Kenya National Chamber of Commerce & Industry To Partner With E4Impact Foundation In A Bid To Boost Entrepreneurship
Kenya’s National Chamber of Commerce & Industry has committed to a five-year partnership with the E4Impact Foundation in a bid to boost entrepreneurship in Kenya. The collaboration will see the pair team up on accelerating, funding, mentoring and incubating 20 local businesses.
The agreement was signed by Kenya Chamber of Commerce & Industry CEO Angela Ndambuki and E4Impact director Mario Molteni and both principals will endeavour to use their organisation in stimulating the growth of Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises (MSME). The idea behind the collaboration is to ensure that small businesses at risk of failure due to a lack of funding or training have the necessary access to avert those challenges.
“Today is a great day for MSMEs in Kenya as some 20 start-ups can now be assured of funding as well as training as a result of our partnership with E4Impact. We realize that the lack of capital and capacity to run businesses remains among the greatest challenges that businesses continue to face especially in emerging economies like Kenya,” said Kenya Chamber of Commerce & Industry CEO, Angela Ndambuki.
The Accelerator is set to debut this month and will facilitate the training of up to 20 start-ups per annum, supporting their growth and ensuring their scalability and sustainability by offering one-year office space, a customized training itinerary, international and local mentorship and access to professional services such as legal as well as accounting. In addition to this contribution, KNCCI is also looking to develop relationships with Italian businesses that will lead to idea exchanges within the various sectors as well as overseas investment.
The Accelerator has a strong foundation of existing partnerships between the E4impact Foundation, Tangaza University College and the Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore (UCSC) of Milan (Italy), who together have already trained 260 impact entrepreneurs.
The international collaboration has already taken its first steps with the Italian Agency for Development Co-operation has already investing €542,000 which will be channeled through the accelerator to materialize the business support, mentorship and actualize the partnership with Italian businesses.
The E4Impact driven Accelerator will choose start-ups from a wide array of sectors, with a mandate to host Kenyan businesses in the following industries: agri-food, fashion and design, leather, machinery and equipment, construction and affordable housing, healthcare, green business and renewable energy, innovative ICT services and infrastructures for one year.
