Nairobi: Micro Enterprises Support Programme Trust (MESPT) has been making significant strides in facilitating access to finance for smallholder farmers, focusing on providing concessional financing to Savings and Credit Cooperative Organizations (SACCOS) and microfinance institutions for on-lending purposes.
According to Kenya News Agency, Rebeca Amukhoye, the Chief Executive Officer of MESPT, emphasized the organization's commitment to ensuring that smallholder farmers have access to credit for agricultural investments. Speaking on the sidelines of the ongoing Financing Agri-food Systems Sustainability Summit (FINAs), Amukhoye highlighted MESPT's role in integrating smallholder farmers with Agri-SMEs, exporters, aggregators, and processors. This integration aims to increase productivity, access to markets, and income from the sale of commodities.
Amukhoye outlined MESPT's approach to supporting youth entrepreneurs, emphasizing the importance of ensuring their business ideas are economically viable. MESPT assists these young entrepreneurs in structuring their businesses, understanding regulatory requirements, and ensuring their products meet safety standards. This support aims to facilitate access to financing by promoting good record-keeping and financial management.
During the opening of the FINAs meeting, Agriculture Cabinet Secretary Mutahi Kagwe addressed the challenges farmers face in accessing finance, noting that financial institutions could do more to support them, particularly the youth. MESPT's program, supported by DANIDA and operating in 12 counties, focuses on refining technologies adopted by young entrepreneurs to ensure their economic viability.
Amukhoye acknowledged the challenges young people face in accessing credit and emphasized the importance of business growth before seeking financing. She warned against accessing credit too early, which could hinder rather than promote business development.
The FINAs conference discussed de-risking agriculture and acknowledged that many farmers are excluded from financial systems. MESPT is working to address this by enhancing farmers' financial literacy and market access, thus enabling them to conduct cost-benefit analyses and understand credit dynamics.
The conference also highlighted the need for innovative financing mechanisms to empower smallholder farmers, especially women and youth, and to incentivize sustainable practices. The theme of the conference underscores the importance of youth in transforming Africa's agricultural sector and fostering sustainable solutions.
Amukhoye encouraged women and youth to bring their ideas forward, leverage development priorities of county governments, and interact with peers to grow their networks and create a functional ecosystem.