SBM Bank in partnership with Centre for the Promotion of Imports (CBI), a program funded by the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs have announced an initiative that will see women taking up valuable global trading opportunities.
The initiative will focus on Kenyan women entrepreneurs in export value chains, targeting 15 businesses during the initial six-month pilot phase and scaling up significantly in following years. The partnership will see the launch of a series of activities that will aim to enhance women’s access to finance to facilitate their entry and expansion in international markets.
Despite women’s positive loan repayment performance with a delinquency rate of only 2%, they face challenges in accessing the type of financing required to reach the export market. The objective of the partnership is to link medium-sized women-owned or -led SMEs with affordable financing through SBM Bank’s financial solutions so they can access the financing required for exports.
The collaboration will also train and coach women entrepreneurs on enhanced financial management skills, export readiness, and other requirements for accessing finance, as well as leverage CBI’s deep-rooted market intelligence and connections to open up international opportunities for Kenyan businesses.
