𝐌𝐚𝐤𝐮𝐞𝐧𝐢, 𝐒𝐚𝐟𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐨𝐦 𝐑𝐞𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐄𝐦𝐩𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐅𝐮𝐧𝐝 𝐃𝐢𝐠𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐥 𝐒𝐲𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐦 𝐀𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐂𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐲𝐰𝐢𝐝𝐞 𝐑𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐨𝐮𝐭

Nairobi | 10th November 2026 -Makueni County Government officials on Tuesday engaged Safaricom to review and strengthen the Makueni County Empowerment Fund (MCEF) digital platform following a successful pilot phase that ran from June to October 2026 and benefited 41 community groups.

The meeting provided an opportunity to review lessons and challenges from the pilot, with Safaricom’s technical team presenting updates on improvements to the fund’s digital platform.

Key areas of focus included document uploads, network stability, repayment functionality, dashboard accuracy, SMS reminders, loan portfolio management, ward-based reporting and monitoring of group performance.

Leading the Makueni delegation, CECM for Gender, Children, Youth, Sports and Social Services Eng. Sebastian Kyoni said the county targets to reach 900 community groups across all 30 wards, with 30 groups per Ward benefiting from the interest-free financing programme. Each group will access an initial KSh50,000, with the borrowing limit progressively growing to KSh500,000.

The engagement seeks to address outstanding technical and operational gaps ahead of the countywide rollout, ensuring efficient fund management, accountability and easier access for beneficiary groups.

The initiative reinforces Governor Mutula Kilonzo Jr.’s commitment to economically empower women and youth, promoting entrepreneurship and strengthening household livelihoods. Kyoni was accompanied by Chief Officer for Gender, Children and Social Services Catherine Katuti, among other county officials.