Link Biashara Kenya Fund to the 'Big Four' agenda

The government’s move to merge the three funds created to empower women and the youth in entrepreneurship is crucial. The new fund should now be integrated to the Big Four agenda that are guiding President Uhuru Kenyatta’s economic growth plan in his legacy term.

In his recent Budget speech, National Treasury CS Henry Rotich announced that the Cabinet had approved the Biashara Kenya Fund that has merged the Uwezo Fund, the Youth Enterprise Development Fund and the Women Enterprise Development Fund. The three funds were created for almost similar objectives but have not had the intended impacts due to lack of proper coordination.

SH460 BILLION

With a 5.7 deficit to be filled by debt, the government must create supportive infrastructure to ensure that the new initiative succeeds in bringing more young people into the tax bracket. With estimates tabled in Parliament in this year’s Budget speech showing that the national government will spend Sh460 billion in 2018/2019 to finance the Big Four agenda, those supplying the government goods and services are expected to reap huge benefits. With over 80 per cent of the population under the age of 35 years, there is need to take deliberate affirmative measures to ensure that businesses related to the youth will benefit from the Big Four.

The government is also expected to engage international firms for some of the projects it has lined up in the Big Four agenda. It would be important to require them to contract youth-related businesses for a certain percentage of their engagements.

"TENDERPRENEURS"

The government already has an existing directive that requires all its agencies to procure from youth and women-related businesses. However, this initiative has not brought the desired results since it was not based on the reality on the ground. Most of the businesses run by the youth suffer from lack of sufficient financial capacity. Too, many do not own assets that can serve as collateral to secure loans since financial institutions profile them as high-risk borrowers. As a result, "tenderpreneurs" with vast experience in selling goods and services to the government are fronting companies registered by the youth and transact the business, leaving owners of the business as conveyer belts of cash for a small kickback.

The new merged fund should cure this. It would be of significant importance if the government can have more entrepreneurs doing business with it since this will spur growth and tax collection. This will also minimise risk and help the fund create more capital for onward lending.

TRAINING

Another crucial aspect is the provision of quality and relevant education and training to equip Kenyans with the skills necessary for industrialisation. The government must focus on improving and expanding technical and vocational education and Training institutes to achieve this objective. It must also be applauded for locating Sh16 billion for technical institutions for recruitment of an additional 2,000 technical training instructors, capitation grants, the building of 15 new technical training institutes.

Mr Omwenga is an Advocate of the High Court. [email protected]