Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) can have a significant function in improving production capacity and build the economy and social resilience for any country.
Pages
Saturday, September 5, 2020
MSMEs best bet to revive economy in post-COVID-19 era
By Bernard Ngore
Eng. Bernard Ngore chairman Kebs Board
Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) can have a significant function in improving production capacity and build the economy and social resilience for any country.
In Kenya, the MSME sector created 840,600 new jobs in 2018 and
contributed up to Sh3.37 trillion out of Sh9.97 trillion, Gross Domestic
Product which was 34 per cent of GDP.
Statistics from the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) also
indicate that in the same year, the informal sector, which accounted for
83.6 per cent of the total employment, created 762,100 new jobs. This
made the sector the biggest contributor, as MSMES are embedded in all
economic drivers such as tourism, agriculture, and manufacturing.
Although the economic growth and employment experienced a significant
slowdown as a result of the Covid-19 outbreak, the pandemic presents an
opportunity to build back better with the support of MSMEs to strengthen
Kenya's production capacity.
This will propel the sector to the center stage of Kenya’s economic
development and social stability through job creation and poverty
eradication in a post COVID-19 era.
It is said that reward sweetens labour. That is why it is refreshing
that the government, through the Kenya Bureau of Standards (KEBS,) has
unveiled support programs with its development partners that include
UNIDO, The European Union and the World Bank specifically targeting
MSMEs.
In furtherance of the aspirations of the Kenya Vision 2030 and the Big
Four Agenda, Kebs through its National Standards Council has approved an
MSME policy that aims to provide a coordinated approach to support the
MSE agenda.
This according to KEBS Board will provide timely, accessible, and
affordable services through a prioritisation approach that promotes
innovations, market access, and emerging technologies amongst the MSMEs.
With the Africa Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA) coming into
force and with our locally produced goods already facing competition
from a barrage of imports especially from China, it comes as a breath of
fresh air that KEBS has rolled out a robust strategy aimed at
supporting the MSME sector to attain the necessary standards to make
them competitive locally and beyond.
In a post-COVID-19 era, it is such creative solutions that will make it
easier for Kenyan MSMEs to produce quality goods that can compete in the
market of 1.2 billion people that will be opened up once AfCFTA is in
place by January 2021.
Quality is never an accident, it is always the result of high intention,
sincere effort, intelligent direction, and skilful execution. It
represents the wise choice of many alternatives and by Kebs positioning
itself to contribute more in promoting the MSME sector, the government
has made one such choice.
With the government turning to incubation centres in order to cushion
the economy against job losses as a result of the pandemic, the MSME
sector in Kenya is bound to grow rapidly. This calls for the timely
development of standards, the use of appropriate methodologies for
delivery of standards as provided for in the Standards Development
procedures, review of Product Certification cycle time, and turnaround
time to be able to meet the needs of these MSMEs.
If there is one thing that the coronavirus pandemic has taught us, it is
the fact that technology can play a great part in keeping the economy
running while keeping people safe. That is why it is imperative that
MSMEs are enabled to tide-over the problems of technological
backwardness and enhance their access to new technologies.
Among the measures, Kebs in co-operation with other stakeholders in the
national innovation ecosystem intend to put in place to give Kenyan
MSMEs the technological edge are the adoption of ICT and adaption to the
digital revolution. This shall include exploiting opportunities for the
ongoing digital revolution like cloud computing and data analytics to
improve efficiency.
Kebs also plans to upgrade workforce skills in MSMEs in order to support
both the generation of new in-house innovation and the absorption of
new knowledge sourced through collaborations with external partners
while ensuring that the Research and Development policy is inclusive of
MSMEs.
Access to finance is another main challenge facing MSMEs and especially
at the startup level. The MSME sector is disadvantaged in comparison to
larger businesses due to their comparatively higher costs of compliance.
The fact that KEBS shall provide negotiated discounted rates and charges
for the MSE sector will go a long way in jumpstarting the economy from
the effects of the pandemic. All costing structures for services offered
by KEBS to the MSE sector shall provide differentiated costing.
You cannot cure a new malady with old remedies. The coronavirus pandemic
has exposed sections of the soft underbelly of our MSME sector and
failure to address the problems revealed would be letting a crisis go to
waste. By paying special attention to the MSME sector, KEBS is setting
the standard in setting standards.
The author is the Chairman of KEBS Board
Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) can have a significant function in improving production capacity and build the economy and social resilience for any country.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments
(
Atom
)
No comments :
Post a Comment