NAIROBI, Kenya, Sep 28 – The European Union (EU) has lauded the Government of Kenya for offering a conducive environment to spur innovation among small and medium business ventures.
EU Ambassador to Kenya Henriette Geiger says the government has made it easy for SMEs to grow under incubation.
Geiger says through the Kenya Climate Innovation Center (KCIC), many SMEs are developing innovations to address the challenges of climate change in the country.
The Ambassador noted that through such ventures, the government is bridging the employment gap among young people in the country.
“These interventions are contributing to employment creation and facilitating investments in green and climate related SMEs,” she said.
She noted that business incubations in KCIC will help many young people to venture into agri-businesses.
“We want to prove that agriculture can yield a sustainable living income and agriculture can be attractive to young people. We want to make agriculture sexy again here in Kenya,” she said.
Speaking in Kisumu on Wednesday when she graced this year’s World Tourism Day Celebrations, Geiger says EU has been in the forefront to support KCIC.
“We at the EU, Kenyan delegation, have been supporting KCIC, through our agribiz program since 2020,” she said.
The Ambassador announced that under the program, they have engaged more than 1,000 youths and women led agri-business groups.
They are providing them with seed capitals, grants and loan services to be able to scale up their innovation ventures.
Geiger says she was happy to encounter in the exhibition tents most of the groups supported by EU under the program, showcasing their innovative wares.
She says tourism is changing across the globe and Kenya must know the needs of tourists by investing in innovations.
“We don’t want tourism to destroy the environment so we are looking for innovations to spur tourism growth in the country,” she said.
Geiger says the creation of new opportunities for tourism, green tourism and agriculture opportunities will give the young people a path to grow and blossom.
