The United States will invest Sh300 million in Kenyan women-owned businesses under the White House's Women's Global Development and prosperity initiative.
The W-GDP Investing in Kenyan Women programme was launched on Monday in Nairobi by US Ambassador to Kenya Kyle McCarter and acting USAID administrator John Barsa.
"Women must be full participants and leaders in business for Kenya to reach its full economic potential."
"USA Marafiki recognises that economic prosperity is essential to Kenya’s future and our top priority is supporting expanded trade and investment ties between our two countries," McCarter said during the launch.
The envoy said women are a tremendous force in the respective economies and the program will give them the tools to access financial services and support their objectives under the W-GDP Initiative.
With an investment of Sh300million, the programme is expected to mobilise Sh3.2 billion in commercial investment and finance for women entrepreneurs for the next three years.
The women will be financed through USaid's Kenya Investment mechanism. Also launched was the W-GDP Microsoft Women's Digital Inclusion Partnership, which will support Microsoft's Airband Initiative.
The initiative aims at increasing the number of women around the world with internet coverage by July 2022. This through investing in locally owned and operated internet and communications technology companies serving rural areas in five countries, including Kenya.
The international organisations will also invest in Sh152 million for the W-GDP Partnership to train Kenyan women entrepreneurs. The programme will help women in Kenya launch, fund, or scale up their businesses.
It will also enable them to build their capacity with a focus on training, mentorship, investment, and direct connections to American small and medium enterprises.
Barsa said global prosperity will remain out of reach if women are are excluded.
"At USaid, we believe investment in women is key to unlocking human potential on a transformational scale. The W-GDP Fund at USaid is financing innovative solutions to close the economic gap between women and men and help our partners advance on their Journeys to Self-Reliance,” Barsa said.
In addition to the launched programmes, W-GDP is supporting Kenyan women through various activities to bridge barriers to digital access and to enter traditionally male-dominated fields such as the energy and water sectors.
They also train women entrepreneurs to scale their businesses and form direct connections to American small and medium enterprises.
Edited by EKibii
