Nairobi — The Capital Market Authority (CMA) and Kenya Development Corporation (KDC) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) that aims to ease the accessibility of financial services to small businesses.
The partnership seeks to spur growth in the SME sector which has faced difficulty in accessing affordable credit from lenders due to a lack of guarantees and collateral.
Speaking during the signing of the MoU, CMA's Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Wyckliffe Shamiah noted that the agreement seeks to address the gap in access to financial services by Small&Medium Enterprises(SMEs) since they face a major challenge in accessing adequate, affordable and timely credit despite the critical role they play in the economy.
"CMA is committed to working with KDC more closely than ever before to maintain the momentum in priority spelt out in our partnership which includes promoting SMEs and large enterprises utilizing of capital market security, pursuing education awareness and stakeholder engagement to promote an increase in knowledge and uptake of respective institutions' products and services," said Shamiah.
The MoU further seeks to address critical gaps for long-term financing through the available avenues, leveraging technology to increase the capital market's product uptake and collaborate in research, policy, and regulatory work aimed at creating a conducive environment for capital market funding.
KDC's Director General Christopher Huka on his part noted that such partnerships are very essential especially in the current globalization era to spur the country's economic growth.
"Access to finance is one of the biggest barriers preventing SMEs from starting, sustaining, and growing their businesses. This partnership provides an opportunity for SMEs to access affordable financial services and products tailored to meet their needs, "said Huka.
The partnership also envisages a joint undertaking of initiatives to promote the utilization of financial products and services by Small, Medium, and Large-sized enterprises in addition to the awareness and promotion of other financial services such as financial investments and business advisory services that will be offered.
"This strategic partnership all purposes to address critical gaps for long-term financing while leveraging technology to increase uptake of capital market products," added Huka.
