Big Four accounting and advisory firm KPMG East Africa is set to organise a competition to promote small and medium enterprises (SME) in Kenya, an event that will be set up in collaboration with the Nation Media Group. The firm has launched a survey to receive entries for the contest.
The Business Daily and KPMG Top 100 SMEs survey is in its 12th edition, and will invite entries for the latest contest. Criteria for entries include that the turnover must be between Sh 50 million and Sh 1 billion, positioning candidate firms in the mid-sized category in the Kenyan market.
Firms that enter for the contest are also obligated to provide their auditing records for the last three years, and should not be listed on a stock exchange. This condition aligns with the overall objective of the contest, which is to promote efficient book keeping that can facilitate receiving credit in the long run.
Financing operations and growth is becoming an increasingly pertinent challenge for SMEs in Kenya, which has led to a number of them closing down in recent years. Reports have suggested that nearly half of the SMEs that are established in Kenya close down within a year of establishment, primarily due to a lack of funding. As the Kenyan economy looks to grow in prominence across the East African and broader African markets, it is essential that domestic businesses are offered the space to thrive. The collaborative effort between KPMG and the Nation Media Group is directed at improving this scenario to some extent.
“It is our responsibility as the private sector to uplift SMEs by doing business with them and establishing avenues such as the Top 100 Survey to promote them,” said Stephan Gitagama, CEO at Nation Media Group.
“Since the start of the survey, we have seen companies grow to attract highly qualified people who are interested to work for them. They also get to attract more customers because of their association with the Top 100,” added Benson Ndung’u, CEO of KPMG East Africa.
This is the second SME competition that KPMG East Africa has contributed to in recent weeks. The Big Four accounting and advisory firm has also worked to organise the MbeleNaBiz Business Plan Competition , organised in collaboration between the Kenyan government and the World Bank.
