Entrepreneurs Urged to Save but also Borrow to Create Wealth

Nyeri County Governor, Mutahi Kahiga, has invited real-estate developers to invest in the country, citing Nyeri town as a prominent urban area that lags in development of modern shopping and recreational complexes.

Governor Kahiga challenged Equity to finance establishment of malls that are conspicuously absent in the County. The Governor was speaking at the closing ceremony of an Equity customers’ networking meeting held in the town. “Nyeri County doesn’t have a mall. I am usually vilified on social media that on Valentine’s Day we take our friends to butcheries,’’ jested the governor, to the amusement of over 300 businesspeople meeting at the Nyeri Golf Club. He encouraged them to engage with Equity to build their homeland county.

“We are working very well with Equity collecting revenues of over Ksh1.4 billion. That is the level of confidence we have in the partnership with Equity and for you, it’s time you stopped fearing debt,” he told the entrepreneurs, and lauded Equity for the Wings to Fly Program that has supported bright but needy students in Nyeri and elsewhere in the country.

Equity Bank Kenya acting Managing Director, Moses Nyabanda, said the bank holds the small and medium enterprises meetings to interact with customers and get feedback on the products and services the bank offers.

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“Equity Bank Kenya has a balance sheet of a trillion shillings. It has dedicated 60% of the balance to SMEs but right now, we are at 40% and I would like to walk with you to get the balance. This region is the cradle of the Equity, and you are not taking full advantage of that,” said Nyabanda.

“We are time-tested and have the capacity to support you. We need full visibility of your operations for fruitful engagement with you,” he added, urging the customers to use the forum to network among each other to grow their businesses.

Equity Bank Kenya Director of credit, Moses Ndirangu, said the town populace is good atsaving but don’t borrow. “The problem in Nyeri is fear of borrowing. Mimi ndiye mkurugenzi wa mikopo. Start with Equity to stop the fear that stands between you and becoming wealthy. If you want to be rich, it will not happen unless you borrow,” he said.

Nyabanda had earlier paid a courtesy call on the Governor in his office together with his entourage that included Equity Bank Kenya Associate Director for Public Sector and Institutional Banking Ambassador Mary Mugwanja. At the meeting, the County and Equity partnership was rekindled with the establishment of a task force for intervention in trade, education, agriculture and health.

“We have already shared a memorandum of understanding and all we need is to come up is to plug in through our enterprise development and financial inclusion for uptake of entrepreneurship especially among the youth,” said Amb. Mugwanja. 

While in Nyeri, the entourage also visited clients for acquaintance with the acting MD, and to revamp partnerships with the Bank. He visited Outspan hospital in Nyeri town as well as Mukuruweini Dairy cooperative in the county.