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PS Susan Mang’eni calls for legal amendments to allow Uwezo Fund to lend to individuals, admitting that the current group-lending model is insufficient to drive meaningful youth empowerment.

In the sweltering heat of Nyali, PS Susan Mang’eni handed out cheques worth Ksh 3.88 million to 29 groups. It makes for a good photo op, but let’s do the math: that averages to about Ksh 133,000 per group. In an economy where a decent boda boda costs Ksh 150,000, are we empowering youth or just keeping them busy?
The Principal Secretary for MSMEs knows this. That is why she is calling for a radical change in the law to allow the Uwezo Fund to lend to *individuals*, not just groups. It is a tacit admission that the "group lending" model, while socially cohesive, is economically inefficient for modern entrepreneurship.
Mang’eni’s proposal to amend the Public Finance Management Act is a necessary evolution. The current model forces brilliant individual entrepreneurs to drag along "passengers" in a group just to access capital. By targeting individuals, the state hopes to unlock real innovation rather than just subsistence projects.
While the legal changes are welcome, the scale of funding remains pitifully small compared to the need. Ksh 3.88 million for an entire constituency is a drop in the ocean. If the government is serious about the Bottom-Up agenda, the Uwezo Fund needs to be capitalized with billions, not millions.
Giving a youth group Ksh 100,000 is not capital; it is pocket money. We need to stop romanticizing poverty alleviation and start financing wealth creation. Mang’eni is on the right track, but she needs a bigger chequebook.
Change the law, yes. But more importantly, change the scale. You cannot jumpstart a Ferrari with a AA battery.
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