SME fest pushes for creation of one million sustainable jobs
By Claire Wanja
Government has under taken and will continue to pursue the support of MSMEs and the informal sector to improve the business and investment climate through trade facilitation says Cabinet Secretary, Ministry Of Industry, Trade and Cooperatives Hon. Adan Mohammed.
During the launch of the second edition of the SME festival, delegates came together to network with industry leaders, policy makers, investors, entrepreneurs and development partners to address the growth of SMEs.
The theme of the SME fest 2017 “1 Million Sustainable Jobs through SMEs” is a focused indicator of the event’s contribution to the socio-economic agenda of SMEs.
The SME fest 2017 held conversations that will push the SME sector forward, with issues such as tax incentives for small businesses, promotion of export trade as well as growing Agro-processing and value addition opportunities for entrepreneurs.
This will see them engaging with government and private sector players to find ways of promoting export trade and value addition in Agro-Processing, as the region’ s trading blocs begin to solidify.
Patricia Ithau, Country Director Invest in Africa talked of a why SMEs fail; “We need to create awareness of setting up infrastructure, professionalism and governance that will convert credit into productive results. People need to copy good ideas, understand what went wrong and what they can do to do things right.”
‘Technology has made business very easy in today’s world and has reduced the amount of capital one needs to start a business” said Malaika Judd COO of Sendy a company that is providing a technology solution for drivers with trucks, small cars, motorcycles among others find delivery jobs and driver services online.
