Kenya Public-Private Sector MSME Dialogue

Today, the multisectoral team led by the Ministry of Cooperatives CS Wycliffe Oparanya, MSMES and Development PS Susan Mang’eni, and key private sector stakeholders convened for a follow-up meeting to discuss the highly anticipated Kenya Public-Private Sector MSME Dialogue-MSME CONNECT KENYA, scheduled to be launched on 7th March 2025. 

The CS emphasized the importance of this initiative, highlighting its goal to ensure that the private sector can effectively leverage government efforts to support Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs). The dialogue aims to create an enabling environment for the private sector to thrive, fostering collaboration between the government and businesses to drive economic growth. 

PS Susan Mang’eni noted that a comprehensive MSME survey is currently underway and is set to capture the evolving nature and variety of the MSME sector by enterprise activity, geography, gender distribution and skills with the sector. The data and information from the survey will measure the contribution of the MSME sector and its subcomponents to GDP, its contribution to employment, and the size and magnitude of MSME both in the formal and informal sector, and will target all non-primary activities and Agribusiness

Additionally, she emphasized the need for the private sector to actively participate in the survey, noting that it has been the first such survey since 2016. In collaboration with the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) and the MSME Ministry, this survey will utilize the largest sample size ever for an MSME survey in Kenya, ensuring robust and actionable data to guide future policies and programs. 

The Kenya Public-Private Sector MSME Dialogue is a significant step toward empowering MSMEs, which is a cornerstone of Kenya’s economy, for it plays a crucial role in creating jobs, generating wealth, driving innovation, and contributing to revenue generation, which is vital in unlocking the potential of the country’s young population.