On 7th September 2018 I had the honour and pleasure to attend the 6th SME Conference organized by Strathmore Enterprise Development Centre (SEDC) themed “Enhancing Sustainability Through Innovation – SME Positioning in the Big 4 Agenda”.
It was encouraging and inspiring to be in a room full of experts, policy makers and entrepreneurs, all of them sharing the dream of taking Kenyan SMEs to the next level.
Part of the discussion on how SMEs in the manufacturing sector can play a role with specific reference to the Government plans within the Big 4 Agenda yielded the following propositions:
3. BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT – Be part of the business development ecosystem (Incubators & Accelerators) like Kenya Industrial Estates (KIE) which facilitate development and incubation of micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) countrywide by establishing industrial parks, providing credit and business development services (BDS) in a sustainable manner.
4. INNOVATE AROUND DIGITAL TECHNOLOGIES – Digitalization is a powerful engine to scale up and focus on new concepts that can enable us to cater for a market with unfulfilled needs by creating for them customized solutions. SMEs can draw many potential benefits from digital technologies, such as better access to skills, talent or markets, better collaboration and communication, or greater access to new technologies and applications. My dream for my business is to be part of Industry 4.0 and create what has been called a “SMART FACTORY” which includes cyber-physical systems.
In conclusion, this transformation of taking Kenyan SMEs to the next level is a 2 way journey: