The Kenya Private Sector Alliance (KEPSA) has appointed Mr Jaswinder Bedi of Bedi Investment to serve as the Chairperson of its Board of Directors and Ms Brenda Mbathi of the American Chamber of Commerce, Kenya as the Vice-Chairperson during the organization’s 19th Annual General Meeting (AGM) which was held today at Serena Hotel.
Mr Bedi, who has served as the Vice-Chairperson of the Board since 2021 succeeds Ms Flora Mutahi after her two-year tenure at the helm of the KEPSA Board. The KEPSA Board also received fresh blood from newly appointed Directors replacing the outgoing Directors, having served their term.
The changes also heralded new leadership at the institution’s Governing Council where various sector leaders were handed the mandate to steer the sector boards.
KEPSA, which will be celebrating its 20th anniversary later this year, has made a significant contribution to the economy and the business operating landscape by working together and building formidable partnerships with the government across all arms, its members and all other stakeholders.
At the AGM, KEPSA emphasized its unwavering commitment to the growth, support and representation of its members by continuing to foster an environment of collaboration and shared success and ensuring that its members thrive in their respective industries.
KEPSA CEO, Ms Carole Kariuki noted that the organisation will be embarking on the implementation of its new business strategy over the next five years focusing on creating a globally competitive and prosperous Kenya by 2027.
“The new business strategy challenges us into building partnerships and shared vision with the government and all other stakeholders to realize an enabling business environment that delivers Kenya’s global competitiveness.” Said Ms Kariuki. She also reported that in the recent past, the organization’s membership has experienced a surge of micro and small enterprises who continue to benefit from some of its programs and projects and will be supported further to scale up, including through integration into various priority value chains where larger enterprises operate.
Some of the KEPSA Projects that were highlighted at the AGM to have benefitted SMEs and youth include Ajira Digital Program, SME Accelerator Program, MSME Financing Gateway, Jiinue Growth Program, COAST Project under the Sustainable Inclusive Business – Kenya and numerous inbound and outbound trade and investment missions.
In his inaugural speech, the new KEPSA Chairperson committed to delivering a world class competitive business environment leveraging the young and energetic population and also taking the opportunity to unlock the African business potential through African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Agreement.
The AGM was followed by a business dialogue and was graced by the Cabinet Secretary for Investment, Trade and Industry Hon. Moses Kuria in a panel discussion that include the KEPSA leadership and the newly elected President of the Kenya National Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Dr Eric Rutto. Hon. Kuria invited the private sector stakeholders to put the priority of the country first and join efforts with the government for the realization of economic development. The Cabinet Secretary also challenged Kenya’s private sector to think big, noting that the private sector business operations are critical in unlocking the economy.
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