The Medium and Small Enterprises (MSMEs) Financing Gateway, a digital platform designed to help enterprises, is now live in Kenya and Uganda, the International Trade Center (ITC) said in a statement.
- •The ITC developed the gateway for the East African Community (EAC) as part of the EU-EAC Market Access Upgrade Platform (MARKUP) funded by the European Union.
- •In Kenya, the gateway will be hosted by the Kenya Private Sector Alliance (KEPSA), and by the Private Sector Foundation (PSFU) in Uganda.
- •The system allows users to access financing instruments, business, and sustainable development services available in a country, filter, analyse and match their needs, and then link directly to providers at no cost.
“More than just a financing platform, the MSME Financing Gateway offers a comprehensive suite of tools to support MSME growth, including news and event notifications to keep entrepreneurs informed about industry trends and opportunities, as well as a repository of downloadable learning resources to enhance business knowledge and skills,” the ITC said in the statement.
The system, which works on mobile phones, computers and tablets, provides subscribers with updates and notifications via email informing them about new facilities and resources. It is also designed to ease the process of updating data through a workflow system and easy-to-use templates.