Open Sessions

SOU-64 | THE CATALYTIC ROLE OF FINANCIAL ACCESS FOR MSMES OWNED BY WOMEN, YOUTH AND OTHER VULNERABLE GROUPS ON THE EVOLUTION OF SUSTAINABLE INTERMEDIARY CITIES OF AFRICA

19 May

19 May

9:00 to 12:30

Venue: Room 16

LEAD ORGANIZER

United Cities and Local Governments of Africa

Tel: +212(0)537 260 062

Email: info@uclga.org

Web: https://www.uclga.org/

PRESENTATION OF THE SESSION

 
According to a recent report by UNDESA – Report on MSMEs and the Sustainable Development Goals; MSMEs play a vital role in the generation of new jobs in most cities. MSMEs create 90 percent of new positions/employment in the formal sector in emerging economies. In developing nations, the informal economy employs more than 70% of the workforce. Because of the informal economy's flexibility, it gives chances for the disadvantaged, particularly women and youth, to make money. According to the United Nations Women, empowering women and other disadvantaged groups in business leads to higher productivity, economic variety, and income equality. The KNBS in a recent study established that 91% of operating businesses in Kenya are MSMEs and out of this 48% are owned by women. SME expansion has a favorable and hopeful impact on rural development, according to Faiza Mansoor (2021). Furthermore, the research found that SMEs' access to funding had a favorable impact on their success. Access to financing, in particular, was found to considerably moderate the effect of SME evolution on rural development. Notably, Kenya has made some strides in enabling financial access to this marginalized group as anchored in the Constitution 2010 and Vision 2030 Article 227 and Article 55, the basis for Affirmative Programs like Women Enterprise Fund- has disbursed USD $ 230 million to 2 million women, youth and PWDs-, Access to Government Procurement Opportunities- tender worth approx. USD $ 2.3 billion. Further, some devolved governments have established kitties for MSMEs. This session seeks to generate an important debate on mainstreaming MSMEs with a special focus on access to finance as a critical discussion in line with summit theme. Main issues to be addressed at local, national, continental, and international levels 1.      Financial access by MSMEs as a catalyst for sustainable cities. 2.      The impact of MSMEs in progress Intermediary Cities of Africa. 3.      The value of affirmative action for women and youth owned MSMEs. The role of devolved governments and decentralized local urban governance in deepening financial access for MSMEs. Main Objectives Generate debate on the catalytic role of financial access for MSMEs owned by women youth, and vulnerable groups. Specific objectives i.         To persuade local urban governance and devolved governments to adopt policies to facilitate financial access for MSMEs. ii.         To mainstream MSMEs to the core development agenda of the intermediary cities. iii.         To achieve improved quality of life for the vulnerable in these cities by strengthening the informal sector for employment and wealth creation. iv.         To generate continental debate on inclusive economic models. To share lessons from Kenya: the case of Women Enterprise Fund, an Affirmative Action Fund. The audience will be key leaders of African Cities, experts from public private sector, MSMEs actors, Policy makers and the development partners or international communities will not only share valuable practical experiences but also generate insightful ideas to shape the conversation and facilitate key resolutions. Recommendation The recommendations/resolutions will be the advancement of decentralization and local governance as a panacea for improving the living standards of the citizens by targeting the vast majority with programs that will transform their lives completely. When this critical mass come up the cities will prosper.
 

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