“We fix the fundamentals”
Diagnosing and strengthening the financial, operational and market fundamentals of SMEs and cooperatives, so they are built to last and ready to grow.
Who it's forSMEs, cooperatives and producer groups
WHAT WE DO
Building SMEs from good to great
We strengthen how enterprises run, prepare them for capital and connect them to buyers.
1Business Model Strengthening
2Investor Readiness & Linkage to Finance
3Market Linkages
1Business Model Strengthening
1
Business Model Strengthening
“We fix the fundamentals”
Diagnosing and strengthening the financial, operational and market fundamentals of SMEs and cooperatives, so they are built to last and ready to grow.
Who it's forSMEs, cooperatives and producer groups
Programmes in this pillar
Resilience & Livelihoods
Kuza Jamii
Completed
AudienceUltra-poor and vulnerable pastoralist households, women, youth and refugees.
DurationPhase I: 12 months · Phase II: 6-month bridging
DeliveryConsortium-led graduation, social-protection and enterprise support.
Learning journey
- 01Targeting & Social Registry
- 02Skills & Business Capacity Building
- 03Productive Seed Capital Grant
- 04Market Links & Cooperative Governance
Women's Enterprise
Road to Growth
Upcoming
AudienceGrowth-stage women founders of registered SMEs facing structural or financial barriers to growth.
Duration7-week intensive accelerator
DeliveryBlended: online training, physical masterclasses, group coaching.
Learning journey
- 01Weeks 1–2 Knowing Your Market & Benchmarking
- 02Weeks 3–4 Financial Literacy & Capital Relationships
- 03Weeks 5–6 Digital Marketing & Brand Visibility
- 04Week 7 Growth Plan & Graduation
Digital & Learning
HerVenture
Enrolling now
AudienceWomen micro-entrepreneurs.
DurationSelf-paced year-round, plus 3–6 months of active SRC cohort support
DeliveryKiswahili HerVenture app with bite-sized offline modules, reinforced by virtual and field training circles.
Learning journey
- 01App Onboarding & Digital Safety
- 02Core Business Foundations
- 03Market Access & E-Commerce
- 04Financial Links & Capital Match
Resilience & Livelihoods
LIFT-NK
Completed
AudienceVulnerable women, youth and refugees in extreme poverty in forest-adjacent areas and refugee settlements in Northern Kenya.
DurationAugust 2022 – December 2025
DeliveryGreen enterprise training, seed funding, business bootcamps and market integration.
Learning journey
- 01Targeting & Vulnerability Mapping
- 02Green Capacity & Skills Training
- 03Seed Funding & Launch
- 04Investor Readiness & Market Integration
Women's Enterprise
Road to Leadership
Completed
AudienceGrowth-oriented Kenyan women entrepreneurs and SME owners moving from day-to-day operations into strategic business leadership.
Duration3–4-week cohort
DeliveryFully digital: live virtual masterclasses, peer breakout circles and personal assessment workbooks.
Learning journey
- 01Advocacy
- 02Communication
- 03Leadership
Resilience & Livelihoods
SEED
Completed
AudienceUnemployed pastoralist youth and young women aged 18–34 in Marsabit and Isiolo, with a strict 50/50 gender balance.
Duration12-month accelerated lifecycle
DeliveryCommunity mobilisation, business skills, seed capital and peer mentorship.
Learning journey
- 01Community Mapping & Mobilisation
- 02Foundational Business Skills
- 03Productive Seed Capital Launch
- 04Market Linkages & Peer Mentorship
Investment & Export Readiness
SME Loop
Completed
Audience75 micro, small and medium enterprises and young enterprises in Kajiado and Machakos, focused on youth-led businesses.
DurationMulti-month cohort cycle using the GIZ SME Loop methodology.
DeliveryImplemented by SRC on behalf of GIZ: classroom business development services combined with on-site, sector-specific coaching.
Learning journey
- 01Business Audit & Diagnostics
- 02Sector-Based Training Loop
- 03Individual Business Coaching
- 04Financial Linkages & Policy Integration
Resilience & Livelihoods
Village Capital BDS
Completed
AudienceA cohort of 10 rural-impacting enterprises (aggregators, off-grid solar, last-mile distributors) and the enterprise support organisations that serve them.
