Deadline Date: January 15, 2026
The Building Inclusive and Resilient Enterprises (BIRE) Programme is implemented by Hand in Hand Eastern Africa with support from the Embassy of Sweden and Hand in Hand Sweden to stimulate the growth of women-, youth-, and persons living with disabilities–led micro and small enterprises across Kenya.
The programme focuses on stimulating the growth of women-, youth-, and PLWD-led Micro and Small Enterprises, building profitable, resilient, and sustainable businesses, strengthening business practices, enhancing market access, improving climate resilience, expanding opportunities for financial inclusion, targeted capacity development, structured advisory support, enterprise competitiveness, employment creation, income generation, agriculture, manufacturing, services, trade, blue economy, circular economy, and emerging green sectors.
The BIRE Programme is designed to support up to 700 enterprises nationwide by strengthening their operational capacity and positioning them for sustainable growth across diverse value chains. Through tailored business development services and market access interventions, the programme supports enterprises and cooperatives to improve resilience, productivity, and long-term viability. The programme is projected to create more than 4,000 direct jobs and an additional 8,000 indirect jobs, positively impacting over 12,000 individuals through employment and income generation. These outcomes are achieved by unlocking enterprise potential and strengthening participation in inclusive and climate-resilient value chains.
The Foundation Track is open to enterprises that are registered and operating in Kenya, are recognized as legal entities, have maintained basic financial records for at least one year, have been operational for a period of one to two years, generate annual revenues between KES 500,000 and KES 3,000,000, and currently employ between one and four employees.
The Acceleration Track is open to enterprises that are registered and operating in Kenya, are recognized as legal entities, have been operational for at least two years, maintain at least one year of management books of accounts, generate annual revenues above KES 3,000,000, and employ between five and twenty employees.
Implementation of the programme is coordinated through three Regional Hubs located in Nairobi, Kisumu, and Mombasa, while remaining open to eligible applicants from all forty-seven counties across the country. The Nairobi Hub covers counties including Nairobi, Kiambu, Murang’a, Nyeri, Kirinyaga, Embu, Nyandarua, Nakuru, Kajiado, Machakos, Makueni, Kitui, Laikipia, Meru, Tharaka Nithi, Isiolo, Marsabit, and Samburu. The Kisumu Hub serves Kisumu, Homa Bay, Migori, Siaya, Busia, Bungoma, Kakamega, Vihiga, Kericho, Bomet, Nandi, Uasin Gishu, Trans Nzoia, Elgeyo Marakwet, Baringo, West Pokot, Turkana, Nyamira, Kisii, and Narok. The Mombasa Hub covers Mombasa, Kilifi, Kwale, Tana River, Lamu, Taita Taveta, Garissa, Wajir, and Mandera.
Financial support under the programme is provided through multiple instruments, including a Matching Grant Facility that co-invests in enterprise growth at an agreed cost-sharing ratio, repayable grants linked to enterprise performance with flexible repayment terms aligned to cashflows, facilitation of external financing through linkages with banks, microfinance institutions, SACCOs, impact investors, and climate funds, and loan guarantee facilitation to reduce risk and support access to expansion capital.
The programme is open to enterprises operating across a wide range of sectors, including agriculture, livestock, fisheries, manufacturing, retail, blue economy, circular economy, renewable energy, digital services, creative industries, and services. Enterprises may apply under either the Foundation Track or the Acceleration Track depending on their stage of growth, operational history, revenue levels, and employment size.
For more information, visit Hand in Hand Eastern Africa.
