Youth Fund, ICPAK sign deal to benefit young accountants

Young accountants will now find it easier to get jobs abroad, courtesy of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signed between the Youth Enterprise Development Fund and the Institute of Certified Public Accountants of Kenya (ICPAK). The mutual benefit for both parties is to provide a channel through which they can use their respective strengths to assist each other achieve their statutory objectives and in so doing
benefit the Kenyan public and in particular the Youth. Under the MOU ICPAK will seek recognition of Kenyan
accountants in other countries while the Youth Fund will work with accredited employment agencies to place the accountants. The employment agencies will source job opportunities abroad.  The Fund will provide pre-departure training, documentation and migration loans to the youth who obtain jobs abroad. The two organizations will also partner in providing financial management training to the youth, establishing a database of young accountants and in mentorship. “The first milestone of the MOU will be to hold a joint visit to Rwanda” said Mr. Umuro Wario, the Fund’s Chief Executive Officer.  ICPAK Chairman Mr. Michael Itote said that Rwanda has been identified as one of the countries with employment opportunities for our youth as well as accountants. Others present during the signing ceremony included ICPAK CEO Ms Caroline Kigen, several board members and Mr. Henry Mwenda, the Fund’s Lending and Investment Manager.

http://www.youthfund.go.ke/index.php/component/content/article/48-yedffrontpage/61-youth-fund-icpak-sign-mou.html

Reach A Successful Small Business

1. Think like an entrepreneur, to set your mindset and understand what an entrepreneur should do
2. What kind of entrepreneur are you? A question to review your own self perception about entrepreneur and think what kind of successfully entrepreneur you want to achieve appropriate with your character and ability. Also, this point will build a focus direction to achieve your vision
3. Start thinking about money. Yes, you have to answer about this question, how important is money for you? What will you do with your money? Through those questions, you can review and get summary about money for your life then it will create your plan to get it
4. Start planning. This is a plan that you have to think and created for short term and long term period of your life. Make a plan through according to your vision and plan some mission to make it real
5. Predicting your success. You have to draw about success on your next time period. A success vision and target for a year forward, 3 years, 5 or 10 years later
6. Polishing your plan, Nothing is perfect including life’s plan. But to be success you have to make your plan review and update related to business circumstances

Create A Great First Impression

Build new business relationship, introduce ourself to others or show first performance on the stage are critical moment for us to leave great impression and generate positive appraisal. So how we have to able build great first impression to everyone and in every moment we exist.

 

 
1. There’s no second chance
Principally, you have to think that first impression is the starting key to build relationship. Think that will there’s no second impression . Don’t give bad impression at first because it will eliminate your relation interest to get a meeting with you next time
2. Sturdily Shaking hands
Shaking among relations or business partners is a must. Sturdily shaking hands will built a trust from them to you. Don’t forget to this simply point
3. Come on time
Almost everyone know about this rule. Don’t make appointment if you worried about your personal schedule. Just On time, on time… and on time
4. Fashionable
Build some neat  and clean impression. Show your respect by wear appropriate dress or fashion
5. Be Your self
Let your act seem natural. Avoid pretended action. The best thing in this point is how you can show and known as originally you are.
6. Speak with honestly and structured
Honest build a trust, while speaking with good structure will build good communication. Keep your altitude for being honest and train your speaking skill to actualize this point
7. Positive thinking and keep smile
Positive thinking will build optimism, credibility and professionalism. And the last, don’t forget to ‘smile’ , melt all tension and awkwardness

Powerful Tips, Achieve a Sales Goal by Simplify Your Words

According to his book, Ponijan Law, the author of Talk To Your Customer This Way, mentioned on second point tips to win the customer by Simplify Your Words. The point is about how we can talk with customer with words or sentences that easy to understood and make them satisfy with our explanation.

Simplify Your Words ==> Effectively Communication ==> Win a Customer ==> Sales Goal

1. Substantial
Talk with customer, we have to understand first about what is the substantial point we want to convey. Ensure that the point deliver to customers very well and they listen your substantial part without any confusion. Don’t talk too long and rambling, people can’t take the substantial content of conversation
2. Words Structure
Words selection to construct your sentence is better use general term or commons. Using technical term sometimes very impressed but some people do not understand what is the meaning. Just choose a simple words with a simply structure speaking sentence, people will have no difficulty to understand
3. Know Your Customer
The target to win the customer is how we can achieve our sales goal trough brilliant sales communication. Know who is your customers and their character, socioeconomic level, education, typology and their physiology will help you start and build appropriate communication style.

Zain to undergo transformation, adopt new brand name

Zain Kenya will adopt the new brand name ‘Airtel’, on Monday next week, The Standard has learnt.
"It is confirmed that the re-branding exercise is set for November 22," sources familiar with the exercise said.
Zain’s transformation will see the second largest telecom in the country change its brand name for the fourth time since it started operating in Kenya. The operator entered in Kenya as KenCell, changed to Celtel, then to Zain and now will change again to Airtel.
Data services
"Bharti Airtel will formally launch its brand in African in just over a week, and our major focus will be on third generation mobile and data services in the continent," Bharti Airtel Chief Executive and Joint Managing Director, Manoj Kohli, said in Ghana on Friday where he announced its July-September financial results.
"I feel that after two quarters of restructuring of these areas, we should be able to achieve much healthier share of business. Already, we are seeing higher incremental customer addition," he added.
The new look of the brand is expected to incorporate the word Airtel.
‘Red’ is expected to be the dominant colour in the brand, which will be splashed all across India, Africa, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, and Seychelles.
The change in the brand follows the acquisition of Zain’s operations in Africa by India’s Bharti Airtel in June this year in a $10.7 billion deal.
Sunil Bharti Mittal, who doubles as chairman and founder, largely owns it.
It is expected the company will set up its African headquarters in Nairobi, with Jayant Khosla, formerly of Essar, heading operations in English-speaking African countries.

EABC alarmed by rising business barriers in the region

 

Members of the East African Business Council (EABC) have raised concern over many barriers frustrating trade in the region.
The entrepreneurs singled out some of the issues as arbitrary suspension of commodity exports, continuous application of illegal fees and lack of coordination among border clearing authorities. EABC said in a statement that export bans instituted by agriculture ministries of Tanzania and Kenya have, for instance, denied producers in the region access to markets that would otherwise guarantee them higher returns. The Executive Director, Agatha Nderitu said the organisation has written to all Government institutions and agencies concerned requesting them to abolish or suspend the reported barriers.
"We want to encourage all businesses to continue reporting such trade barriers," she said in the statement issued last week by the regional umbrella organisation of the private sector.
In Tanzania, Nderitu pointed out that foreign-registered vehicles involved in transporting cargo still pay $500 to Tanzania Revenue Authority on each entry on top of annual fees of $600.
Tedious clearanceIn Burundi, she added, goods are still made to undergo tedious clearance procedures from numerous agencies, which include immigration, security, anti-corruption and customs department among others. In Rwanda, the EABC statement explained, Rwanda Revenue Authority does not recognise EAC certificate of origin particularly on goods originating from Uganda for electro-welded black tubes.
According to Nderitu, Uganda Revenue Authority and Uganda National Bureau of Standards continue to issue different requirements regarding standards on Pre-Export Verification of Conformity.

