Over Five million Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) are anticipated to benefit from the United Nations (UN), Kenya Government and Equity Group partnership launched today.
The partnership will create an opportunity to innovate, co-create and expand
Opportunities for wealth creation for the Kenyan people and the economy.
The partnership involves Equity Group, Equity Group Foundation, the United Nations system in Kenya, and its Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Partnership Platform.
The aim of the partnership is to accelerate the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in Kenya by 2030.
Speaking during the launch, Equity Group Managing Director and CEO, Dr. James Mwangi, said that Equity is joining the alliance as the implementation partner for various social impact initiatives aligned to the SDGs, with the aim of trickling down to the local communities.
“We will deploy USD 6 billion on the SDGs Partnership Platform and we expect 5 million MSMEs to benefit from this financing within the region whereby these enterprises will create at least 5 jobs each,” said Mwangi.
He noted that the engine of the job creation is enterprises which will also create market for the raw products from the communities and address the issue of unemployment.
Dr. Mwangi, said that the existing partnerships with UN agencies have proven to be mutually beneficial to their common objectives of socio-economic development through the transformation of lives and livelihoods.
“Alongside UN agencies and Government in our Social Protection work we have supported 3.3 million refugee and vulnerable beneficiaries and provided USD 852 million, as well as capacity building, to advance their financial inclusion. “Reiterated Dr. Mwangi.
UN Resident Coordinator for Kenya, Dr. Stephen Jackson, during the launch said, by partnering with Equity, they can now offer tremendous value to the local communities further noting that they have identified sub-sectors and discovered that there are growth opportunities across various market segments.
Equity Group whose purpose is to transform lives, give dignity and expand opportunities for wealth creation, continues to play a leading role in contributing to the achievement of the 2030 Agenda on the SDGs.
By Catherine Muindi
