Nairobi, June 30 -- Reports that Equity Bank #ticker:EQTY will get a Sh5 billion loan from the World Bank private enterprise arm IFC to lend to the small and medium businesses (SMEs) that have been slowed down by the coronavirus is a step in the right direction. Apart from the amount involved, it should go a long way in determining policies aimed at protecting the small businesses that, according State statistics, are the leading creators of jobs. Already the central bank has said these small businesses are in danger of collapsing under the weight of the disease that has brought the global economy to its knees.
Under the virus pandemic, these small businesses have been adversely affected by the restrictions in place to tame the spread of t...