KAAA CEO Lucy Muchoki
Small and Medium Entrepreneurs (SMEs) are crucial to the Kenyan economic growth. However, the important role that these and other little companies play in economic growth has often gone unappreciated. Many a times, little is said about the number of direct and indirect jobs that they create and the amount they pay in taxes, which may not be much if looked at individually but which is significant if they are pooled.
However, if the small and medium sized companies are nurtured and encouraged to export more of their products, they have the potential of helping the country address the imbalance between imports, exports and unemployment.
The SMEs can also help it to achieve the broad goals outline in Vision 2030 of making Kenya industrialized and with a high quality of life for its citizens.
These companies can be showcased as potential avenues for job creation, especially among the youthful population as they dispel the myth that only employment can provide a source of livelihood.
One of the attributes that most of these companies share irrespective of their specialization is that they all are involved in one form of value addition or other. However all hope is not lost as the Kenya Agribusiness and Agroindustry Alliance (KAAA) is working tirelessly to capacity build, train and link these entrepreneurs with finance and markets for their products. “This is significant in a country that traditionally exports primary products. What these companies teach the others is that the one way to create wealth is to add value to goods and services, be they for export or local consumption,” says Lucy Muchoki, the KAAA’s Chief Executive Officer.
These firms are worth celebrating since they are pointers to the keys for success in a market economy and they provide inspiration to others that despite the challenges they face, success is a goal that is within reach for those willing to take the plunge, She adds. According to the CEO, KAAA Youth and SMEs department is vibrant and committed to membership recruitment. “We need to recruit more and pool them together so that they can enjoy the economies of scale. It’s easier to train and link them to the services they require as a team than on an individual basis,” adds Madam Muchoki.
KAAA SMEs undergoing training
Being the lead agro processing membership organization in Kenya, KAAA’s youth and SME department gives its members the benefits as promised. “Recently, we have linked our SME’s to different state delegate’s business forums for instance the Turkey – Kenya, Israel – Kenya and the India – Kenya Business forums where they had a chance to network and identify investment opportunities abroad,” She says.
KAAA regularly monitors and evaluates her SMEs so as to understand what they are doing at their premises in regard to the Switch Africa Green’s training in environment management, book keeping, development of market tools and use of renewable energy such as solar and wind.
The Alliance is also mandated to cluster SMEs into Cooperatives and together with the clustered SMEs; KAAA participates in national Ushirika day. “This is a great visibility tool for the organization and the cooperatives for networking, forming partnerships and recruitment of new members,” the CEO adds.
Sara Mbithi and Jane Mwangi at the UNCTAD meeting
The Alliance gives her SMEs international exposure like at the just concluded United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) in Nairobi, an opportunity that gave them global visibility. “Apart from being visible, our SMEs had a chance to network, showcase their products to the outside world and identify potential local, regional and global markets,” the CEO says.
In its vibrant operations, KAAA also identifies and brings together SMEs along the whole agricultural value chain. According to Madam Muchoki, , the Alliance was chosen by the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Cooperatives (MoITC) to lead the agro processing SMEs under the Kenya Industrial Transformation Programme (KITP) and on 25th July 2016, the Alliance in collaboration with the Ministry held a Cotton stakeholders forum aimed at reviving cotton production and the textile industry in Kenya. “The current situation was analyzed and challenges and opportunities were identified to ensure the cotton sector contributes to job creation as well and the country’s GDP like any other sector,” She says.
In recognition to KAAA’s efforts to steer local small and medium entrepreneurs to prosperity, the Cabinet Secretary in the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Cooperatives (MoITC) Hon. Adan Mohamed appointed the Alliance’s CEO Lucy Muchoki to the Board of Directors at the Micro and Small Enterprises Authority (MSEA) in a gazette notice dated July 22nd for a period of 3 years with effect from July 12 2016. Lucy has vast experience in the Agribusiness and Agro processing sector and her role will be to represent our SMEs in agro processing.
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