The KRCS delegation, led by Secretary General Dr. Ahmed Idris and Head of Partnerships and External Stakeholder Management Elizabeth Osodo, was received by KNCCI President Dr. Erick Rutto and KNCCI CEO KK Mutai. The discussions focused on how KNCCI can support the Kenya Red Cross in strengthening and regularizing some of its business-oriented and youth empowerment initiatives that complement its humanitarian mandate.

While widely recognized for its leadership in disaster response and emergency management, KRC highlighted its growing role in socio-economic empowerment across communities in Kenya. The organization outlined several ongoing initiatives aimed at equipping young people and vulnerable communities with entrepreneurial and employability skills.

Among the highlighted programmes is a coastal empowerment initiative supporting fisher communities through access to affordable credit under a microfinance model established by KRC. The organization is also implementing programmes which prepare youth for workplace integration through skills development and training at the Kenya Red Cross Training Institute. Additionally, KRC continues to contribute to hospitality sector training through its wholly owned Boma Hotels.

Speaking during the meeting, KNCCI President Dr. Erick Rutto underscored the need for stronger collaboration between businesses and humanitarian organizations, noting that the private sector plays a critical role in building resilient communities and supporting disaster response initiatives through corporate social responsibility and strategic partnerships.

Dr. Rutto further challenged KRC to work closely with the Chamber in enhancing workplace preparedness and business continuity by expanding first aid and emergency response training for enterprises across the country.

“Humanitarian organizations and the private sector must work together in creating resilient communities and sustainable economic opportunities. Businesses have a major role to play not only in economic growth but also in supporting emergency response and community empowerment initiatives,” said Dr. Rutto.

In response, KNCCI CEO KK Mutai briefed the KRC team on several Chamber-led programmes that offer strong synergy opportunities. These include the Jiinue Growth Programme (JGP), the Skills for Youth and Women in Kenya Project, and the upcoming Nyota Project, all of which are focused on strengthening entrepreneurship, business skills development, and financial inclusion among youth and women.

He also highlighted KNCCI’s ongoing efforts to empower entrepreneurs through access to finance, loan guarantee mechanisms, and enterprise support under initiatives such as the Jiinue Growth Programme and the Climate Smart Dairy Project implemented in partnership with the Africa Guarantee Fund.

The two organizations agreed to establish joint technical working groups to fast-track the identification and implementation of collaborative programmes that will deliver greater impact to communities through training, financial empowerment, entrepreneurship development, and emergency preparedness.

The engagement marks an important step towards fostering stronger partnerships between humanitarian institutions and the private sector in advancing inclusive economic development and community resilience in Kenya.

The post KNCCI, Kenya Red Cross Explore Partnership to Advance Youth Empowerment and Community Resilience appeared first on KNCCI.

13^TH FEBRUARY 2026 – NANDI COUNTY, KENYA:

This initiative arrives at a critical time for Kenya’s dairy sector, which contributes approximately 3–4% of the national GDP and supports over 1.8 million smallholder farmers. Despite its economic importance, the sector continues to face hurdles including high aggregation costs, limited access to finance, and low adoption of climate-resilient technologies.

Supported by an AGF Capacity Development Grant, the project aims to catalyze up to KES 600 Million in financing toward climate-smart interventions. The program is designed to enhance farmer resilience and productivity through several key pillars:

• E-Mobility Solutions: Implementing sustainable logistics for milk aggregation.
• Financial Inclusion: Introducing “Mkulima Loans” and credit-readiness support for cooperatives.
• Essential Services: Establishing Malisho Service Centers for inputs and animal health interventions, such as East Coast Fever (ECF) vaccinations.
• Social Impact: Launching the “Maziwa ni School Fees” and “Maziwa ni Afya (Lipa SHA)” programs to link milk income directly to education and healthcare financing.

Dr. Erick Rutto, President of KNCCI, expressed immense optimism regarding the project’s potential to revitalize local communities.

“This project is not just about dairy production; it is about the economic empowerment of the Kenyan farmer,” said Dr. Erick Rutto. “By integrating climate-smart technologies with accessible financing, we are ensuring that our local communities in Nandi, Uasin Gishu, and beyond can thrive even in the face of environmental challenges. We expect this to create a ripple effect of sustainable income and increased resilience for over 1,500 farmers participating in this initial phase.”

Patrick Lumumba, Group Capacity Development Director – AGF, emphasized the importance of employment creation within the initiative.

“Employment creation, especially among the youth is at the core of what the African Guarantee Fund – AGF advocates for in its blended financing offering. To achieve this in the dairy sector by working through our partner financial institutions and KNCCI through the support received from EU/AfDB agribusiness programme implies a sustainable empowerment for dairy farmers and enterprises in the value chain,” said Patrick Lumumba.

The launch convened a diverse group of stakeholders, including leadership from KNCCI and AGF, county government officials, financial institutions, and leaders from 45 dairy cooperatives across 11 pilot counties.