New Kenyan Organisation to help ICT Entrepreneurs

There is a new private technology business development network - c4IDEA.com - with a mission to promote the rapid growth of innovative and profitable technology-driven ventures in Kenya, was launched early this month in Nairobi.
"It will serve as an online clearing house bringing together entrepreneurs, interns, mentors, investors, incubators and other partners in order to create wealth and generate jobs for Kenyans," Peter Kamacia, c4IDEA.com founder and chief executive officer, said last week.
"Such networks are a critical ingredient for the early success of the Government’s economic recovery strategy."The emergence of the technology business development centre reflects the increasing presence in Kenya of the ICT business, which is one of the fastest growing sectors in the economy propelled by mobile telephony and the Internet.
Kamacia said c4IDEA.com is looking up to cash in on the wave of anticipated investments in the country brought about by the liberalisation of the Very Small Aperture Terminal (Vsat) technology , a move that has sparked the evolution of data networks.
Last week, for instance, saw the launch of Kenya Data Networks Limited (KDN), the latest data communications carrier in the local market.These networks are behind the phenomenal success of such technology hubs like Bangalore in India and other emerging technology areas like Cape Town in South Africa, Accra (Ghana) and Port Loius in Mauritius, according to the c4IDEA.com founder.
"They also re-assure international investors and joint-venture partners that their investments are part of a professional business community," Kamacia, who has worked in the technology world for over 10 years, said.
He went on to explain that c4IDEA.com’s prime objective is to help entrepreneurs find local and international investors for their technology-driven ventures.
By December last year, US Information Technology (IT) companies were jostling to promise customers cheaper and flexible services using technology professionals in low wage countries such as India, China and Mexico, according to the CNET News.com website.
Hewlett-Packard (HP), for example, already has several thousands of services employees in the Indian sub-continent, while computer services giant Electronic Data Systems announced its "Best Shore" programme, promising a 40 per cent increase in personnel and resources devoted to low-cost applications services centres around the world, according to the CNET report.
By 2015, a total of 3.3 million US jobs and US$136 million in wages will transfer offshore to countries such as India, Russia, China and the Philippines, according to Forrester Research.
"With local Treasury Bill rates just below two per cent, a double digit inflation and currency in circulation at Sh60 billion, the financial market appears ripe for new investment vehicles," Kamacia argues.
Kamacia said technology-driven ventures backed by solid business plans prepared by entrepreneurs and other key stakeholders will charm investors in search of better returns.
"Our second goal is to promote the establishment of business incubators or technology parks to host technology- driven ventures," Kamacia told The Financial Standard.
A business incubator is an office or factory facility that houses its tenants by giving them space on flexible terms and shared services such as meeting areas, secretariat, accounting, research computer and even production-related facilities.
They offer a range of business development services to enhance the success and growth of their tenants, and ventures located in such incubators or parks can save up to 40 per cent of their costs, said the consultant.
Through this network, c4IDEA.com is hoping to involve Kenyans living overseas as both entrepreneurs and/or investors in technology-driven business based Kenya. "As professionals working abroad, they have first hand experience of technology and should therefore be at the forefront in transferring technology to Kenya," Kamacia said.
"We aim to facilitate this process by proving the Kenyan Diaspora with a dynamic network that is ready and willing to collaborate with them."
As part of its mission, c4IDEA.com if focused on ensuring Kenya becomes an active player in the lucrative outsourcing industry. To this end, the centre has scheduled a series of seminars over the next few months on global outsourcing , business processing and contract manufacturing , for technology entrepreneurs and investors.
www.c4IDEA.com.Business

How to make your salary work hard for you

In Summary

SOME THINGS TO CONSIDER

• Having full financial freedom has to do with personal financial planning.
• Figuring out where your money is going is the first step towards taking control of it.
• If overspending is an issue, figure out which categories to reduce spending and plan to start paying off credit cards
• Put the money into income generating assets, since assets earn you money and liability burns your money
• The rich don’t accumulate cash. They accumulate assets that generate cash flow for them

When most people think about future careers to choose, they are always tempted to focus only on the potential salary they can earn. Most believe a decent salary gives one financial freedom.

Definitely, a big income always helps, doesn’t it? Having the money to pay all your monthly bills and going for those luxurious vacations tells all about your personal financial situation.

The reality, though, is that having a big income is not always the key to a secure financial future. As we found out, people have different definitions of what financial freedom means to them. Most believe it allows them to live comfortably.

But majority think financial freedom means earning a big salary and being able to afford such things as lavish vacations, expensive cars, boats, expensive clothes, jewelry, or luxurious homes.

To some, financial freedom is having an extra income, adding to their present income so as to boost their financial status. They search daily for low-risk, high-return investments, hoping to fall into a fantastic deal that will put them into a higher financial bracket.

Philip (he allowed us to use only his first name) works as a banker in the city earning around Sh150,000 monthly, but says the salary is not enough to sustain him, which is why he decided to operate a matatu business.

“If my salary was around Sh500,000, I would not be interested in getting an extra income elsewhere. I think it would have been enough. But I need more money to sustain my family and to settle my monthly bills.

I need to work hard to live a comfortable life,” he says during the interview with Money.
The banker says his current salary cannot guarantee him financial freedom.

“I pay for my children’s school fees and I am repaying a car loan I took last year. I also depend on the same salary to pay for the house rent and to settle other bills. It is just not enough, I think I need more cash and a better salary to satisfy my needs.” Financial freedom is impossible to achieve with the current economic hardships,” he adds.

According to experts, the road to financial freedom is private and personal. They say one cannot rely on someone or something else to pave the way for their financial security.

“Unless you are committed to setting and keeping your financial goals, there is no salary, no matter the figure, that will give you financial freedom,’ says Mr Paul Muhami, a Nairobi-based financial consultant.

He adds that obstacles like fear of failure, laziness, negativism, bad spending habits, and lack of emotional and financial intelligence can block one’s path to financial success.