Duration3–6-month tracking and diagnostic lifecycle with multi-week milestone checkpoints.
DeliveryBuilt around Village Capital's ABACA diagnostic tool (Levels 1–9), with on-site field data collection and data-driven coaching.
Learning journey
- 01ABACA Baseline Intake
- 02Deep Field Data Collection
- 03Targeted BDS Gap Resolution
- 04ESO Ecosystem Review
Digital & Learning
Webinar Series
Enrolling now
AudienceGrowth-stage SMEs, mainly women entrepreneurs, institutionalising their internal operating structures.
DurationContinuous, recurring yearly; webinars once or twice a month
DeliveryInteractive virtual webinars, downloadable templates and toolkits, virtual Q&A clinics.
Learning journey
Journey details coming soon.
2Investor Readiness & Linkage to Finance
2
Investor Readiness & Linkage to Finance
“We make enterprises bankable”
Preparing enterprises for debt and equity investment through bankability, governance and pitch-readiness, then connecting them directly to financiers.
Who it's forGrowth-stage SMEs and cooperatives seeking finance
Programmes in this pillar
Investment & Export Readiness
Investor Readiness: Circular Economy
Completed
ANDE
AudienceSmall and growing businesses and green SMEs in waste management, recycling and the circular economy.
Duration12–18 months in successive cohorts
DeliveryVirtual technical assistance, investment preparation and investor matchmaking.
Learning journey
- 01Circularity & Operational Audit
- 02Structured Technical Assistance
- 03Investment Readiness Transformation
- 04Investor Matchmaking & Handover
Women's Enterprise
Investor Readiness for Women
Completed
Graça Machel Trust
Afrishela
AudienceGrowth-oriented African women running established SMEs who want to scale.
Duration10 months (5 months of training + 5 months of mentorship aftercare)
DeliveryVirtual training, mentorship aftercare and corporate market linkage.
Learning journey
- 01Diagnostic
- 02Optimisation
- 03Capital Prep
- 04Market Entry
Investment & Export Readiness
Investor Readiness
Enrolling now
AudienceGrowth-stage SMEs across all sectors in Kenya raising commercial, impact or equity capital.
Duration8 weeks
DeliveryHybrid: digital LMS modules, weekly 1-on-1 expert advisory, peer breakout cohorts.
Learning journey
- 01Weeks 1–2 Diagnostic & Valuation
- 02Weeks 3–4 Financial Modelling
- 03Weeks 5–6 Data Room & Pitching
- 04Weeks 7–8 Investor Matchmaking
Livestock & Agribusiness
Mifugo ni Mali
In delivery
KCB Foundation
AudiencePastoralist communities, Farmer Producer Organisations and livestock cooperatives in Garissa, Isiolo, Samburu, Lamu and Tana River.
Duration12 months
DeliveryField-based cooperative development, AgTech deployment, financial preparation and offtake linkage.
Learning journey
- 01Feb–Apr Cooperative Governance & RFID Audit
- 02May–Jul AgTech & Fodder Scaling
- 03Aug–Oct Financial Literacy & KCB Credit Prep
- 04Nov–Jan Market Linkages & Offtake Contracts
Investment & Export Readiness
Palladium · USAID
Completed
AudienceHigh-growth agribusinesses (processors, aggregators, input suppliers) in livestock, dairy, horticulture and clean energy, with an emphasis on women- and youth-led enterprises; also local banks and financial institutions.
DurationMulti-year; each business goes through a 6–12-month capital matching and transaction cycle.
DeliveryMarket-driven model with pay-for-performance incentives for advisors, Opportunities Teams preparing demand and Investment Teams de-risking supply.
Learning journey
- 01Pipeline Sourcing & Mapping
- 02Investment Prep (SRC-led governance and pitch building)
- 03Supply-Side Risk Mitigation
- 04Transaction Close & Drawdown
3Market Linkages
3
Market Linkages
“We open the market door”
Connecting SMEs to buyers, off-takers, formal markets and trade networks, both domestic and regional.
