REFERENCE: ABiQ.00011.2.2021

COUNTRY: Kenya

BUDGET: $18-$20 million

International experience has proved that entrepreneurship promotion and small business development effectively create new jobs, reduce unemployment, and generate income. Small enterprises and the youths are an important and integral sector in the market economies of developed countries and transition countries. This has further confirmed that it improves the people’s living standards and creates a need for business centres and modern housing.

Small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) owners often must operate without access to information regarding modern production technologies and market conditions in transition countries. There is either no formal support structure for SMEs in these countries, Corruption in funds set to empower them or the institutions that do provide support services are limited in their regional overage and organisational capacity. Existing institutions are frequently poorly designed and struggle to provide their services effectively and efficiently.

In these circumstances, most would-be/wanna-be entrepreneurs require more than classroom training to establish and run a successful business. While classroom training may provide general business knowledge and skills, SME owners and the general unemployed youth also need expert advice on specialised technical and managerial subjects. Merely providing information about possible sources of financing is likewise not sufficient. SME owners and youth need assistance in shaping their ideas into proper businesses plans and proposals that are acceptable to financing institutions promoting business advisory services through the establishment or strengthening of Urban Business Centres, Urban Executive Loft Apartments and other advisory mechanisms that will prove a successful approach to providing needed services to SMEs and the general youth as future leaders.