Program Overview

The Kenya Business Development Services Program (Kenya BDS) is a 6-year micro- and small-enterprise (MSE) development program funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).  The objective of Kenya BDS is to increase growth and incomes among rural MSEs through: 1) access to markets; and 2) access to commercial skills and resources to compete in those markets.

Specifically, the program will select subsectors of high growth potential for MSEs, and identify market inefficiencies along the value-chain. As critical constraints are identified, the program will facilitate the delivery of appropriate business services to rural MSEs on a commercial basis.

The program will be flexible, and design/introduce new interventions on an ongoing basis in response to changes in the market. A significant component will be the Market Intervention Fund that will finance a combination of supply- and demand-side interventions, as well as information dissemination techniques to stimulate commercial transactions. Through the Fund, tenders will be competed among local business service providers and facilitators. This will maximize the utilization of local resources and Kenyan expertise, and encourage market sustainability.

Tree Fruits was identified as the first subsector for assistance, with a focus on avocado, passion, and mango fruit.  Based upon the geographical locations of the fruit, activities are targeted in the Central, Eastern, and Coastal Provinces.  Service areas include access to material inputs, crop husbandry and extension, “farming as a business” skills development, business linkages, cluster development, bulking, branding of Kenyan products for both domestic and export markets, and embedded service facilitation between lead firms and MSE producers. 

Kenya BDS is also working within the “Lake Victoria Fish” subsector, with a focus on Nile Perch, Tilapia, and Omena.  Business services targeted include savings mobilization, value-addition technology and market linkages, development of small-scale aquaculture production clusters, new product development, and increased access to inputs such as fishing gear, ice, and fingerlings for long-line catch. 

The efforts of the Kenya BDS Program will result in increased efficiency along the value-chain, enhanced skills, greater information, and ultimately more competitive MSEs contributing to the formal economy.