Small and Medium Enterprises(SMEs) have been told to tap the capital markets to raise funds for cushioning their businesses during the pandemic and future growth. This comes as banks continue to invest heavily in government bonds, shunning lending to high-risk individuals, worsened by the pandemic which has hit businesses since last year. Nairobi Securities Exchange(NSE) chairman Kiprono Kittony yesterday affirmed the Ibuka accelerator programme and the growth enterprise market segment (GEMS) as platforms for small businesses to make an entry into the capital markets. The government established the Credit Guarantee Scheme to de-risk lending to the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises, by providing Sh3 billion as seed capital. During the 2021/22 budget reading, Treasury CS Ukuru Yatani announced the government had committed to progressively raise the capital to Sh10 billion.

Source: The Star July 27, 2021 15:00 UTC