SBM Bank Kenya has entered a risk sharing agreement with African Guarantee Fund to offer up to Sh1.1 billion in loans to Micro, Small and Medium sized Enterprises (MSMEs) and women led businesses.
Speaking during the signing ceremony Monday, SBM Bank Kenya Limited Chief Executive Officer (C.E.O) Moezz Mir stated that the facility will unlock opportunities for MSMEs and women led enterprises to easily access credit in order to ease the challenges they experience in scaling up their businesses.
“Considering the financial hurdles experienced by most SMEs due to their risk profile and lack of security, SBM is always exploring innovative ways to mitigate possible risks in the sector and help SMEs overcome the challenges,” said Mir.
He added that the bank’s move to engage in such strategic alliances is aimed at realizing, transforming and offering sustainable finance to businesses that focus on clean energy, cleaner production, green services and climate-smart agriculture and natural resource management.
“This guarantee represents investment, productivity and the acceleration of growth opportunities and as a bank we are playing a part in transforming the livelihoods of Kenyan people by opening markets, accelerating wealth creation and improving the quality of life,” he maintained.
At the same time, African Guarantee Fund Group CEO, Jules Ngankam said that the partnership with SBM Bank will empower SMEs and women led enterprises to play a fundamental role in economic development and innovation in Kenya while creating more job opportunities.
“Our guarantee agreement with SBM Bank is structured to solve the holistic needs of SMEs by reducing risks while equipping them with appropriate financial management capabilities, to boost their credit threshold requirements,” stated Ngankam.
He further noted that the partnership will not only empower women entrepreneurs, but also foster sustainable growth by increasing financing of climate-focused SMEs.
In the last few years, SBM has taken a prudent approach to SMEs empowerment and through the partnership agreement between the two institutions, hundreds of SMEs across the country are to be positively impacted in the next 5 years.
By Lorna Mukami
