Kilifi County Government has allocated Sh.100 million to be loaned out to cooperative societies and registered small enterprises, an official has said.
The County Executive Committee Member for Trade and Cooperatives, Ms. Nahida Mohamed Athman said the funds would be disbursed through Mbegu Fund, a microfinance company based in the county.
Speaking during a cooperatives stakeholder meeting at the Barani Secondary School on Friday, Ms. Athman said each registered group would access interest-free credit facilities of up to Sh2 million.
“The fund, which will be disbursed through Mbegu Fund, a microfinance company in the county, will enable cooperative societies to access interest-free credit facilities of up to Sh2 million,” she said.
Ms. Athman urged the residents of Kilifi County to join cooperative societies with a view to tackling poverty and creating wealth.
She said the county government was committed to promoting cooperative enterprises as well as training the youth, women, bodaboda riders, fishermen on best entrepreneurial practices with a view to creating wealth.
Athman, however, called for proper management of cooperative societies through enhanced supervisions, inspections and annual audits aimed at ensuring compliance with cooperative laws and policies.
She said that the government had come up with an initiative to improve the performance of agro marketing co-operatives by facilitating them to participate in trade shows.
The Kilifi County Commissioner for Cooperatives, James Mwasi said the cooperative movement had registered great improvement in the county, noting that in a period of six years, the number of registered cooperative societies had increased from 60 to over 200.
He urged cooperative societies to conduct annual audits to curb corruption, adding that his department would intensify supervision to ensure the societies complied with the law.
“We have sensitized over 2, 000 bodaboda riders who are now organized into cooperatives,” he said, adding, “We appeal to members of cooperatives to be responsible borrowers and repay the loans in time for their societies to grow.”
Mwasi said the cooperative movement would greatly assist the government in realizing the Big Four Agenda.
He called upon marketing cooperatives to embrace joint ventures for business sustainability.
By Purity Mutheu/Emmanuel Masha
