KISUMU, Kenya, Jan 7 \u2013 After years of disrupted trade, vandalism and lost stock caused by recurrent street demonstrations in Kisumu, small-scale traders at Kondele and Kibuye markets are beginning to rebuild following the release of business empowerment funds raised late last year.<\/p>\n
Hundreds of traders on Tuesday received cheques from a kitty raised through a high-profile fundraiser spearheaded by Kisumu Central MP Joshua Odongo Oron, aimed at cushioning businesses that have borne the brunt of economic shocks and protest-related losses.<\/p>\n
Speaking during the disbursement exercise at Kondele Market, the market chairman Leonard Omollo said more than Sh. 3 million would be shared among traders organized in 81 registered groups.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis money is meant to strengthen businesses at the grassroots. Even a small boost to working capital can make a big difference in daily trade,\u201d Omollo said.<\/p>\n
The fundraiser, held in November, brought together political leaders and traders from Kondele and Kibuye markets.<\/p>\n
Treasury Cabinet Secretary John Mbadi presided over the event and contributed Sh3 million, which was matched by President William Ruto.<\/p>\n
Omollo dismissed claims that the funds had been misappropriated, attributing the delay in disbursement to administrative processes.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere has been misinformation that the MP disappeared with the money. That is not true. The delay was purely procedural,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Kondele Market General Secretary Isaiah Okoth expressed optimism that the funds would help stabilize businesses affected by frequent unrest.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur businesses suffer whenever protests erupt in this area. This support will help traders recover and grow despite those challenges,\u201d Okoth said.<\/p>\n
Women traders welcomed the initiative, noting that many households rely entirely on small businesses for survival.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis support gives us hope. Many women here are single parents, and expanding our businesses means better lives for our children,\u201d said Caroline Ojowi, one beneficiary.<\/p>\n
Kibuye traders are expected to receive their share of the funds this week.<\/p>\n
Ojowi says the gesture towards traders is commendable and urged other elected leaders to emulate such programs.<\/p>\n
MP Oron said the empowerment drive was designed to promote unity and economic resilience among traders.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen traders work together, real transformation happens. This initiative is about restoring dignity and opportunity to our business community,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Oron says uplifting small scale traders was among his pillars during electioneering perion in 2022.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
KISUMU, Kenya, Jan 7 \u2013 After years of disrupted trade, vandalism and lost stock caused by recurrent street demonstrations in Kisumu, small-scale traders at Kondele and Kibuye markets are beginning to rebuild following the release of business empowerment funds raised late last year. Hundreds of traders on Tuesday received cheques from a kitty raised through […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-128036","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","entry"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/128036","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=128036"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/128036\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=128036"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=128036"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=128036"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}