Report shows MSMEs lack support to thrive
By Noel Wandera, December 16, 2019
A new report has revealed that the close to 1.6 million licenced micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) operate in an unregulated environment which is not supportive to the sector’s growth.
According to Kenya Private Sector Alliance (Kepsa) head of Policy Research Analysis Victor Ogalo, who spoke during the launch of Kenya’s first MSME pilot policy in Nairobi during the alliance’s gala dinner, research ranked Kenya’s MSMEs policy environment at three out of five, with half of eight policy dimensions below the neutral index of 3/5.
Policy environment
“The study shows that Kenya’s MSME policy environment is largely not supportive to the sector’s development and needs to be reviewed and strengthened towards world benchmarks such as Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) mean index of 3.7/5,” Ogalo said.
Speaking on the sidelines of the launch, Ogalo reckons more policy work needs to be undertaken in human capital and entrepreneurial skills development (2.98); frameworks for business development (2.87); market linkages and expansion (2.8); and MSME representation (2.5) which ranked below the neutral index of 3/5.
The new policy index is structured to provide policy guidance in infrastructure, access to inputs, governance and business regulatory environment.