Embassy of Ireland support to training and mentorship sessions organised by KEPSA
News
12 August 2021
While support for female entrepreneurs has been growing in recent years in Kenya, a number of significant barriers and obstacles continue to exist such as overregulation, lack of market information, access to finance, use of inferior technology and inadequate information on regional and international market access.
Late last year the Kenya Private Sector Alliance (KEPSA) with support from the Embassy of Ireland in Nairobi launched a program focused on mitigating against the effects of COVID-19 and catalysing growth of women led SMEs (Small and medium-sized enterprises) in Kenya. SMEs account for about 80% of the total employment in the country and contribute 28% of the country’s GDP. This sector stands out as the key driver of Kenya Vision 2030 seeking to transform the country into a newly industrialized middle-income country by 2030.
A number of topics covered during the sessions were sustainability, networking, environmental social governance, integrity, resilience and embracing competition. Each session provided interventions targeted at supporting women led SMEs to be resilient, recover, maintain business opportunities, and preserve existing jobs, increase revenues and their employment opportunities.
The sessions aligned well to Ireland’s policy priority focused on women’s economic empowerment, female entrepreneurship and gender equality. Saum Siraj, MD of Starture Enterprises, said the programme introduced her to new information, lessons and free mentorship from industry leaders on a weekly basis:
“I have learnt a lot, networked and created business partnerships which would not have been possible on a normal day. A key value-add for me has been the sales that I generated from some of the networks and understanding the value in removing some items from my product line while focusing on the ones that made economic sense. These sessions have greatly increased my business innovation leading to a revision of my entire business plan and strategy.”
She says that the new knowledge has enabled her to create networks and explore more business funding opportunities. Ireland’s support to Women Led SMEs and youth helps them grow, enhance their sustainability and empower their businesses to grow bigger and better.