Ruto calls on banks to be flexible when lending to SMEs
President William Ruto has called on the financial sector to be flexible in their credit services to Macro Small and Medium Enterprises.
The President spoke on Thursday when he attended the Annual General Meeting for Kenya National Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Nairobi. He was accompanied by Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua and the Trade CS Moses Kuria.
“I really want to challenge our financial institutions with tremendous respect that it is time and it possible we inspired the MSMEs to ensure they have access to affordable credit,” he said.
He noted that his administration will work with them as they fashion the Hustler Fund, adding it will be provided at a single-digit rate.
He said the fund which targets the ‘hustlers’ will begin with a simple fee without interest as they progress.
“We want to fire the bottom of the pyramid because that is where the engine of our economy is,” he stated.
Ruto answered the plea by sector stakeholders for digitisation and automation of transactions in order to take more economic activities to the domain of the digital economy. He announced that export documents will digitised to reduce transaction costs and business information will also be digitised and consolidated in an integrated portal.
The president announced a raft of measures that included lowering the cost of production significantly through lower energy and input costs and a more supportive tax regime.
“Our first order of business is to develop a policy framework to protect and support youth in the creative economy. This entails the facilitation and capacity building, of main youth-owned MSMEs. The second related agenda is the urgent need to lay down MSME-friendly consumer protection and intellectual property frameworks,” he said.
In order to further improve the country’s economy and empower more participation in the digital economy, the president announced plans to manufacture cheaper mobile phones locally.
“The real last mile in technology is the gadgets and we are working with our telcos so that we can have a smartphone that is below KES 5,000,” the President stated.
“In the next 8 to12 months, we will have the cheapest smartphone in Africa manufactured in Kenya.”
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