To enhance women’s participation in public procurement, the Kenyan government created the Access to Government Procurement Opportunities (AGPO) programme in 2013, which is aimed at enhancing public procurement access for disadvantaged groups, specifically youth, women, and persons with disabilities (PWD).

Dr. Erick Rutto, President of the Kenya National Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KNCCI), highlighted the Access to Government Procurement Opportunities (AGPO) program’s role in empowering women entrepreneurs across Kenya’s 47 counties.

Although AGPO has promoted growth for women-led businesses, challenges remain, including stringent eligibility criteria, data scarcity, delayed payments, and limited compliance among public entities.

To address these challenges, the Kenya National Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KNCCI) aims to promote gender-sensitive public procurement by supporting women-led businesses (WLB), advocating for reforms to the AGPO initiative and fostering inclusive market environments. To this end, the KNCCI, in partnership with the Investment Climate Reform Facility,  has conducted a study aimed at reviewing the AGPO system; identifying the key challenges faced by WOB/WLB and proposing recommendations to address them.

He emphasized that only about 16% of AGPO’s designated funds reach women-owned businesses, a fraction of the total public procurement allocation. Issues such as complex application processes, insufficient sensitization, limited access to finance, and alleged corruption further hinder women’s participation.

Dr. Rutto urged a review of AGPO’s criteria, encouraged the youth to become AGPO-certified, and proposed KNCCI’s inclusion in the AGPO governing body to represent the private sector.

Partners KCB, the AGPO Secretariat, and GIZ reaffirmed their commitment to inclusivity, while the government invited private sector input for the ongoing review of the Public Procurement and Asset Disposal Act.

KNCCI has been carrying out the AGPO initiative spearheaded by KNCCI Women In Business Director – Zainabu Mohamed.

Also present were KNCCI National Director Ken Onditi, KNCCI Women in Business Director and Director Lindah Libese.