Kenya Association of Manufacturers plans to offer training in managerial skills to small and medium enterprises as part of its Business Growth Program 2017.
KAM said SMEs will be trained on financial and human resource management, market design and strategic, supply chain management, among other modules.
KAM chairperson Flora Mutahi said they intend to uplift SMEs by providing them with access to markets, capacity building strategies for growth and expansion and support in advocacy.
The program will further allow participants to develop concrete business growth strategies and formulate structures for implementation, she said.
“SMEs are a huge untapped resource for the economy, and there is need to leverage the sector by building their capacity through creating linkages and developing a sub contracting framework,” she said on Friday during the launch of the Business Growth Program 2017 in Nairobi.
SMEs play a prominent role in job creation, making them the backbone of the economy.
The value of the SME’s output is 33.8 per cent of the national Gross Domestic Product, according to data by the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics.
However, SMEs face a relatively higher cost of capital than larger firms and more credit rationing due to the absence of collateral.
“We can create a more SME friendly environment by lifting obstacles, enhancing flexibility and access to finance and international markets,” Mutahi said.
