From Kisumu, Bungoma, Kisii, Trans Nzoia and now Uasin Gishu, ABSA Bank Kenya has not only changed lives for SME owners but also given direction of growth to the respective counties by empowering the MSMEs which are the engines of these economies.
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 bank that are used to boost businesses. The team from both Absa Bank Kenya and KNCCI landed in Eldoret town, Uasin Gishu County, and interacted with MSMEs who outlined the challenges they face, among them; access to markets, access to finances, access to information, training, and coaching.
Uasin Gishu has a population estimated at 1,163,186 with an annual growth rate of 3.8 percent, according to the 2019 Kenya Population and Housing Census. The County is generally an agricultural zone with large tracks of land being under tea, maize, and wheat.
“Uasin Gishu County is home to a vibrant business community with a diverse portfolio of businesses ranging from agribusiness, manufacturing, and trade. SMEs in North Rift Kenya and particularly Uasin Gishu County are a crucial part of the region’s socio-economic transformation. It is important that as enablers, we join hands with them as well as with the respective county administrations to drive their growth agenda because of the important role they play in uplifting the lives and livelihoods of residents in this region,” said Yusuf Omari, Interim Managing Director at Absa Bank Kenya
According to the county governor of Uasin Gishu county, H.E. Hon. Jonathan Kimeli Bii Chelilim:
• Uasin Gishu County has a population estimated at 1,163,186 with an annual growth rate of 3.8 percent, according to the 2019 Kenya Population and Housing Census.
• Uasin Gishu County’s Poverty Index currently stands at 16%, which is above the National average of 12.1%.
• Only 38% of the county’s population has secondary school qualifications and above.
• The young population of ages 0 to 14 years stands at 43%.
• Only 16.6% of the population are enrolled with the NHIF scheme.
• The doctor-to-patient ratio is 8.5 doctors per 10,000 people.
• 26% of the county’s population use untreated water.
• 46.5% of the county’s population use firewood for cooking and only 63.8% have access to electricity.
• 33.9% of the populace live in mud houses.
• Out of a total road network of 5,859 kilometres, only 310 kilometres is built to bitumen standard.
The new governor’s transformative agenda is aimed at creating a productive, agro-industrialized, innovative, prosperous, and a healthy community with better road network that adds value to the residents.
In his remarks, the interim Managing director of ABSA Bank Kenya shared his vision of the desired SME environment through which entrepreneurs are empowered with provision of access to relevant information and access to affordable facilities. He said, “Looking back on the two-year journey we have travelled since we introduced the Absa brand in this market, we are indeed proud of the milestones we have achieved over this period and are filled with gratitude to all our stakeholders not just for entrusting us with their financial needs but for joining hands with us to ensure that we all play a part in keeping the wheels of our economy going. I want to take this opportunity to appreciate all of you for your continued patronage and assure you that we do not take this for granted. On our part, I would like to re-assure you that our commitment to boldly spring towards improving our customer propositions still holds and that we remain steadfast in our promise to positively impacting our communities through our shared value agenda.”
” On that same breath, we have made significant strides towards fulfilling our pledge to supporting the SME sector, which is critical for the growth and development of our nation and at the same time learnt some key lessons that will serve us well in the future. We have particularly focussed our energies on supporting SMEs navigate through persisting complex challenges, including the disruptions arising from the COVID-19 pandemic, civil strife (as is currently the case with the Ukraine-Russia crisis), drought, inflation, forex fluctuation, formalisation, access to financing and networks among other issues. During this difficult operating environment, our strategy has remained to be a partner of growth for our SMEs as part of efforts to help them mitigate these challenges and support them to pivot for recovery and growth and as you heard from my colleague Elizabeth, we have very exciting and relevant solutions for this critical sector. ” He added
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.
Enjoy ABSA Bank Tailored products for the SMEs by sending the term #Wezesha to 22268 or by visiting https://www.absabank.co.ke/business/bank/sme-business-accounts/