Safaricom held the 10th edition of the Grow with Safaricom Business forum at the Mamboleo stadium in Kisumu, attracting over 150 businesses from the Greater Western region.
This is the second time the forum is taking place in the Greater Western region, following a similar forum held in November last year.
Michael Otieno, founder of Takawiri Craft, a social enterprise that produces paper from water hyacinth says the forum will enable him gain insights on how to make his business financially sustainable.
“I work with fishermen along the shores of Lake Victoria to collect and transport the hyacinth to the workshop where we convert the weed into pulp to make paper. We then produce book covers, notebooks, cards, envelopes among other products. I however need to make my business more tenable,” he says.
The Grow with Safaricom Business forum which is taking place as part of the M-PESA Sokoni festival is designed to empower entrepreneurs with the knowledge and skills that can help them to sustainably accelerate their growth.
“At Safaricom Business, we support businesses through four key pillars- Connect, Enable, Protect, and Transform in line with Safaricom’s vision to be Africa’s Leading Purpose-led technology company by 2030. Through the Grow with Safaricom Business forum, we are enabling and transforming businesses across the country. We believe that the forum will enable MSMEs to sustainably accelerate their growth,” said Frankline Okata, Ag. Chief Enterprise Business Officer, Safaricom PLC.
Since inception in March last year, the forum has reached over 1200 businesses physically in the Coast, Nairobi, Rift, Mt. Kenya and Greater Western regions.