Safaricom has urged micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) to adopt digital technology to accelerate their business growth. With projections suggesting that 70 percent of new value created in the next decade will be driven by digitally enabled platforms, Safaricom is focusing on helping businesses adapt to this trend.
On Wednesday, Safaricom hosted the fourth installment of the ‘Grow with Safaricom Business’ forum, aimed specifically at MSMEs in the Coast region. The event was designed to provide entrepreneurs with the knowledge and tools needed to leverage technology for scaling their businesses.
According to the Kenya Institute of Public Policy, Research and Analysis, Kenya is home to over 7.4 million MSMEs, which contribute significantly to the economy, accounting for 30 percent of the GDP. These small businesses employ around 14.9 million people across various sectors.
“Despite the significant contribution MSMEs make to the economy, they continue to face considerable challenges, such as inadequate knowledge and skills and rapid technology changes among others that hinder the growth of their businesses,” Safaricom Chief Enterprise Business Officer, Cynthia Kropac, said.
She said the telco hosted the business growth empowerment programme as it believes in the power of technology and its potential to transform businesses.
Launched in March this year, Grow with Safaricom Business forum is a series of monthly seminars aimed at helping MSMEs develop business solutions.
It also aims to equip entrepreneurs with skills to run their businesses more efficiently and network with peers, industry experts and potential partners.
“We have more than 500 people attending, nearly even 1000 people both physically and online but they don’t know each other,” Kropac said, adding that the forum is hence a good networking platform whose value will extend beyond the day of attendance.
She said the Momabsa series was the first to be held outside of Nairobi owing to the coastal city’s owing to its vibrancy as a business hub.
“If you look at even look at the Chamber of Commerce, the most active chapter in the whole of Kenya sits right here in Mombasa,” she said, adding that the city being a transit point for imports and exports also made it most desirable for the forum.
Attendees said the forum had lived up to its expectations.
“My message to county governments and also the national government is to enable the environments for MSMEs to grow,” hotelier Mohammed Hersi said.
