Politics & Policy
Credit Guarantee
scheme: Viable
substitute to SME
funds and grants
Even from a mere hypothetical basis, just from observing raw
data available, it is quite telling when the countries with the
highest interest charged on credit globally also comprise some
of the dismally performing economies. Is there a correlation
between access to credit and the extent to which an economy
thrives?
By George Wainaina
[email protected]
10 | THINK BUSINESS • NOVEMBER 2017
Government grants like Uwezo,
and Youth Enterprise Funds have
been unable to bring out the desired
impact, maybe limited by scale and
internal managerial incompetencies.
These poorly managed initiatives,
often marred by politically instigated
disunity, have underperformed in
their roles, which comes at a very
pricey expense for small businesses.
The micro small enterprise
sector in Kenya accounts for 81
percent of total employed workforce
in Kenya. Further data from the Kenya
National Bureau of Statistics states
that an estimated 14.9 million people
are engaged in unlicensed enterprises
contributing 57.8 percent of
employment. The capital city recorded
the highest number of employees in
licensed enterprises accounting for
27.8 percent of persons engaged.