NAIROBI, Kenya, Jul 1 – Women-owned businesses in Kenya face structural barriers that limit their ability to secure contracts with large companies for growth, according to an IFC study published today that recommends ways banks and large businesses can better support female entrepreneurs.
Commissioned as part of IFC’s wider efforts to connect women entrepreneurs to new markets, the study, Sourcing2Equal Kenya: Barriers and Approaches to Increase Access to Markets for Women-Owned Businesses, found that women-owned businesses face challenges accessing finance, business networks, and market information, limiting their ability to take on large contracts.
Researchers interviewed 14 Kenyan corporations and found they spend just 3 percent of their total procurement budget on women-owned businesses—and that women entrepreneurs are mostly represented in low-value sectors, such as catering, printing, and cleaning.
The study recommends that corporate buyers partner with local financial institutions to facilitate access to working capital, implement supplier development initiatives, increase outreach to women-owned businesses, and advertise tender opportunities on digital platforms.
“For large companies, there is a business case for contracting with women-owned small and medium enterprises,” said Amena Arif, IFC’s Country Manager for Kenya. “A diversified supplier base is key to reducing the risk of supply chain disruptions and procurement costs.”
IFC today also launched its Sourcing2Equal Kenya program to help advance gender-inclusive sourcing in the private sector and increase women’s access to procurement contracts.
The program will help 10 companies increase their sourcing from women-owned businesses and build the capacity of 1,300 women-led smaller businesses to make them procurement ready.
Eight firms have already joined the program: Unilever, KenGen, Safaricom, Bidco, Stanbic Bank, Absa Bank, Line Plast Group, and Tropikal Brands.
“We set targets to increase sourcing from women-owned business because we believe it’s good for business, good for economic development, and it builds a stronger equitable society,” said Luck Ochieng, Unilever Kenya’s Managing Director. “By participating in the Sourcing2Equal Kenya Program, we hope to develop a framework for tracking progress against our commitments and reporting on our procurement activities relating to sourcing from women-owned led businesses.”
“We are working with Sourcing2Equal Kenya because it aligns with the ongoing government procurement program. The program will help us access best practices on gender-inclusive sourcing and how to implement them,” said Phillip Yego, Supply Chain Director at KenGen.
In 2015, Kenya introduced a policy that stipulates that 30 percent of the value of all government procurement contracts be awarded to small businesses owned by either women, persons with […]
