County Government of Laikipia

Individuals and other organizations doing business in Laikipia County continue applying for the economic stimulus fund. Entrepreneurs working within the county borders are encouraged to take advantage of this opportunity and apply for the loans as the government has set aside Ksh. 3 bn in partnership with other local banks.

Laikipia County Business Stimulus Fund is established by and derives its authority and accountability from Public Finance Management (Laikipia County Business Stimulus Fund) Regulations, 2020. The County Government of Laikipia wholly owns the fund.

Unlike getting a loan directly from the bank which charges 12.5 percent, this fund allows an applicant to get money and pay at only 7.5 percent only. The devolved unit will pay the rest five percent.

So far, there are 492 confirmed/approved applications and 18 more which are pending applications. This, however, still leaves space for more applications. The majority of the applicants need money for working capital (445 of the approved).

The total applications amount to Ksh. 240,030,529. The amount disbursed stands at 84,537,529. On the other hand, the pending applications which have been approved and only awaiting disbursement are Ksh. 24, 570,775.

Most of the applicants are interested in amounts below Ksh. 100,000 as they only want to boost their businesses after the negative impacts on the economy from the COVID-19 pandemic. Eighty-eight of the 177 disbursements fall under this category.

The main reason for coming up with such a program is to cushion the SMEs in the county owing to the deteriorating economic status because of the pandemic.

The fund's objectives are:

• To alleviate the negative effects of a declared pandemic, disaster, or significant economic contraction(recession) on Trade/Commerce within the county.
• To facilitate access of affordable credit to micro and small Enterprises within the county from commercial facilities by providing solutions which include negotiated financial subsidies.
• To allow the County Government to negotiate an economic stimulus package scheme or schemes with commercial facilities which include: a loan guarantee scheme, and an interest sharing scheme.