Women groups with movable assets qualify for funding from the Government, so that they can supply goods and services to institutions.
They can get up to Sh. 750,000 that can be guaranteed with log books, stock exchange shares and bank savings in the name of the group.
Kiambu women enterprise Funds officer(WEF), Mr Benard Guama told KNA at Ting’ang’a location Saturday that women were a lucky lot as they have many avenues that they could use to get funding for any activity, so long as they were members of a registered group.
“This Local purchase orders (LPO) assistance fund is administered from the headquarters of ministry of Public Service and Gender Affairs in Nairobi after the paper work is done at the county level to confirm the existence of the group,” Guama added.
He said some women groups that were registered soon after the inception of the fund had benefitted severally and some of them declined to disclose the information to other upcoming groups.
The WEF Officer advised women to form groups to empower themselves economically adding: “Group networking is an important aspect as it is an indication that members have a common venture through which they could be relied on to pay back any money loaned to them.”
Since inception of the WEF, he said, at least 800 women had benefitted thereby improving lives in the villages. “Some of these beneficiaries have gone a step further and employed more people in their businesses,” he added.
Guama made the remarks after a colorful event in which the Chief Administrative Secretary in the Ministry of Public Service, Youth and Gender Affairs, Ms. Rachel Shebesh presided over a function in Githunguri in which she presented a Sh 5.75 dummy cheque to varius women groups in Kiambu County.
The function was symbolic after which the WEF officers in the entire county were given the green light to start distributing the cheques to groups that had been considered following their applications.
The groups are loaned Sh100,000, 200,000 and 350,000 depending on their repayment record. He added that women groups in Kiambu were disciplined and focused on their activities, thus making them creditworthy after repaying their initial loans.
By Lydia Shiloya
