Many enterprises have collapsed due to financial burden - Ruto

Deputy President William Ruto has said that affordable access to credit to businesses will give Kenya much-needed growth.

Ruto said that enterprises, especially small and medium-sized ones, have been struggling to survive because of costly loans.

Speaking on Tuesday at his Karen residence when he hosted small-scale traders from Nairobi County, Ruto said that as a result of the financial burden, most of the enterprises had collapsed.

“Thousands of jobs have been lost and livelihoods destroyed as businesses fight for survival,” Ruto said.

He said that for such businesses to remain afloat, he explained that some businesses had opted to seek help from loan sharks.

“We must rethink of a rigorous support plan that will shield businesses from such operational hostilities,” Ruto explained.

The DP said that besides offering affordable loans to businesses, he was committed to creating a conducive investment environment.

“We are pressing for the modernisation and upgrading of public markets, and access to affordable credit to businesses.”

He said the move will make enterprises flourish, hence generate income and jobs for millions of ordinary Kenyans.

Ruto said the Bottom-Up Economic Model will be able to address most of the issues of these ordinary Kenyans.

“Our model will be able to empower ordinary people and small businesses to sustain themselves,” he said.

MPs present during the meeting were Millicent Omanga, Benjamin Gathiru, George Theuri, Nixon Korir, and former Starehe MP Margaret Wanjiru.

Theuri regretted that businesses in Nairobi had been criminalised.

“The environment is so hostile that businesses cannot recoup their investments. It is time we treated small businesses like other businesses,” Theuri said.

Wanjiru argued that the revolutionary economic approach will position SMEs at the core of their operation, offering them the much-needed support.