Are you a small or medium enterprise owner in need of a financial grant to aid in the elevation of your business? Stanbic Kenya Foundation in conjunction with the United States Africa Development Foundation is looking for you, and is now receiving applications until 25^th February 2022.

Stanbic Kenya Foundation in partnership with United States African Development Foundation (USADF) is looking to help businesses, cooperatives, and producer groups to address gaps in their internal systems and increase capabilities to 100% through their grant funding.

In Kenya, there are 7.4 million SMEs and the Accelerate program has so far managed to reach over 850 businesses, 100 percent Kenyan-owned, managed, and legally registered MSMEs with both financial and non-financial support.

The grant application must demonstrate the following for it to be considered for the up to Ksh5 million grants:

• It has had basic functional management and financial controls for a minimum of 2 years.
• It has been using financial institutions for all its business transactions for the last 12 months. Money transfer statements can be used to back up the bank statements.
• It has in the past applied for commercial investment and met some (if not most) of the financing requirements, but the application was denied due to internal systems and capabilities gaps.
• It has paid all taxes to the relevant authorities in a timely manner.
• It is legally registered and has fixed premises for business operations.
• It has the capacity to make at least a 50% contribution towards the cost of implementing activities under the grant funding.
• For group-owned enterprises/cooperatives, the applicant must demonstrate that it has successfully worked together for a minimum of two years, has the capability to effectively use grants funds, and the membership is in agreement on the challenges to be addressed with the grant funding and has a commitment to benefit its community.
• It is 100% African-owned and -managed.

Special consideration will be given to applications that incorporate innovative strategies and make use of new approaches and technologies.

Special consideration will also be given to women-owned enterprises and applications that promote youth.

Successful applicants should demonstrate to:

• Have a clearly identified and well-defined problem that can be addressed with the grant funding to make the enterprise investment-ready.
• Be able to identify a path for growth after the USADF/SKF grant ends with a clear investment plan.
• Be able to contribute at least 50% of the total cost of addressing the identified problem.
• Have a clearly defined market opportunity to grow revenues that can increase incomes.

If you tick these boxes click here to apply.

The rolling out of grants works to grow and scale up African enterprises and entrepreneurs and improve lives and livelihoods. It is therefore very important for many more companies and cooperations to work to provide grants for businesses as it will further help create jobs and facilitate enterprise development.

If you are an SME, make sure you take up these opportunities by applying. You can actually accelerate your business in a big way through such grants.

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