Karungo wa Thang’wa (pictured), the County Executive Committee (CEC) Member for Youth Affairs, Sports and Communication called on financial institutions to develop products that will be more accessible to the youth, women and the disabled during a meeting with heads of local banks in his Kiambu office on Friday/COURTESY
KIAMBU, Kenya, Aug 30 – Kiambu county has commenced negotiations with local banks in a bid to boost the uptake of a newly established Jijenge Fund and held whitelist youths with a negative Credit Reference Bureau (CRB) rating.
Karungo wa Thang’wa, the County Executive Committee (CEC) Member for Youth Affairs, Sports and Communication called on financial institutions to develop products that will be more accessible to the youth, women and the disabled during a meeting with heads of local banks in his Kiambu office on Friday.
“As a County, we are ready to partner with institutions that provide solutions that will benefit our youths, especially getting them out of negative CRB listing, either through sensitization or providing affordable and friendly loan products,” Thang’wa said.
He invited the banks to work with the county in the roll out of Jijenge Fund established last year after the enactment of the Jijenge Fund Act which abolished the flagship Kiambu Biashara Fund which also targeted the youth, women and persons living with disabilities.
Thang’wa invited the banks to work with the county in the roll out of Jijenge Fund established last year after the enactment of the Jijenge Fund Act which abolished the flagship Kiambu Biashara Fund which also targeted the youth, women and persons living with disabilities/COURTESY
Governor Ferdinand Waititu launched fund touted as a youth empowerment initiative. targeting new and existing micro and small medium enterprises, in April.
Speaking during the launch, Waititu promised to increase monies allocated to the fund by an additional Sh100 million every financial year.
The kitty benefitted from an initial funding of Sh200 million.
“Jijenge Fund is a revolving fund with no interest, and it shall provide financing for LPOs, groups and individuals, I am going to increase it every financial year to ensure that the highest number of Kiambu residents benefit,” he said.
The Jijenge Fund is domiciled in the Department of Youth Affairs, Sports and Communications.
