By Sylvester Ouma , General Manager Retail and SME Jubilee Health Insurance
Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) created 90 per cent of 782,300 new jobs in 2024, according to the latest economic survey by the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS).
Kenya has over 7.4 million micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises, collectively employing approximately 14.9 million people. That’s nearly 40 per cent of the country’s GDP.
This trend has persisted year in year out, with the sector considered the heart and soul of Kenya’s social economic fabric.
Even so, the sector is still largely informal, with millions of employees not enjoying basic benefits like insurance covers, against international standards set by the International Labour Organization (ILO).
The international labour lobby promotes mandatory social insurance, particularly employment injury insurance (EII), to protect workers from workplace accidents and diseases.
While injury insurance is the most common form of social insurance, only about 33.9 per cent of the global workforce is covered. The ILO advocates for broader coverage, including voluntary social insurance and employer liability provisions, which would extend protection to 39.4 per cent of the workforce.
Yet, insuring employees has better dividends to firms away from basic regulatory requirement. Unfortunately, small businesses often view health covers as a luxury, but that thinking may be costing businesses more than they realise.
Various surveys have documented the magnitude of losses firms incur when employees are absent due to sickness or other reasons.
These losses stem from various factors, including reduced productivity, project delays, and the cost of hiring temporary staff or covering the absent employee’s responsibilities.
In some cases, employees may even be entitled to sick leave with pay, further impacting the company’s finances.
Globally, the link between health and business performance is well documented, while locally, a growing body of data echoes the same message.
Studies show that effective workplace wellness programs can reduce absenteeism by up to 26 per cent and improve job satisfaction by 15 per cent. These aren’t just soft benefits, they directly impact performance, delivery, and long-term success and the scale of opportunity is massive.
If we want to safeguard the country’s economic engine, we must start by protecting the people who power it, yet the gap in protection remains vast.
Insurance penetration in Kenya remains low at 2.4 per cent, largely due to perceptions of complexity, high cost, and lack of relevance — especially for those in the informal and low-income segments.
Despite this disturbing data, only about 19 per cent of the population is covered, leaving millions of hardworking Kenyans especially those in SMEs, without a safety net. When illness strikes, the financial impact can be devastating for both employee and employer.
Small businesses, despite their size, need resilience just as much, if not more, and resilience isn’t just about capital, it’s about people. Protecting the health of your team is no longer just a human resource issue; it’s a business survival strategy.
This perception is however slowly changing. Jubilee Insurance for instance, is changing this by making insurance simpler, more accessible, and seamlessly embedded into everyday transactions.
We’ve adopted a multi-channel approach, which combines mobile-first solutions, SACCOs, community aggregators, and digital partnerships to reach underserved groups such as gig workers, MSMEs, and lower-income families.
Through partnerships with start-ups, established platforms and telcos, customers access insurance when topping up data, fuelling motorbikes, or taking rides. This eliminates friction and meets people where they already are.
Today, affordable health solutions tailored to SMEs are emerging, allowing businesses to start with as few as three employees, and others offering flexible monthly payment plans that match real cashflow cycles.
The misconception that health insurance is only for corporates must be challenged, not only is it now within reach for smaller enterprises, but it is also becoming a competitive advantage.
In deed, the global Small & Medium-Sized Enterprises (SMEs) Insurance Market is anticipated to witness consistent growth, starting at $19.27 billion in 2024, reaching $19.88 billion in 2025, and climbing to $25.65 billion by 2033, with a steady CAGR of 3.2 per cent from 2025 to 2033.
SME insurance sector can play an instrumental role in securing businesses from operating, legal, and financial risk. Being the backbone of the economy, risks and industrial exposures of SMEs need to be considered by the insurance products.
