Unilever Kenya, in collaboration with the SME Support Center, has graduated the first cohort of Unilever’s Emerge Accelerator Programme.

Thirty Kenyan SMEs graduated from the program, which welcomed enterprises with at least 51 percent ownership held by women and people with disabilities.

Participants came from the packaging, business services, food, chemical, and logistics sectors.

The 30 women-owned SMEs received coaching, mentorship, and training in entrepreneurship, financial literacy, e-commerce, and business mentoring.

Unilever Kenya CEO Luck Ochieng noted that the company is keen on creating economic opportunities for people to grow their businesses to make a wider impact on our Kenyan economy and even beyond.

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“This has been shown through our commitment to annually spend Ksh 312B globally and Ksh 1B locally with diverse businesses by 2025,” he said.

 “It is inspiring and encouraging to witness the growth and development of each of the SMEs who enrolled in the Emerge Accelerator Programme,” he added.

The programme also allows SMEs to enter new markets by using Unilever as a possible customer and networking with similar-sized companies.

With the help of digital technology and commercial know-how, the SME Support Centre will closely collaborate with the new cohort to develop innovative goods and services that address Kenya's difficulties in the SME sector.

“The Emerge Accelerator Programme is a proven platform that identifies and empowers innovative startups to achieve scale and impact. We look forward to seeing how the SMEs will leverage skills gained to accelerate their growth and enhance the regional startup landscape.” Said SME Support Center CEO, Linda Onyango.

The program, Unilever says, is a gateway for entrepreneurs to grow their own businesses and make an impact on the wider economy.