“This is why it is easy to argue that someone who is earning Sh7,000 is living a less stressful life than the one who takes home more than Sh700,000. The former is used to living a simple lifestyle, and can be able to cope and save part of the little salary he earns, aiming to start some income generating activity.

However, the latter is likely to be in big debt. For poor financial planners, big salaries always attract more debt and most high income earners spend their working careers repaying loans and other debts,” he says.

Mr Manyara Kirago of First Independent advisors and author of ‘How to become a Lifelong financial Success’, says earning a big salary can give one full financial freedom, if he or she sets their goals right.

“I have five clients who only depend on their monthly paychecks while each has a net-worth of over Sh100 million. Having full financial freedom has to do with personal financial planning. Figuring out where your money is going is the first step towards taking control of it.

With a monthly paycheck, the limit to your spending is listed in black ink. It would be better if spending was below that number,” he says.
According to Mr Kirago, majority of those who earn big salaries (like members of Parliament) always tend to spend a lot of money and eventually put themselves into a big trap of debts.

“In the world of finance, there is a saying that expenses rise to meet income. And this could be true when studying how most well-paid employees spend their huge cash.

The more they earn, the more the needs and since the money they make is not enough to satisfy all their needs, they end up borrowing bad loans from banks, which take them years to repay, hence more deductions in their pay slips.”

He adds that many of those who always complain of not having enough money are those who earn big salaries but fail to manage them properly.
“It should be understood that there is no budget or spending plan set in stone.

Safaricom cleared to join Equity bank patent case

In Summary

The model widens bank’s client base

• On average, 5,000 clients sign up for the service every day, a report released by Renaissance Capital says.
• Through the integration of the bank’s network of over 80 branches with 17,500 M-Pesa agents, Equity is expected to increase its presence in rural areas with limited access to financial services.
• M-Kesho enables individuals to withdraw money from their bank accounts through their mobile phone handsets.
• The service also allows Equity customers to deposit money into their accounts through Safaricom’s M-Pesa agents.
• It was launched in May.

 

Safaricom Ltd was Wednesday enjoined in a suit filed by a businessman who has taken Equity Bank to court over the M-Kesho banking concept.

And although businessman Hoswell Mbugua Njuguna opposed the move, Mr Justice Leonard Njagi said the country’s largest mobile phone operator had been adversely mentioned in the case.

The judge said in a ruling that Safaricom was reasonably an interested party and should therefore be enjoined in the suit for its input to be taken into consideration.

He quoted a demand letter written by Mr Njuguna to Equity saying the fact that he copied it to Safaricom’s chief executive officer, Mr Michael Joseph, was enough evidence of the partnership between Equity and Safaricom in the banking product.

Through his lawyer, Mr Duncan Anzala, Mr Njuguna said he had sued Equity Bank and not Safaricom, over alleged breach of confidence. He argued that it was better for the matter to be heard without Safaricom’s involvement.

The case, which was slated for hearing Wednesday, could not proceed after Equity’s lawyer George Sichangi said he needed time to file his reply because he had been instructed to handle the matter on Tuesday.

Equally, Safaricom, through Mr John Ohanga, said it needed time to file its response.

Mr Njuguna accuses Equity of breaching confidential information shared with two of its agents on a concept similar to M-Kesho.

Claiming that M-Kesho features contain most of the details of his concept known as Weka Usaidike, Mr Njuguna alleges that it was wrong for the bank to use the confidential information to enrich itself.

In a sworn statement, Mr Njuguna says he confided the information to Anne Kinuthia and Eric Karobia on August 10, 2006 in a bid to secure an agreement.

However, the talks ended without a deal. He says he was shocked when Equity and Safaricom rolled out their product with features similar to his creation.

Since the product was launched in May, the bank is said to have opened over 600,000 accounts.

M-Kesho customers deposit and withdraw money through their mobile phones. The bank has also introduced sheds and centres throughout the country for handling its operations instead of traditional bank facilities.

Customers also use Safaricom’s M-Pesa service to deposit and withdraw money from their bank account.

Other than stopping the bank from further use of the said information, Mr Njuguna will also be asking the court to order an inquiry on the damages for the breach of confidence.

The case will be heard on September 30.

