NAIROBI, Kenya, April 13 – Manufacturers have called on the government to strengthen the Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) ecosystem in Kenya to support their growth.
This was during the first Manufacturing SMEs Convention, hosted by the Kenya Association of Manufacturers (KAM).
Speaking during the forum, Cabinet Secretary, Ministry of Cooperatives and Micro, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises(MSMEs), Simon Chelugui, observed that whereas Kenya has developed programs and initiatives to support MSMEs over the years, their potential is yet to be fully untapped.
“We have approximately 7.5 million MSMEs in Kenya, contributing approximately 30 per cent to the GDP. 85 per cent of MSMEs are in the informal economy. With the right policies and regulations as well as an enabling environment, they shall be better positioned to grow into large companies,” he said.
Industry PS, Juma Mukhwana observed that the missing link between agriculture and industry has led to shortages of raw materials in the past and called for the strengthening of value chains.
“Kenya largely depends on imports for raw materials and intermediate goods. Manufacturing SMEs have the potential to remedy this challenge, hence, it is critical that we champion industrialization. In doing so, we shall be able to access local and international markets,” he said.
KAM Chair, Rajan Shah noted that SMEs provide enormous opportunities for socio-economic transformation of our country’s economy.
“By providing a space where manufacturing SMEs are competitive, have access to regional and international markets, and maximize local agro-based inputs, then, they will have a ripple effect on the economy. Subsequently, it will accelerate the realization of our goal to increase the manufacturing sector’s contribution to the GDP from the current 7.2 per cent to 20 per cent by 2030,” he said.
