCARD FOUNDATION LAUNCH FUND TO SUPPORT MSMES IN KENYA HIT BY COVID-19

KEPSA AND MASTERCARD FOUNDATION LAUNCH FUND TO SUPPORT MSMES IN KENYA HIT BY COVID-19

By Wangechi Wahome

The Kenya Private Sector Alliance (KEPSA) and

the Mastercard Foundation launched a fund to

provide loans to a maximum of 400 Micro,

Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs)

whose businesses have been affected by the

COVID-19 pandemic. The loan facility will be

interest free and repayable by up to six months.

The Fund is created through support from the

Mastercard Foundation COVID-19 Recovery and

Resilience Program and is targeting businesses

that find it difficult to access financing from

formal lending institutions such as banks and

micro-financers. Priority will be given to

businesses run by women and young people.

KEPSA will carry out the screening of the Micro,

Small, and Medium Enterprises to ensure they

meet the criteria for eligibility to access the

loans. Loans will range in size with an expected

average size of Ksh 1 million.

KEPSA’s CEO, Carole Karuga said, “These are

bad times for everybody and a situation like this

hits MSMEs the hardest. They already operate

in a difficult environment, and research has

shown that most MSMEs last two years, and

you can see how such a situation would pan

out for them.”

She explained the fund and the accompanying

program is intended to strengthen the MSMEs’

capacity, and KEPSA would provide technical

support, such as helping the businesses adopt

digital solutions. In addition to screening the

MSMEs, KEPSA will roll out a virtual SME Hub

and create a business recovery hub to support

the SMEs by offering business development

services.

“COVID-19 has affected my business negatively

in terms of work consistency and revenue and

as a result fewer working hours for my virtual

employees. As a business that relies 90 percent

on the outsourcing of transcription work, clients

are cutting costs and my service offering is at

the top of the list to be cut. Through business

development services, the solution would be to

remodel the business to offer skills that will be

in demand now and beyond the pandemic,’’ said

Frida Mwangi, Founder of KaziRemote Limited.

KEPSA and the Mastercard Foundation intend

for the program to:

Help maintain jobs and livelihoods;

Identify new business opportunities for women

and young people;

Reduce Gender-Based Violence by enhancing

the capacity of women-led and owned

businesses to increase revenue and income;

Prioritize the health and safety of employees,

communities, and healthcare workers; and

Ensure business and supply chain continuity.

Mastercard Foundation Regional Head, Eastern

and Southern Africa, Daniel Hailu said, “MSMEs

are the backbone of the economy and they need

support now more than ever. Through the

Mastercard Foundation COVID-19 Recovery and

Resilience Program, we are working with our

partners to deliver tailored support to MSMEs

that will sustain their activities and continue to

provide opportunities for dignified work.”