Uwezo Fund is a flagship programme for vision 2030 aimed at enabling women, youth and persons with disabilities access finances to promote businesses and enterprises at the constituency level, thereby enhancing economic growth towards the realization of the same and the Sustainable Development Goals No.1 (eradicate extreme poverty and hunger) and 3 (promote gender equality and empower women). The Fund is highly devolved and adopted the concept of bottom-up approach with desicion making done at the grassroot level.
The Fund was established vide Legal Notice No. 21 of 21st February, 2014 – Public Finance Management (Uwezo Fund) Regulations, 2014 and was launched by His Excellency the President of the Republic of Kenya on 8th September 2013.
Since inception, the Fund has disbursed more than Kshs 6.95 billion and directly supported 1,088,757 beneficiaries of which 69% are Female and 31% Male through provision of affordable and accessible credit, capacity building on enterpreneurship skills, basics on book keeping and market linkages and networking.
Overall, the absorption rate in the constituencies averages at 104%, indicating very impressive uptake of the Fund, with over Kshs. 1.2B having been revolved. In addition, the Fund has recorded a cumulative repayment of Kshs. 2.36 billion since its inception which translates to 39 % repayment rate.
