Cabinet Secretary for Cooperatives and MSMEs Development Wycliffe Oparanya speaking during a media breakfast and training forum for journalists and communicators in Nairobi on Friday.
By Peace Muthoka
NAIROBI, June 26, 2026 — The government has renewed its commitment to strengthening Kenya’s micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), describing the sector as the backbone of the country’s economy and the key to creating jobs for millions of young people. Ahead of tomorrow’s World MSME Day celebrations, Cabinet Secretary for Cooperatives and MSMEs Development Wycliffe Oparanya called for greater public and private sector investment to unlock the full potential of small businesses.
Speaking during a media breakfast and training forum for journalists and communicators in Nairobi on Friday, Oparanya said this year’s World MSME Day celebrations will focus on “Human-Centred Entrepreneurship in an AI-Driven Future: Economic Empowerment for the Next Generation of MSMEs.” He noted that the theme reflects the rapid growth of artificial intelligence and the need to ensure entrepreneurs, especially young people, remain at the centre of technological and economic transformation.
The national celebrations will take place tomorrow, June 27, at the Kenyatta International Convention Centre (KICC), where President William Ruto is expected to preside over the event. According to Oparanya, more than 3,000 participants drawn from government, financial institutions, development partners, investors and the private sector will attend the forum to discuss the future of Kenya’s enterprise ecosystem.
He noted that Kenya hosted the world’s first high-level World MSME Day celebration last year, saying the country has since made significant progress in supporting entrepreneurs under the Bottom-Up Economic Transformation Agenda. However, he stressed that more work remains to ensure small businesses fully benefit from emerging technologies and access sustainable financing.
Oparanya said Kenya is home to nearly eight million micro, small and medium enterprises that employ about 15 million people. He added that the sector contributes approximately 34 per cent of the country’s Gross Domestic Product and creates more than 90 per cent of all new jobs every year, making it one of the most important pillars of the national economy.
He observed that nearly one million young Kenyans join the labour market annually, yet the formal sector cannot absorb all of them. Consequently, he said empowering MSMEs offers the most practical solution to expanding employment opportunities, increasing household incomes and accelerating economic growth across the country.
To support entrepreneurs, Oparanya highlighted several government initiatives, including the Financial Inclusion Fund, popularly known as the Hustler Fund, the Sh29 billion National Youth Opportunities Towards Advancement (NYOTA) programme and the Kenya Jobs and Economic Transformation (KJET) Project. He said the programmes are providing business capital, skills training, mentorship and market opportunities to thousands of entrepreneurs across all the country’s 1,450 wards.
In addition, he cited the Credit Guarantee Scheme, Women Enterprise Fund, Youth Enterprise Development Fund, Uwezo Fund, Kenya Industrial Estates and the Kenya Development Corporation as critical financing channels helping enterprises start, expand and become more competitive. He also welcomed the Central Bank of Kenya’s recent reduction of the benchmark interest rate, saying the move is expected to lower borrowing costs and encourage more lending to businesses.
Even so, Oparanya acknowledged that access to affordable finance remains the biggest challenge facing MSMEs. He noted that the sector still faces a financing gap worth trillions of shillings and urged banks, development partners, investors and technology innovators to work closely with the government to unlock more private sector funding for viable enterprises.
“The next phase of our agenda is to move from government-led support to market-led financing. We must ensure that no viable enterprise misses the opportunity to grow because of a lack of capital,” he said.
Meanwhile, Micro and Small Enterprises Authority (MSEA) Director General Henry Rithaa said the Authority continues to strengthen the sector through business development training, market linkages, affordable financing, incubation services and access to shared production facilities. He said these interventions are helping build resilient and competitive enterprises capable of driving Kenya’s industrialisation and creating sustainable jobs.
Rithaa also challenged the media to report accurately on the MSME sector and government programmes, saying informed journalism will help counter misinformation while connecting entrepreneurs with available opportunities. He added that stronger collaboration between the ministry and the media will ensure more Kenyans understand and benefit from the services available as the country marks World MSME Day tomorrow.
