President Ruto Challenges Banks to Support Youth and Small Enterprises

Jukwaa

📻 Breaking It Down

Speaking during this year’s World MSME Day celebrations at the Kenyatta International Convention Centre (KICC) in Nairobi, President Ruto said small businesses contribute nearly 40 per cent of Kenya’s economy but continue to face limited access to financing.

Although commercial banks have extended about KSh1 trillion in credit to the sector over the last three years, the President said the amount remains insufficient to support the growth potential of MSMEs.

“The uncomfortable truth remains: The vast majority of micro and small enterprises, the very backbone of our economy, have remained outside that flow of capital,” President Ruto said.

📌 What You Need to Know

He noted that the sector currently faces a financing gap estimated at KSh3 trillion and urged financial institutions to develop innovative and inclusive lending solutions.

“I put it to my friends in finance plainly — how can we possibly grow our economy while locking most of our people off the balance sheet? How do we create jobs for our youth while refusing to bank them?” he posed.

The Head of State highlighted several measures the government has introduced to support small businesses, including the establishment of a State Department dedicated to MSMEs.

He also said the government has disbursed KSh90 billion through the Hustler Fund to more than 27 million Kenyans over the past three years.

Additionally, the President revealed that more than eight million Kenyans who had been blacklisted by the Credit Reference Bureau (CRB) have been delisted, with two million already rebuilding their credit standing and rejoining the formal financial system.

“We are now turning that credit history into a National Credit Score so that character and behaviour, not just a title deed or a logbook, can unlock financing,” he said.

📰 Source: Capital FM Kenya

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