The United States Wednesday announced five new investments totaling $19.7 million (two billion nine hundred seventeen million five hundred seventy thousand) to support Kenya’s cooperative sector.
Funding for the investments will be provided by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) over five years. Kenyan and U.S. private-sector partners are expected to invest an additional $9.3 million in the projects, which will collectively benefit at least 500,000 Kenyan cooperative members and households.
The activities include: Increasing incomes of smallholder participants in cattle cooperatives by improving cattle genetics to increase milk production.
Additionally, reducing youth unemployment in urban and rural areas by developing and advocating for youth worker cooperative knowledge products.
Improving health outcomes for cooperative members by advancing the cooperative ecosystem to build cooperatives’ capacity will be another activity.
Also, modernizing SACCOs through climate-smart loans and the development of new digital management technologies to better serve over 9.9 million members in Kenya as well as supporting cooperative apex bodies and their efforts to support localization and inclusive implementation of a new cooperative policy across Kenya.
These activities will also support more than $45 million in loans to small and medium businesses. The estimated return on investment, including leverage and loans, is expected to be approximately 347pc over five years.
The announcement was made at the Cooperative Development Partners Consultative Forum, which was hosted by the State Department for Cooperatives and attended by a wide range of stakeholders.
“Cooperatives are a vital part of the Kenyan economy and society, providing essential services to millions of Kenyans,” USAID Kenya Office of Economic Growth Deputy David Rogers said. “They are also a powerful tool for promoting inclusive economic growth and reducing poverty. That is why USAID is proud to support the cooperative movement in Kenya.”
The Cooperative Development Program (CDP) is USAID’s flagship program to support the cooperative movement in Kenya. The CDP has been working with Kenyan partners for more than a decade. Its support has helped cooperatives make significant progress in strengthening their capacity.
The new suite of activities builds on the success of the CDP and will help to address some of the key challenges facing the cooperative sector in Kenya, such as access to finance, capacity building, and digitalization.
The CDP is a key part of USAID’s commitment to supporting Kenya’s development goals. USAID is committed to working with the Kenyan government and the private sector to create jobs, increase incomes, and improve the lives of all Kenyans.