Who it's forProducers, cooperatives, processors and off-takers
Programmes in this pillar
Women's Enterprise
Road to Markets
Upcoming
AudienceEstablished women-led MSMEs in Kenya, operating 3+ years, scaling their geographic or digital footprint.
Duration6 months, about 10 hours/month
Delivery3 months of masterclasses plus 3 months of mentoring and market placement.
Learning journey
- 01Market Research & Product Adaptation
- 02E-Commerce & Logistics
- 03Legal, Border Compliance & Procurement
- 04Digital Marketing & Outreach
- 05Access to Finance & Mentorship Match
Livestock & Agribusiness
CASHA
In delivery
Mastercard Foundation
AudienceUnemployed pastoralist youth and young women aged 18–35, including refugees and persons with disabilities, across 15 Kenyan ASAL counties.
Duration5 years
DeliveryConsortium-led livestock skills, enterprise development, financial access and market linkage support.
Learning journey
- 01Registration & Baseline Profiling
- 02TVET & Livestock Skills Training
- 03Financial Access & Venture Launch
- 04Cooperative Hubs & Market Links
Investment & Export Readiness
Export Readiness
Enrolling now
AudienceGrowth-stage women-led SMEs and female founders with stable domestic traction, scaling into regional or international markets.
Duration3 months plus a hands-on exporting workshop
DeliveryHybrid: trade-compliance LMS, weekly 1-on-1 export advisory, peer accountability circles for women founders.
Learning journey
- 01Month 1 Export Audit & Market Selection
- 02Month 2 Compliance & Women-in-Trade Certification
- 03Month 3A Logistics & Trade Finance
- 04Month 3B B2B Matchmaking & Networks
Investment & Export Readiness
Business Scouts
Completed
AudienceEstablished manufacturing SMEs in Kenya and Uganda in food/agri-processing and cosmetics/beauty, ready to automate or expand regionally.
Duration6–9-month incubation and acceleration track with multi-day technical sprints.
DeliveryHybrid, factory-focused: virtual training, 1-on-1 on-site industrial consulting, cross-border B2B matching and manufacturing financial modelling.
Learning journey
- 01Industrial Diagnostic & Compliance Audit
- 02Costing & Financial Modelling
- 03Market Expansion & Cross-Border B2B
- 04Capital Pitching & Asset Financing
Investment & Export Readiness
NTF III · IT & ITES
Completed
Netherlands Trust Fund (NTF III)
Audience28 Kenyan and 25 Ugandan tech entrepreneurs (software developers, BPOs, digital start-ups) plus corporate buyers, telcos and tier-1 banks.
DurationMulti-year; 6–12-month export coaching track with 3–5-day B2B matchmaking events.
DeliveryNational coordination led by SRC: curated 1-on-1 deal rooms, technical portfolio prep and cross-border collaboration workshops.
Learning journey
- 01IT Capability & Security Audit
- 02Portfolio Polish & Pricing Setup
- 03Curated B2B Sprints & Demos
- 04SLA Signing & Project Sourcing
Digital & Learning
SheConnects
In delivery
SheConnects
CARE
AudienceRural women micro-entrepreneurs and women in trade in Isiolo and Marsabit counties.
Duration15 months
DeliveryMobile-first tools (HerVenture app) plus localised training networks.
Learning journey
- 01Ecosystem Engagement
- 02Digital Literacy & App Onboarding
- 03Business Model Optimisation
- 04Market Links & Financial Access
Livestock & Agribusiness
ACDI/VOCA Livestock Markets
Completed
Audience56 selected SMEs and livestock markets: veterinary suppliers, fodder producers, aggregators and Livestock Market Associations.
DurationMulti-year; each enterprise cohort goes through a 6–12-month acceleration track.
DeliveryOn-site advisory at enterprise premises, public-private co-management of sale yards, dryland climate risk analysis and deal matching with meat exporters.
Learning journey
- 01Diagnostic Audit & Sale-Yard Mapping
- 02Financial Restructuring & Risk Analysis
- 03Supply Chain & Branding Optimisation
- 04Capital Drawdown & Market Integration
How we deliver
Practical support, close to the enterprise.
Training & bootcampsAdvisoryInvestor matchmakingDigital learningField teams in 13 counties
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