Kidero who was speaking at the Financial Services Strategic Conference organized by Ernst & Young in a Nairobi hotel also advised the financial service providers to give insurance cover to the informal sector/CFM
Kidero said that with one million people getting in the job market every year in the country, 80 percent of them come to Nairobi leaving other counties with no human capital.
“There is need for the county governments to come up with ideas, strategies to develop enterprises and industries to provide job opportunities in the counties,” he said.
He also noted that estimates for the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) leakage that come from wastage and the black market is currently at Sh600 billion this year pointing out that sealing the leakage will see the economy grow in a double digit.
Kidero who was speaking at the Financial Services Strategic Conference organized by Ernst & Young in a Nairobi hotel also advised the financial service providers to give insurance cover to the informal sector, pointing out that it will be of great advantage for the industry.
“Most of the businesses in the informal sector, like the ‘mama mboga’ do not have insurance. If anything happens to their business, they lose everything… we need to support these people,” he said.
The key goal of the conference is to continue to leverage the leading global financial services capability into the continent and into the Eastern African region in particular.
The financial services market in Eastern Africa continues to grow at a rapid pace due to the stable political and business environment.
“Given this rapid growth, the challenge for companies in the Eastern Africa is how with high levels of product and services innovation, they keep pace with evolving regulatory changes and the increasing domestic regional and international completion,” said Ernst & Young Eastern Africa Region Chairman Gitahi Gichahi.
Gichahi said that Africa will be the 5th largest economy after United States, China, Japan and Germany.
“The youth population has clocked 1 billion in Africa, increasing the human capital in the region, hence the world perception towards Africa has changed,” Gichahi said.
Gichahi however noted that non-performing loans is the biggest challenge the industry is currently facing.
“Interests played on deposits and interest charges on loans are still very high, we need to join hands with regulatory bodies to make this sector more counterproductive,” he observed.