As  project’s technology partner Space AI has digitized participating cooperatives and implemented farmer profiling, milk data capture, and automated check-off systems. This digital infrastructure strengthens transparency, enhances credit readiness, and enables seamless integration of financing, input services, and social programs across the dairy value chain.

The also event served as a platform to demonstrate practical interventions and align the project with national dairy sector development priorities. By strengthening public-private collaboration, KNCCI aims to ensure the long-term sustainability of the value chain at the county level.

END

Editor’s notes

About KNCCI: The Kenya National Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KNCCI) is a non-profit, autonomous, and private sector-led organization that advocates for a favorable business environment and promotes enterprise development in Kenya.

About Africa Guarantee Fund (AGF): The AGF provides financial guarantees and capacity development support to financial institutions to increase financing for Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) across Africa.

About SpaceAI:

SpaceAI is a Nairobi-based agritech company transforming smallholder dairy farming through AI-powered digital tools. Founded in 2022, the company digitizes farm and cooperative operations, enabling real-time milk data capture, improved transparency, and greater financial inclusion across the dairy value chain.

The post KNCCI AND PARTNERS LAUNCH LANDMARK CLIMATE-SMART DAIRY TRANSFORMATION PROJECT TO BOLSTER KENYAN FARMERS appeared first on KNCCI.

Why Safaricom Matters to Our Members

Safaricom is not just a company; it is the most systemically important listed entity in Kenya and the backbone of our digital payments and MSME commerce infrastructure. For our members, any ownership change has deep implications for:

• Business Continuity & Transaction Costs: Ensuring fees remain manageable for millions of businesses.
• Financial Inclusion: Maintaining the rails that allow small traders to access credit and savings.
• Data Sovereignty: Protecting the national data infrastructure that powers our digital economy.

The KNCCI Position

While we support capital market growth, KNCCI maintains that this divestiture must be treated as a national economic decision, not just a fiscal one. We have made the following recommendations to Parliament:

• Prioritize Local Ownership: We advocate for a structured model that gives Kenyan investors—both individual and institutional—access to this asset through the NSE.
• Ring-Fence Proceeds: The funds raised should be legally protected for debt reduction and productive infrastructure, rather than recurrent expenditure.
• MSME Safeguards: Strong regulatory protections must be in place to prevent higher transaction fees and ensure continued innovation for small businesses.

KNCCI reiterated  that it remains committed to ensuring that large-scale national transactions like the Safaricom sale strengthen, rather than weaken, the local private sector. We will continue to advocate for a business environment where every member has the tools and the protection to thrive.

As the representative of Kenya’s private sector across all 47 counties, the Kenya National Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KNCCI) today submitted a critical position to the National Assembly Finance Committee regarding the Government’s proposed sale of a 15% stake in Safaricom PLC.

Why Safaricom Matters to Our Members

Safaricom is not just a company; it is the most systemically important listed entity in Kenya and the backbone of our digital payments and MSME commerce infrastructure. For our members, any ownership change has deep implications for:

• Business Continuity & Transaction Costs: Ensuring fees remain manageable for millions of businesses.
• Financial Inclusion: Maintaining the rails that allow small traders to access credit and savings.
• Data Sovereignty: Protecting the national data infrastructure that powers our digital economy.

The KNCCI Position

While we support capital market growth, KNCCI maintains that this divestiture must be treated as a national economic decision, not just a fiscal one. We have made the following recommendations to Parliament:

• Prioritize Local Ownership: We advocate for a structured model that gives Kenyan investors—both individual and institutional—access to this asset through the NSE.
• Ring-Fence Proceeds: The funds raised should be legally protected for debt reduction and productive infrastructure, rather than recurrent expenditure.
• MSME Safeguards: Strong regulatory protections must be in place to prevent higher transaction fees and ensure continued innovation for small businesses.

Building a Resilient Private Sector 

Beyond policy advocacy, the Chamber is actively working on programs to strengthen our members’ resilience:

• Empowering Women & Youth: Through initiatives like the Jiinue Growth Program (in partnership with Mastercard Foundation) and the SHE GROWS program (with IFC), we are unlocking over USD 50 million in capital to ensure these groups are drivers of economic transformation.
• Value Addition for Farmers: We are bridging the gap from “growing” to “processing” by facilitating direct technology linkages with international partners, enabling members to procure agro-processing machinery at factory prices.
• Digital Transformation: To help MSMEs survive global shocks, our Kenya Digital Transformation Program (supported by the EU) provides free training in e-commerce and digital marketing to keep your business competitive in a global market.

KNCCI reiterated  that it remains committed to ensuring that large-scale national transactions like the Safaricom sale strengthen, rather than weaken, the local private sector. We will continue to advocate for a business environment where every member has the tools and the protection to thrive.

The post Protecting Our Digital Backbone: KNCCI’s Position on the Safaricom Divestiture appeared first on KNCCI.