SSC Kenya Services

Business Information:

The centers provide various information products and services on a commercial basis. These include access to reliable market information, broadband internet access, training facilities, database management, temporary office services, meeting rooms, and research facilities. The centers also operate fully-fledged incubation centers that enable small and meduim sized businesses to pool and share resources under one roof.

Capacity Building:

Specific services provided under capacity building include assistance in setting up a new business, existing product enhancement, export development services, training, coaching and mentoring. Funds for capacity building are availed on a cost sharing basis through a part subsidy to participating firms. As part of the capacity building, the centers have successfully implemented and customized the SME toolkit for use in supporting the centers’ clients.

Access to Finance:

This is a critical issue for many growing small and meduim sized enterprises in Africa. Smaller businesses generally struggle to attract finances, whether in the form of debt or equity. Traditional long-term bank finance is generally inaccessible to small and meduim sized enterprises because they lack the required collateral. Venture capital is not an option either as would be financiers cite the lack of opportunities to exit equity positions in small and meduim sized businesses at rates of return justifying risk.

To address these challenges, IFC has engaged Business Partners, a fund manager to set up the Business Partners International risk capital fund as the access to finance component of the SME Solutions Centers. Business Partners International (BPI) is a wholly owned subsidiary of Business Partners, a leading South African provider of risk capital to small and medium enterprises. So far, BPI has raised KES14.1 million in Kenya and KES10 million in Madagascar. IFC contributed 32 and 35 percent of the capital of the BPI risk capital funds for Madagascacar and Kenya, respectively. Other participating investors comprise of international investors such as the European Investment Bank, Commonwealth Development Corporation, Norfund, and Doen Foundation. A number of regional and local institutions have invested in the funds as well, including the Assurance Reassurance Omnibranche in Madagascar, and Trans Century Ltd and the East African Development Bank in Kenya.Using the funds raised, support is extended to qualifying small and meduim sized enterprises in the form of equity, quasi equity, and debt financing. Repayment and exit (where equity is provided) is generally achieved from the cash flow of the investee companies. 

Business Enabling Environment:

By drawing from other IFC resources, such as the IFC PEP-Africa business enabling environment team, the center is able to engage in policy advocacy on behalf of the SME sector.