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Stanbic partners with over 500 handcrafting creatives to enhance exports

Through Ubunifu Kenya Association, Stanbic has rolled out a free countrywide financial literacy program targeting handcrafters keen to grow their businesses locally and internationally/COURTESY

NAIROBI, Kenya, Dec 2 – Stanbic Bank has rolled out a training program targeting over 500 export businesses in a bid to boost Kenya’s export business portfolio.

Through Ubunifu Kenya Association, Stanbic has rolled out a free countrywide financial literacy program targeting handcrafters keen to grow their businesses locally and internationally.

The countrywide roll-out aims to boost creative businesses inculcate management skills, savings, and investments, managing credit, and debt, insurance and budgeting across the country.

The training series comes on the backdrop of Ubunifu’s launch of a 5-year strategic plan that seeks to grow the industry through training and capacity, financing partnerships, access to local and international markets and growth of local content.

Head of Customer Insights and Business Intelligence Stanbic Bank Kenya Grace Mbugua, said through Stanbic Bank’s DADA initiative the bank’s training are aimed at preparing creative businesses for financing opportunities.

“Through the Sh20 billion women-only DADA fund that we launched recently, we have already trained over hundreds of businesses and disbursed over Sh450million worth of financing to small business owners. We are adopting the same approach with the creative entrepreneurs to scale their businesses,” said Mbugua.

The new development comes even as a new study by the East African Secretariat and TradeMark East Africa revealed that Kenya is quickly losing its position as the East African Community (EAC) exports powerhouse

“Kenyan products are increasingly finding it tough to compete with cheaper imports from China and India and those produced by regional rivals, shrinking Kenya’s share of exports,” reads the report.

Increase in counterfeits, non-tariff barriers, lack of product diversification and high production cost have also rendered Kenyan products less competitive in the market, Kenyan media reported citing the study.

The study shows Kenya’s exports to Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi, and South Sudan are facing new threats posed by regional manufacturers who are now better equipped in the production of similar products.

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