Innovative Laikipia SMEs On The Frontline Of Fight Against Covid 19
Updated on: Apr 04, 2020
Small and medium enterprises nurtured under the Laikipia Innovation and Enterprise Programme have risen to the challenge of Covid-19 by going full throttle to plug imminent shortfall of protective gear for the front line teams fighting the scourge.
The adage that every dark cloud has a silver lining has become practical for local SMEs as they convert the problem of Coronavirus disease into an opportunity to provide solutions and enhance their production.
Countys SMEs have stepped in to provide solutions to the crisis, as demand for the protective gear has now outstripped supply the world over. Countries are suspending exports to meet their local needs first.
The county government of Laikipia is capitalizing on the existing partnership with Dedan Kimathi University of Technology to mass produce personal protective equipment which are critical in the management of covid-19 pandemic.
The first 1,000 body suits for medical staff who come in close contact with infected people and 7,000 face masks for distribution to local bodabodas, community health volunteers and enforcement officers expected to be produced by the end of last week.
The development comes at a time when the world is grappling to meet the demand for the protective gear, prompting some countries to suspend normal factory operations to focus on the manufacture of the productive equipment. By making a fortune through providing much needed solutions at this time of crisis, the Laikipia SMEs are living prove that every cloud has a silver lining. The homegrown solution will go a long way in propping the local economy during this financial crisis as Covid-19 impacts on productionAs a country, we are in a fight for survival against the Covid-19. We must do whatever we can do first even as we look for help from elsewhere, Dekut vice-chancellor Prof Ndirangu Kioni said.
Prof Kioni said his institution and the county government of Laikipia were seeking to fill in some gaps existing in the fight against the virus and the network of entrepreneurs under innovation programme had come in handy.
The university has trained a total of eight local manufacturers who are working with 40 sub-contractors. Ms Winnie Mwangi, the county head of innovation development programme, says the county government has linked up three of the trained manufactures with the Kenya Bureau of Standards and the Kenya Pharmacy and Poisons Board for a speedy approval of the PPEs. Under the partnership the two institutions are also working on mass production of ventilators and hand sanitizers through other SMEs that are under the Laikipia Innovation and Enterprise Development programme.
SMEs currently producing protective equipment like face masks and gowns are Clej Supplies Limited, Nanyuki Vision Tailors in Nanyuki town and Jimco operating in Nyahururu town. Nanyuki based EM Naturals, an SME dealing in cosmetics, has expanded production to include hand sanitizers to meet the demand. It is projected that number of Covid-19 infections will strain medical facilities and equipment like PPEs and equipment like ventilators after the Ministry of Health announced that the country is likely to have 10,000 coronavirus cases by the end of April. Mass production of the PPEs is part of the preparations that the county government is making as coronavirus cases in the country rise.
Although the county has not recorded any Covid-19 case so far, a model released by its department of Health indicates that more than 14,000 infections in a worst case scenario and up to 600 cases in the best case scenario.
There are nine production centres at the university and by individual SMEs in Nyahururu and Nanyuki. Four other SMEs under the programme are producing hand sanitizers
The adage that every dark cloud has a silver lining has become practical for local SMEs as they convert the problem of Coronavirus disease into an opportunity to provide solutions and enhance their production.
Countys SMEs have stepped in to provide solutions to the crisis, as demand for the protective gear has now outstripped supply the world over. Countries are suspending exports to meet their local needs first.
The county government of Laikipia is capitalizing on the existing partnership with Dedan Kimathi University of Technology to mass produce personal protective equipment which are critical in the management of covid-19 pandemic.
The first 1,000 body suits for medical staff who come in close contact with infected people and 7,000 face masks for distribution to local bodabodas, community health volunteers and enforcement officers expected to be produced by the end of last week.
The development comes at a time when the world is grappling to meet the demand for the protective gear, prompting some countries to suspend normal factory operations to focus on the manufacture of the productive equipment. By making a fortune through providing much needed solutions at this time of crisis, the Laikipia SMEs are living prove that every cloud has a silver lining. The homegrown solution will go a long way in propping the local economy during this financial crisis as Covid-19 impacts on productionAs a country, we are in a fight for survival against the Covid-19. We must do whatever we can do first even as we look for help from elsewhere, Dekut vice-chancellor Prof Ndirangu Kioni said.
Prof Kioni said his institution and the county government of Laikipia were seeking to fill in some gaps existing in the fight against the virus and the network of entrepreneurs under innovation programme had come in handy.
The university has trained a total of eight local manufacturers who are working with 40 sub-contractors. Ms Winnie Mwangi, the county head of innovation development programme, says the county government has linked up three of the trained manufactures with the Kenya Bureau of Standards and the Kenya Pharmacy and Poisons Board for a speedy approval of the PPEs. Under the partnership the two institutions are also working on mass production of ventilators and hand sanitizers through other SMEs that are under the Laikipia Innovation and Enterprise Development programme.
SMEs currently producing protective equipment like face masks and gowns are Clej Supplies Limited, Nanyuki Vision Tailors in Nanyuki town and Jimco operating in Nyahururu town. Nanyuki based EM Naturals, an SME dealing in cosmetics, has expanded production to include hand sanitizers to meet the demand. It is projected that number of Covid-19 infections will strain medical facilities and equipment like PPEs and equipment like ventilators after the Ministry of Health announced that the country is likely to have 10,000 coronavirus cases by the end of April. Mass production of the PPEs is part of the preparations that the county government is making as coronavirus cases in the country rise.
Although the county has not recorded any Covid-19 case so far, a model released by its department of Health indicates that more than 14,000 infections in a worst case scenario and up to 600 cases in the best case scenario.
There are nine production centres at the university and by individual SMEs in Nyahururu and Nanyuki. Four other SMEs under the programme are producing hand sanitizers
