Women entrepreneurs have been urged to scale up their businesses and tap into emerging economic opportunities as policymakers and financial institutions push for reforms aimed at making women led enterprises more bankable.
The remarks were made by Kenya’s Presidential Advisor on Women’s Rights, Hon. Harriet Chiggai, in Nairobi as she delivered a keynote speech at a women empowerment forum. The customer engagement forum, courtesy of Equity Bank, was aimed at enhancing awareness of Fanikisha, a women’s banking solution that offers tiered solutions tailored to suit businesswomen at every stage of their growth.
Acknowledging that government alone cannot fully empower women in business, Hon. Chiggai hailed Equity for its deliberate efforts to connect women to affordable financing as well as non-financial support through the Fanikisha value proposition for women in business.
“Partnership between the government and the private sector in empowering women and enabling them to thrive in business is of utmost importance. It requires a coordinated effort to de-risk investment, expand access to capital, and unlock opportunities for women-led enterprises to grow and scale. The government has taken deliberate and sustained steps on matters of policy, and we laud Equity for leading the private sector in complementing government efforts in empowering women in business,” said Hon. Chiggai.
She added that through the Access to Government Procurement Opportunities (AGPO) programme, designed to empower women, youth, and persons with disabilities, the government has ringfenced 30% of all procurement opportunities for them. She said the legal requirement allows women-owned businesses, among many other benefits, to compete for tenders without facing established, large-scale enterprises.
Reaffirming Equity’s commitment to empowering women-led enterprises, Equity Bank Kenya Managing Director, Moses Nyabanda, said women in business across Kenya are set for a major reprieve in accessing “affordable credit and non-financial support such as business skills, mentorship, and networks following a countrywide rollout of the enhanced Fanikisha offering.”
Fanikisha is a women’s banking solution that offers tiered services tailored to suit businesswomen at every stage of their growth, rolled out in 2007 by Equity in partnership with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). The tiers include Shaba for start-ups, Dhahabu for micro businesses, Almasi for SMEs, and Platini for corporate clients.
“Through this initiative, Equity intends to walk with women in business at every stage of their journey. We need more feedback to keep improving, as we have done with the enhanced Fanikisha offering. We are ready to walk with you as you expand beyond Kenya. We have had multiple trade missions, taking entrepreneurs to frontier markets,” said Nyabanda, encouraging businesswomen not to fear loans, but to partner with Equity and explore special desks for Europe and Asia, e.g., the German Desk, to access vibrant global markets.
Nyabanda also assured women borrowers that Equity Group and the African Guarantee Fund (AGF) have a transformative USD 500 million (KSh 64 billion) partnership to accelerate financing for Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs), focusing heavily on women and youth-led businesses. “This initiative aims to unlock USD 1 billion in credit, creating or sustaining over 50,000 jobs by providing guarantees and capacity building. So don’t shy away, citing lack of collateral,” he said.
Equity Bank Kenya Head of Women & Youth Banking, Silpah Owich, said the enhanced Fanikisha package is more than a loan platform and now offers several benefits, “including health insurance cover for women and their families for as low as KSh 5,800 per year, opportunities to explore new markets through regional and international trade missions organized by Equity, unsecured bid bonds of up to KSh 10 million processed within one hour, and entrepreneurship training courses.”
“The tiered end-to-end financial solution by Equity is designed to support women at every stage of their business journeys. So far, a whopping KSh 565.6 billion has been disbursed under the initiative to women-led enterprises across Kenya since its commissioning,” said Dr. Owich.
The forum also served as a graduation ceremony for hundreds of women who had undergone financial literacy training modules by the Equity Group Foundation (EGF) on prudent borrowing, debt management, digitization, insurance literacy, effective saving and budgeting, entrepreneurship, and investment education. “We salute Equity Bank for supplementing our efforts and for training over 2.5 million women and youth in financial literacy so far, against the government’s target of 8 million,” said Hon. Chiggai.
Several beneficiaries of Fanikisha spoke highly of the initiative and how it has helped break barriers women in business face, including fragmented financial solutions that do not grow with the customer, limited access to affordable credit and working capital, long turnaround times, complex requirements, and inadequate non-financial support such as business skills, mentorship, and networks.
The impact stories came from women operating in Nairobi’s Central Business District (CBD), including Shelmith Wambui, owner of SheJunie Fashions, whose 18-year relationship with Equity began with a loan of KSh 15,000 and has since grown to borrowing in millions. Mary Wangare, owner of Demachi Ventures Ltd, who has banked with Equity for the last 12 years, also moved attendees with her story of humble beginnings with a KSh 40,000 loan as a fruit vendor. Lastly, Bancy Kalekye, owner of Free Drop Ltd, approached Equity in 2006 with no collateral but a dream and now runs a thriving business with access to millions in financing.
To start your Fanikisha journey with Equity, visit: https://equitygroupholdings.com/ke/fanikisha and complete the form to get started or SMS the word "FANIKISHA" and your "SUB COUNTY " to 24990 to receive a call, or you can contact your relationship manager at your branch or email info@equitybank.co.ke for assistance.
