- Saccos are expected to anchor the disbursement of Ksh 2.2 billion in youth agribusiness loans.
- Participating financial institutions have committed an additional Ksh 60 billion to young people and women.
- ENABLE Youth has recruited 1,500 young agripreneurs and supported 1,000 to develop bankable business plans.
Kenyan farmers should not be borrowing at double digit interest rates, Cabinet Secretary Mutahi Kagwe has said, as he pressed for Savings and Credit Cooperative Societies (Saccos) to anchor the country’s push to finance young agripreneurs.
Kagwe spoke during a stocktake meeting with the African Development Bank (AfDB) and the leadership of the Ministry’s projects. He asked why Kenya was overlooking its biggest financing asset, pointing out that Saccos have already proved they can pool savings, lend affordably and keep farm enterprises alive. Any loan priced above single digits, he warned, was “a waste of time”.
The money on the table is substantial. In the next phase of the Empowering Novel Business led Employment (ENABLE Youth) Programme, Ksh 2.2 billion has been set aside for onward lending, with Saccos expected to serve as the main channel. Participating financial institutions will also come on board and have made a binding commitment to release another Ksh 60 billion to young people and women through risk sharing arrangements.
Beyond cheaper credit, Kagwe wants a change in how the funds are deployed. Handing out loans is not enough, he argued. Financiers should instead hunt for viable businesses and help them grow, borrowing from the NYOTA Programme, which backs enterprises that young people have already started.
“It’s a demand for business, not a demand for money,” he said. To make that happen, he directed the Ministries of Agriculture and Cooperatives to work hand in hand with Saccos to find bankable ventures and speed up their access to financing.
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ENABLE Youth, valued at $36.3 million, was one of three AfDB supported interventions reviewed at the meeting. The others were the Ksh 5.4 billion Building Resilience for Food and Nutrition Security (BREFONS) Programme and the newly secured $20 million Building Resilience for Food and Livelihoods (BREFOL) grant.
Implementation figures show steady movement. BREFONS has reached one million people against a target of 1.9 million across seven arid and semi-arid lands (ASAL) counties, namely Baringo, Garissa, Isiolo, Marsabit, Samburu, Turkana and West Pokot. Its investments cover water infrastructure, livestock productivity, market access, climate resilience and local value addition.
Meanwhile, ENABLE Youth has rehabilitated and equipped eight Youth Agripreneurship Incubation Centres. So far, 1,500 young people have been recruited and incubated, while 1,000 have been supported to draft bankable business plans.
Kagwe closed by urging project teams to work with speed, innovation, prudence, accountability and sound corporate governance, and to lean on Kenya’s deep cooperative heritage to leave a lasting mark.
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