FINAS 2026: Kenyan entrepreneurs set to benefit as skills development takes economic spotlight
By Sharon Atieno, July 2, 2026Kenya’s entrepreneurs could soon reap bigger economic gains as skills development increasingly takes centre stage in efforts to strengthen business growth, improve productivity and unlock investment opportunities across key sectors of the economy.
This emerged during the ongoing FINAS 2026 Summit in Nairobi, where Swisscontact Country Director Sharon Mosin said practical skills training must now be viewed as critical economic infrastructure rather than a social investment.
Speaking during the summit on July 2,2026, Mosin said stronger technical skills directly improve business performance and make enterprises more attractive to lenders and investors.
“Skills are not just social investment; they are financial infrastructure. Every skilled entrepreneur reduces investment risk, every competent technician improves productivity and every well-managed enterprise becomes more attractive to lenders,” she said.
Agriculture transformation in focus
Mosin noted that deliberate investment in apprenticeships, industry partnerships and experiential learning was helping transform agriculture from a survival activity into a profitable economic sector capable of attracting sustainable financing.
She said strengthening technical capacity among entrepreneurs and workers remains critical in building resilient businesses, especially in agriculture where productivity challenges continue to limit growth.
“By deliberately developing practical skills through apprenticeships, industry partnerships and experiential learning, we are helping transform agriculture from survival into prosperity,” she added.
Mosin noted that building sustainable businesses requires more than simply injecting capital into sectors such as agriculture, saying financing systems must be designed to solve real business challenges across the entire value chain.
“We promote market systems that work for every function. We believe that for any problem, be it a development or commercial problem, we need to work towards a functioning business model because in financing agri-food sustainably, it is not only about the amount of capital that flows but also if the amount is flowing effectively and it is addressing the real needs across the value chain,” she said.
FINAS summit highlights funding challenge
Her remarks come as over 1,000 policymakers, financiers, agribusiness leaders and development partners gathered in Nairobi for the three-day FINAS 2026 Summit, where Africa’s massive agricultural financing deficit remains under sharp focus.
According to discussions at the summit, Africa is currently grappling with an estimated Ksh129 trillion annual agricultural financing gap, a challenge that continues to weaken food security, limit investment and increase reliance on food imports.
The summit, which concludes on July 2,2026 is exploring practical ways to unlock more investment into agriculture amid rising climate risks and growing food demand.
Kenya has already unveiled its Ksh1.081 trillion National Agri-food Systems Investment Plan (NASIP 2026–2030) aimed at driving long-term investment into irrigation, agro-processing, digital agriculture and climate-smart farming.
Industry players say bridging the financing gap will depend not only on capital injection, but also on building a skilled workforce capable of improving productivity, managing enterprises efficiently and sustaining long-term agricultural growth.