Digital Payments Ignite A New Era Of Hope For SMEs In Kenya

Shehryar Ali, Country Manager for East Africa at Mastercard shares his thoughts on SME recovery in a post-pandemic world.

It’s no secret the pandemic was especially tough on small and medium enterprises (SMEs), especially the many small cash-based businesses that operate in the informal sector. These businesses are the lifeblood of economies, the fact that they couldn’t generate incomes or apply for micro loans to stay afloat, had a knock-on effect on everything from employment to general community wellbeing.

In Kenya, SMEs account for 80% of jobs. In 2021 alone, an estimated 22 million jobs in Africa were lost, and with each loss of a stable income, it means more people are pushed into extreme poverty. It’s a devastating cycle that can only be broken with multiple actions – technology and partnerships chief among them – as this challenge cannot be tackled alone.

This challenging period did not have many silver linings, but one outcome that will have a positive impact on SMEs going forward is the increased rate of digitization. During times of limited mobility, more small businesses realized the necessity of selling online, and getting paid digitally. This helps to boost cash flow, without having to exclusively depend on the much harder and more arduous journey that cash entails to change hands.

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