20 September 2009
Nairobi — Living standards of communities in Western Province could be up for a lift following plans by Equity Bank to stimulate rural entrepreneurship among them, in order to address rampant poverty.
The bank intends to achieve this through mobilising 50 groups each from the province's 24 constituencies to benefit from training on entrepreneurial skills and financial management.
Economic growth
The groups will also be considered for loans by the bank, as part of its strategy to exploit the untapped potential for economic growth in the region.
The bank's chief executive, Dr James Mwangi, said the region's population of four million people had the potential to provide enormous investment opportunities with a huge potential for dairy farming and horticultural production that was largely untapped.
The target is to start by improving average incomes in the province by 50 per cent and tapping into the abundant resources. "Our agenda is try to unlock the vicious cycle of poverty in the province by making it easy for communities to access loans and promote the spirit of entrepreneurship at all levels," he said.
Mr Mwangi was addressing business people at a luncheon organised by the bank at a Kakamega hotel. Another initiative of the bank is to supply 25,000 grafted seedlings of avocado plant to farmers in the region, so that they can generate income from extraction of oil to manufacture soaps and perfumes.
The bank has also picked a team to look into the needs of clients in the region and help them embrace the spirit of entrepreneurship to improve livelihoods.
During the official opening of the bank's six new branches in the province, deputy prime minister, Musalia Mudavadi, who was the chief guest said the region's economic fortunes could be turned around in the next five years, if leaders were ready to work together.
And speaking shortly after opening the Equity Bank Mumias branch at Bomani grounds in Mumias town on Sunday, he challenged sugarcane growers to protect a sugar miller in the area despite the hardships they were going through.
Independent
Speaking of loans which many of the rural communities are afraid to borrow, the minister told them to take advantage of the financial institutions offering the products to acquire funds that will help them become independent in areas of sugarcane transportation and farm in puts.
"A loan can help you buy fertilizer and other farm in puts without going through a middleman and even acquire farm machines that will cut down on the expenses incurred when you rely on another person to do it for you, because high interest will be charged on the services rendered."