Support women groups to improve their lifestyle
Eric Mutwiri, an economist, samples baskets made by women groups in Tharaka Nithi County.
What you need to know:
- Unlocking access to finance for woman- and youth-owned enterprises will create sustainable green and decent jobs, ensuring that women in Kenya are not left behind. It is time the youth and women took advantage of the organisations.
- With the Hustler Fund transforming the lives of youth and women, such organisations’ support is welcome.
- Youth and women should embrace organisations that help to solve the social, environmental and governance challenges in their communities as the only way to alleviate poverty.
Women and youth groups stand to benefit from emerging financial institutions to access capital for viable development projects and attain economic empowerment. The flexible lending will help them to expand their financial base by securing loans to enhance their enterprises.
The new Leveraging Equality for Gender-Inclusive Development (LEGEND) project is among such institutions offering opportunities to women and youth, especially in rural areas, to transform their socioeconomic status through development projects.
Such projects are being implemented by Mennonite Economic Development Associates (MEDA), an international economic development organisation that creates sustainable, scalable, measurable and replicable solutions to poverty.
The six-year project will support 250 small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), 30, 000 small entrepreneurs (SEs), 100 associations and other business ecosystem actors in nine targeted counties in the lake and coastal regions. It is aimed at providing crucial economic support for small-scale businesses and farming activities.
First Lady Rachel Ruto officially launched the gender inclusion and environmental sustainability project that will initially benefit Kwale, Kilifi, Mombasa, Taita Taveta, Kisumu, Busia, Siaya, Homa Bay and Migori counties. It aims to unlock access to finance by youth- and woman-led enterprises in poultry, horticulture and aquaculture value chains apart from improving socioeconomic prosperity.
With support from MEDA, among other development partners, it is high time youth and women groups invested in such viable projects and made use of such opportunities to improve their lives.
With agriculture and business the backbone of economic growth, it is time Kenyans made proper use of the emerging opportunities.
MEDA is also partnering with Mama Doing Good Organization, which brings together over 150, 000 women organised in 10, 000 groups in 39 counties in life-transforming initiatives. The two have also partnered in providing food security solutions, capacity building and market linkages through the M-Sawa Project. The LEGEND project likewise supports Mama Doing Good’s audacious goal to scale women’s economic programmes to all 47 counties.
Transforming lives
Unlocking access to finance for woman- and youth-owned enterprises will create sustainable green and decent jobs, ensuring that women in Kenya are not left behind. It is time the youth and women took advantage of the organisations.
With the Hustler Fund transforming the lives of youth and women, such organisations’ support is welcome. Youth and women should embrace organisations that help to solve the social, environmental and governance challenges in their communities as the only way to alleviate poverty.
The launch of the LEGEND initiative is timely and will transform the lives of the youth and women.
Mr Kaino works for the Presidential Communication Service. [email protected].
