County Government of Laikipia

The County Government of Laikipia has entered into a strategic partnership with Stanbic Bank and its Foundation to support the growth of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises, women, and youth development.

The broad areas of support include the provision of finance - both catalytic and commercial, empowerment and providing access to markets.

Empowerment includes governance, entrepreneurship, digital skills as well as technical training in manufacturing and agribusiness for crop development, horticulture, aquaculture, and value addition along with the county's priority value chains.

The partnership will also see the three institutions collaborate to promote digital under the FutureNiDigital program being implemented by Stanbic in partnership with Microsoft and Africa Centre for Women in Information Communication Technology (ACWICT).

It will also include the provision of online jobs and digital marketing targeting the youth at the existing digital centers in the county, explore potential income-generating businesses with revenue share models that will sustain operations at Digital Centers while providing sustainable revenues to the bank, foundation, and county.

Speaking after signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) in Nyahururu on August 17, Governor Ndiritu Muriithi said the purpose of the agreement was to establish a framework for collaboration between the county, the bank, and the foundation.

Hw welcomed the partnership saying it supports the county's efforts towards empowering people with skills that enable them to sustain themselves and robust economic growth.

Stanbic Bank Kenya Chief Executive Officer, Charles Mudiwa said the institution was keen on empowering the society, mostly women, youth, and people living with disabilities as a strategic focus on business places, entrepreneurship, and access to markets.

We remain optimistic that as we embark on this journey to train our various stakeholders, we will make a tangible difference to the lives of many. he said.

Head of Stanbic Bank Foundation, Ms. Pauline Mbayah said the partnership with the county ties well with their main objective of the foundation which is to accelerate and amplify the growth of Micro, Small, and Medium-Sized Enterprises (MSMEs).

We have over the years been deliberate about providing our MSMEs with training and tools that enable them to consistently deliver quality services and products to their customers. Besides MSMEs, we also support women, youth, and differently-abled persons by stimulating inclusive social-economic growth. she added.

The partnership will avail affordable financing to mass markets and corporates for women, youth, differently-abled persons, and Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises(MSMEs) in the county. It will also explore Information Communication Technology (ICT) innovations around renewable energy, smart cities, environment, crop development, livestock production and horticulture, and climate change are in line with UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The three partners will also explore other areas of co-operation from time to time.

Stanbic Foundation's areas of focus are job creation and enterprise development, financial inclusion, health, Corporate Social Investments (CSI), and corporate volunteerism.