The East Africa Chamber of Commerce, Industry, and Agriculture (EACCIA) has secured Sh4 billion to offer financial literacy programs to small and micro enterprises in East Africa.

Under a deal with the European Business Institute in Luxembourg, it targets 28,000 small businesses.

It will apply to countries in the East African Community, including Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi, Zanzibar, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Others are Kenya, Uganda, South Sudan, Zambia and Somalia.

The scholarship program includes a three-month certificate course that is slated to begin this January and end in March.

Business Management, Business Finance, Artificial Intelligence Integration, Micro and Macro Economics, Managerial Accounting, Entrepreneurship, and Communication are other courses.

“We are making a big step forward to improve the human capital in our region so that businesses can be managed better for improved results and sustainability,” EACCIA President Richard Ngatia said.

The Institute lauded East Africa’s business leaders for promoting education in the region and Africa as a whole.

“We are honored to collaborate with the East Africa Chamber of Commerce, Industry, and Agriculture to make a positive impact through education,” stated the Institute.

Ngatia also highlighted that the initiative also aims to enable a better savings culture for the region.

This is through the Global Financial Literacy Survey findings, which revealed significant percentages of financially illiterate populations in Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, and South Africa.