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A new survey conducted by Amethyst Consultants on SME perceptions of banking products in Kenya showed that up to 95% of SMEs (9 out of 10 companies) in the country use M-Pesa, Vodafone’s mobile money service, according to Business Daily Africa.
The survey, commissioned by SNDBX, took place between the months of March and April 2021 and included 131 small to medium enterprises (SMEs) across 17 “key sectors”.
“The survey highlighted that SMEs continue to be resilient through the pandemic season and a third [of SMEs] are looking forward to a better future in 2021,” says Amethyst Consultants Founding Director, Sharon Mbugua.
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The Big Baraza SME Conference
The report was released at SNDBX’s “Big Baraza” virtual SME conference in Kenya, the first SME conference organised by SME Entrepreneurs in the country.
SNDBX, a management consulting agency based in Nairobi, write that the Big Baraza is an opportunity to “to co-curate conversations and interventions collaboratively amongst SMEs, government agencies, private sector alliances, funding organizations and trade agencies.”
This year the event attracted over 1700 registrations with an average of 200 participants per session. The event was sponsored by Facebook and Jubilee Health Insurance with over 30 exhibitors.
Other Insights
According to the report by Amethyst, the majority of Kenyan SMEs prefer to use Facebook and its business products for their simplicity and ease of access.
The Kenyan government also reiterated their role in aiding SMEs in the country.
“The government plays a leading role in stimulating growth in the SME sector through incentives that attract investment, doing business with SMEs, offering SMEs market exposure through government-sponsored expos, [and] capacity building…,” says Maureen Mbaka, Chief Administrative Secretary, Ministry of ICT, Innovation and Youth Affairs.
They say that the government also helps SMEs through research and development funding to help stimulate growth and the improvement of infrastructure to promote business access.
By Luis Monzon
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