The national government will establish Kenya Industrial Estates offices in the counties to support industrialisation.
KIE will give local investors up to Sh20 million as capital to start processing plants.
Micro, Small and Medium Entreprises Development Principal Secretary Susan Mang’eni said the offices will provide funds for investors willing to set up manufacturing plants in County Aggregation and Industrial Parks.
The state is partnering with county governments to establish the parks as a way of bolstering value-addition that will in turn increase farmers’ returns while providing job opportunities for locals.
Mang'eni spoke at Ndunyu Chege market in Gatanga, Murang'a county, during the handing over of Sh4 million Uwezo Funds to groups on Friday.
The PS said the parks will not rely on foreign investors to set up industries and that local residents will be supported to invest.
KIE, she said, will give investors capital to start processing plants for locally produced agricultural products and boost local economies.
KIE was started in 1967 to facilitate the industrial sector by promoting entrepreneurship through provision of medium and long term development finance. It started Industrial Area in Nairobi over 60 years ago.
The parastatal has financed over 25,000 micro, small and medium enterprises and helped create over 150,000 direct jobs and over 750,000 indirect jobs.
“We want to help establish industrial areas in the counties and enable Kenyans to access funds to procure machinery and capital for expansion of their businesses or start-ups,” she said.
She challenged political leaders to create awareness on the availability of investment funds to Kenyans.
Mang’eni lauded Gatanga residents for being among the best in repayment of Hustler Fund loans, saying over 77 per cent of the Sh140 million borrowed in the constituency has been repaid.
She said Murang’a is also among the top counties in borrowing from the fund with Maragua and Kiharu constituencies borrowing Sh170 million each.
She urged Gatanga MP to consolidate youths and women groups in each ward and provide them with NGCDF tenders, pledging to help them access funds to implement them through the Hustler Fund.
The fund, she noted, was started to reprieve those unable to provide collaterals demanded by banks and provide them with funds to conduct their businesses.
“Create a good credit score which will then become your collateral for future funding,” she urged borrowers.
Uwezo Fund CEO Peter Lengapiani said over Sh245.8 million has been disbursed to 2,409 groups and institutions from Murang’a county.
The funds, he said, were channeled to 1,581 women's groups, 756 youth groups, and 72 groups of people living with disabilities.
Another 37,992 individuals also benefited from the funds in the county.
Uwezo Fund Oversight Board chairperson Anne Njuguna said the fund has witnessed remarkable growth of businesses with new ones flourishing and existing ones expanding, providing employment opportunities.
“This speaks volumes about the impact of collective investment in nurturing small scale entreprises.We believe in Kenyans’ potential to transform their ventures into thriving entreprises that contribute to both local and national development,” she said.
Murang’a woman representative Betty Maina urged locals to take advantage of the many opportunities provided by the government to support themselves economically.
She highlighted the need for borrowers to ensure they repay government funds to continue benefitting for them and ensure others get the same chance.
“The Kenya Kwanza government has an objective to build the populace economically from the bottom to the top. Take advantage of these opportunities and change your lives,” she urged Murang’a residents.
Nominated Senator Veronica Maina said the Kenya Kwanza manifesto promised to uplift hustlers economically and make sure they are part of the holistic development of the country.
She appealed to Kenyans to join groups to access from the many government funds and start income generating activities.
