Receivables finance is an important tool that can help to close the $90 billion funding gap faced by small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Africa, the Governor of Central Bank of Kenya, Dr. Patrick Njoroge, has said.
Njoroge, said this while speaking in Nairobi, during the opening of a two-day Regional Conference on Factoring and Receivables Finance organised by the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) and FCI, recently.
The forum was to promote the use of factoring to address the challenge of access to financing for SMEs in East Africa.
He told the audience that the funding gap could not be filled by traditional banking and described the conference as a timely initiative that would support the efforts to sustain the SME sector in Kenya and East Africa.
According to the Governor, receivables finance was important for Kenya where SMEs are the backbone of the economy.
Also speaking, Afreximbank Regional Chief Operating Officer in East Africa, Kudakwashe Matereke, said the Bank had placed a premium on the promotion of factoring as a strategic priority as it would stimulate growth in many African economies and increase intra-African trade while expanding value chains for export development.
