Principal Secretary MSMEs Development Boosts Women-Led MSMEs with UoN, KIE & KIBT Partnership
The Principal Secretary for the State Department for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Development, Hon. Susan Mang’eni, hosted a delegation from Women's Business Incubation Program led by Prof Wanjiku Mukabi Kabira, the Director of African Women Studies Centre at the University of Nairobi to deliberate on strengthening women-led enterprises and scaling up them into a high-impact initiatives for sustainable economic growth.
In her remarks, the PS underscored the urgent need to move enterprises from small-scale operations to commercially viable ventures that can deliver long-term impact to the economy. While Kenya continues to generate significant research and innovation, only a small fraction is translated into industrialized, market-ready products. The state Department is committed to bridging this gap by supporting product design and development, providing Business Development Services (BDS), strengthening capacity building, and breaking structural and market-access barriers that hinder enterprise growth.
To address the challenge of access to finance which is one of the greatest challenges facing MSMEs, particularly women-led enterprises seeking to scale, the PS highlighted the role of Kenya Industrial Estates (KIE) in providing affordable financing, especially for manufacturing enterprises, as a key intervention in bridging the funding gap. Additionally, she pointed to the Kenya Institute Business Training (KIBIT) as a critical partner in equipping entrepreneurs with essential business management and entrepreneurship skills through structured training and incubation support.
Hon. Mang’eni has reaffirmed the government’s commitment to ensuring sustainability beyond donor-funded programs, by proposing the operationalization of business incubation and innovation centres within higher education institutions as a strategic intervention to strengthen research commercialization and mobilize resources for long-term impact. Additionally, she has advocated for the establishment of incubatory grants, start-up kits, coaching, and mentorship frameworks to nurture young entrepreneurs and prepare them for growth within the MSME sector.
Emphasizing the importance of early investment in youth, the PS noted that strengthening the MSME ecosystem will create more secure and sustainable jobs for the future. The government remains steadfast in its commitment to ensuring that women entrepreneurs have the support and resources they need to thrive and encouraged inclusive approaches that engage men as partners in advancing women’s economic empowerment, noting that sustainable transformation requires collective effort.