Njoki Karuoya

Last week, when I took on the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Development and asked the officers to explain what is going on with the Women Enterprise Fund, the response was immediate. In less than 24 hours, the Chief Executive-cum-Director of the Fund, Samuel Tarus Wainaina, got in touch and cleared the air surrounding this Government initiative. Kudos.

So this is what Wainaina says: The Fund was set up by the Government to benefit women aged above 18 years, meaning any woman can apply, whether she is part of a group (those famous chamas) or as an individual. Interestingly, men, too, can apply for these funds on condition that they are part of a women’s group where most of the leadership positions are held by women.

Open tendering process

There is still a lot of money up for grabs. Initially, Sh1 billion was provided for the year 2007-2008 but a further Sh315 million was added for the year 2008-2009. The money is not a freebie. It has to be paid back as it is a loan.

Women can borrow from as little as Sh1,000 to as much as Sh500,000. Anything higher than half a million is presented to the advisory board in Nairobi for approval.

Only registered groups can access the funds through the Constituency-Women Enterprise Fund (C-WEF) system, which is found in all the districts in the country and managed by the District Gender and Social Development Officer. Interestingly, at the C-WEF, applicants are required to provide security for the amounts required such as group guarantees, household items, business stocks or quoted shares among other collaterals.

Women desiring to borrow money as individuals must approach financial intermediaries who were selected "through a competitive and transparent open tendering process." They are Taifa Sacco, BIMAS, Co-operative Bank, Family Bank, Kenya Industrial Estates (KIE), Wakenya Pamoja (formerly Gussi Rural Sacco), K-REP Development Agency, Jitegemea Credit Scheme, Mathira Sacco, Pamoja Women Development Programme and Small & Micro Enterprise Programme (SMEP).

Low interest rate

Women’s groups and companies can also apply for the loans from these intermediaries. The advantage of the Women Enterprise Fund is that the interest rate is highly subsidised and is, therefore, very low. Those who receive funds from financial intermediaries are charged an interest rate of eight per cent per year, while those who get the money through the C-WEF are charged zero interest. However, a one-time administrative fee of five per cent is charged.

Funds received from financial intermediaries must be paid back within 36 months (three years) while those received from C-WEF must be paid back within 12 months (one year). A three-month grace period is allowed from the moment successful applicants receive their cheque/funds. All repayments from C-WEF candidates are made at the KCB Moi Avenue branch in Nairobi, account no. 017229601660.

The initiative operates like a revolving fund, meaning individuals and groups that successfully apply for the loans must pay back the money to enable others to also benefit.

Training and marketing

To ensure the initiative is sustainable, the Fund is managed by an Advisory Board largely composed of distinguished professional women with wide experience, and a management team to oversee the daily operations.

For those who wish it, the Fund provides training for women and their groups and, where possible, facilitates the marketing of their products and services, which may include introducing them to large companies.

To date, over 80,000 women have benefited from this enterprise fund. Repayment from them is 100 per cent.