Sugarcane farming is significantly transforming the lives of farmers in Kenya’s Western and Nyanza regions thanks to the revival of key factories.
With the hope of financial relief and renewed confidence in the sugar industry, women are taking up sugarcane farming, a sector that has traditionally been dominated by men.
Judith Shikwati is one of the resilient women who have defied cultural barriers to succeed in sugarcane farming.
Narrating her journey, Ms Shikwati revealed she started sugarcane farming in 2022 after her father gave her half an acre of land with ready sugarcane.
From the harvest, she made over Sh50,000, which inspired her to heavily invest in the venture.
“I wanted to expand my plantation, but I didn’t have enough money. Having been a Co-op bank customer for a long time, I decided to approach them for funding; I’m happy to say that they gave me a loan of Sh300,000, which I highly attribute to my success in sugarcane farming,” She said.
The farmer used the funds to lease a larger piece of land and reinvested all her earnings into the venture.
Today, she manages over 90,000 acres of sugarcane plantations. She sells her produce directly to Mumias Sugar Company.
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“If you have an idea that you think will make you money, go for it. If you don’t have funds, don’t be afraid to go for bank or Sacco financing,’’ she added.
Ms Shikwati says that women are the most advantaged when it comes to borrowing due to the many products financial institutions roll out targeting women entrepreneurs.
According to Mike Muthengi, the country manager for Business Partners International, financiers prefer lending to women entrepreneurs because they are more cautious and have more clarity about what they want to do.
”Women are generally risk averse. It takes a lot of time for a woman-led business to borrow; because they think through. By the time a woman entrepreneur takes a loan, they have looked at every possible thing that can go wrong, and they will satisfy themselves it will not go wrong,” Muthengi said.
Ms Shikwati advised women in business to take advantage of the many loan products targeting women entrepreneurs. She gave an example of the Co-op Bank Msamaria women’s loan which says has been one of her key pillars of success.
“I have never seen any loan facility that targets men. My business has grown to where it is today courtesy of the Co-op Bank Msamaria loan. I took my first loan when my business was just two years old. The loan attracted one of the lowest interest rates I had ever seen. After paying the loan, I immediately took another one. I highly encourage women to take advantage of these women’s loans,” she said.
The Co-op Bank’s Msamaria Women’s Loan is a loan product that targets women seeking to expand their businesses, allowing them to access unsecured loans of between Sh5,000.00 to Sh10 million with a repayment period of 24 months.
It also comes with an insurance benefit that covers breast/cervical cancer, critical illness, personal accident, death and permanent total disability.
The requirements to access the loan include a Copy of the KRA PIN and certified bank statements from other banks if your Co-op Bank account is less than 6 months old.
The bank further demands that businesses seeking to get a Msamaria loan should at least be a year old, have a regular cash flow, open an account with Co-operative Bank, and have a valid license, among others.
“Acceptable security will include but not limited to chattels mortgage over household, business assets, land, NSE” the lender states.
