Stanbic bank and foundation, through its partnership with GIZ and the County Government of Uasin Gishu on 16th March 16, held a graduation ceremony. The event saw the awarding of certificates to 212 MSMEs from across the six sub-counties in Uasin Gishu County who took part in the MSMEs resilience program.
The five-day Uasin Gishu MSMEs program, was concluded the last week. It was aimed at facilitating the growth of small enterprises as well as accelerating business recovery post-pandemic. Program training areas included business resilience, digital sales and marketing, financial management, people management, access to markets and new value chains as well as legal and compliance requirements.
Coupled with the training, were mentorships as well as coaching on the modes of integration of knowledge into entrepreneurship.
Lilian Bitok, for one, a beneficiary of the program, had this to say.
“ The training has been very good. My take home is that business is a continuous learning curve. I didn’t know how to keep my records well. I didn’t know how to draw a financial statement. But now I understand very well. Also, the location and how to market a place are very important.
I’d say that this has been a school of business, Uasin Gishu chapter.” She said.
Uasin Gishu MSMEs graduation ceremony
Gracing the event as the guest of honor was Joshua Oigara, Chief Executive, Stanbic Bank Kenya, and South Sudan. He noted that MSMEs were one of the significant contributors to the economy yet the most vulnerable to economic shocks due to limited access to resources including financing. This is furthered by a lack of relevant skills for sustained business growth.
In appreciation of the partnership, Eng. Martha Cheruto, the Uasin Gishu county executive member of Trade, Industrialization, Tourism, Cooperatives, and Entreprise development gave her remarks, as well as those of the governor in absentia.
“ I also want to point out that we have received about 7.5 million shillings from Stanbic to facilitate some Uasin Gishu SMEs to recover from the effects of covid 19,” Martha stated.
“ And we don’t end it there. We will monitor and evaluate the progress of our SMEs and youth after six months. We invited national government agencies including KEBS, KRA, KIRDI, and other agencies, so that they can listen to what SMEs are going through and how we can work together to provide an enabling business environment.
This will be a continued partnership.” She concluded.
She also acknowledged the concurrent ‘STEP for Y’ program with Kenyatta University among other universities. The program also trained over 150 youths within Eldoret and Uasin Gishu.
In conclusion, the beneficiaries of the MSMEs resilience program will also receive post-program support. That includes access to finance to ensure sustained growth in their businesses.