This archive report was first published on 6 November 2019.
Kenyan banks have made a significant commitment to supporting small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) by pledging KSh 100 billion in funding.
According to Joshua Oigara, chairman of the Kenya Bankers Association, the digital platform Stawi has registered 100,000 businesses since its pilot launch in April. Notably, the platform has already disbursed KSh 100 million to SMEs since its inception.
Stawi's innovative approach enables credit-information sharing and promotes transparency, thereby easing barriers to access to credit. This is in line with the World Bank's assessment in its report, Kenya Economic Update No.20, which praised Stawi as an innovative product.
Under the Stawi initiative, SMEs can enjoy a fixed interest rate of 9 per cent and borrow between KSh 50,000 and KSh 250,000. This move is expected to provide SMEs with much-needed access to funding and promote economic growth.
Kenya's informal sector, which provided employment to 83.6 percent of Kenyan workers in 2018, according to the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS), is set to benefit from this initiative.
