BUSIA GOVERNOR, DR. PAUL OTUOMA INAUGURATES TRADE DEVELOPMENT AND COOPERATIVES ENTERPRISE FUNDS BOARD
Busia Governor, H.E Dr. Paul Otuoma has called upon Busia County Trade Development and Cooperative Enterprise Fund Board to play a vital role in shaping the direction and overseeing the implementation of Trade Development and Cooperative Enterprise Fund, ensuring it meets the county's objectives of stimulating local businesses and creating job opportunities.
While presiding over the inauguration of the Busia County Trade Development Revolving Fund and Cooperatives Enterprise Development Fund board members, the County boss noted that the county has entrusted the board in managing fund to better the economy of Busia County.
“You are entrusted with the stewardship of this Administration’s development agenda, and your decisions – going forward – will directly and indirectly influence the lives of the residents of Busia in the Cooperative and Trade sectors,” said the Governor.
So far, 92 cooperative societies and 386 individual traders across the county have benefitted from the funds, with loans amounting to Kshs. 111.8 million.
The funds, established to provide affordable and accessible credit, are aimed at supporting micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs), cooperatives, and traders within the county.
However, loan defaulting is posing a challenge to the sustainability of these funds with new strategies like funding Ward-based farmers’ cooperatives and partnering with commercial financial institutions for the purpose of making funds available to the Cooperative institutions and SMEs and for management of the disbursed funds to boost production capacity to feed into the County Aggregation and Industrial Park (CAIP) at Nasewa.
The boards were also encouraged not to over-rely on the County Exchequer for funding but instead be innovative in funding their activities, including sourcing for resources externally from other development partners.