The broadband mess in Kenya - and I’m so angry

Kenya is in dire need of investment in technology. That is why I am angry that the factors hindering growth are actually "policy" related to this sector, and not due to lack of innovators or investors. There are many innovators and investors willing to take the challenge of helping Kenya come out of the dark ages of narrowband and into the grace of broadband.
The problem rises from the differences between the Communication Commission of Kenya (CCK) and other 3G service providers. There seems to be a great cloud of varying information which hardly gets to the man on the street. The unclear issues include the following:
The Zain situation with the CCK
Though very confusing, The East African recently reported that they have only applied for a 3G licence but have not paid for it. However, some Zain insiders earlier claimed that they had paid and were in the process of testing.
Meanwhile, a couple of senior chairmen and CEOs I had the privilege of meeting with in a closed session also mentioned that they been informed that Zain had paid the fee. Every once in a while it is reported that the Zain connection knocks into 3G, and a couple of local techies have told me that they have hit 3G before both on their modems and handsets.
The Orange situation with the CCK
This is another saga that was recently clarified when Orange finally stated their position. They too find the US$25m (Sh1.9billion) 3G licence fee excessive.
The reason we have no alternative provider is because the fee is set too high. But why? Since there is no other obvious reason, short of greed, it seems to go back to two individuals and a long-term strategy by the Government.
Safaricom still dominates the market but not because of innovation. President Kibaki recently directed that number portability be executed by end of January 2010, although it now appears this will not happen until mid-2010. Worse, someone had earlier mentioned to me that even two years down the road we will still be in anticipation. I will not be surprised if this was some ambitious politician's manifesto come 2012. And even Prime Minister Raila Odinga, instead of getting down to supervisory work, which is his real job, is busy flapping his gums about the Mau Forest and ODM policies, but not about what the Government is doing wrong.
The lack of ability to criticise Safaricom in media means we cannot complain about the poor service. Yet Michael Joseph, the Safaricom CEO, has been named CEO of the Year in Kenya.
Corporate cancer
The African leadership cancer goes beyond government and into corporates. But then again, in Safaricom's case, the corporate is in bed with the Government.
As it appears, we won’t have a new 3G service provider because Bitange Ndemo, the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Information and Charles Njoroge, the Director General at the CCK would prefer this not to happen, and if it must, that the competitors suffer in getting it. They also are not willing to look at alternative solutions to allowing other networks because Safaricom needs protection, to keep the money flowing in. Government protection. In the next two years, voice will probably be a dead business. Data will be the goose that lays the golden eggs – so that prohibitive $25m 3G fee is, one suspects, trying to protect the data for one company.
Zain, Yu and Orange’s alternatives
• Zain, Yu and Orange need to negotiate a better rate for the 3G licence and then finance a debt repayment on behalf of the CCK to cover the excess fee Safaricom paid.
• CCK keeps the same fee and work on a debt recovery management plan where they get percentages of incomes till the fee is covered, plus interest of course. The licence can be issued for free or at a deposit, and I believe CCK would have recovered the sums within five years.
• CCK refunds Safaricom the US$ 25m and we forget 3G. That way, no-one has it and it’s an even playing field.
Orange, is the beast that Safaricom is worried about. Funny, Orange is just about to get it right, and the only reason 99 percent of the country is not with Orange, is because it is yet to discover flat billing on data. This per MB rates they keep trying to sell on a sliding scale are so confusing and people would rather not buy. Orange is the only company that does not need to be greedy and they will get all the customers. But the greed is showing. The French owners are still French, and they bite. And they are greedy. They need to ease up.
Turning our backs on Ndemo
My point is, we need to isolate and openly ignore Bitange Ndemo who we openly allow into the tech fold (as his actions on media freedoms have shown, he is not a great believer in freedom of expression). Inviting him into Skunkworks meetings and conferences and other meet ups needs to stop. He needs to get the hint. I find it sad that we allow the same person who is ruining tech in Kenya to come in.
I find it sad that we, the tech community, have not stood up as one and said Enough! But we are Kenyans, the only things we know to unite around usually revolve around entertainment and even then, not for long. We have no common goals or agendas to developing tech in Kenya, we have united common wishes and ideologies, but we are not really out there turning wishes into goals. As for Charles Njoroge, well, I guess I’m glad I don’t run into him. I might say some unhappy words.
I hate the fact that my job now involves spending more time dealing with politics and struggling to get connections to work rather than working on projects. A good 80 per cent of my productive time is wasted because of these two individuals and I am getting fed up with losing ideas and time because of all this rubbish. So let’s begin showing our outrage by boycotting these two.

Phone firms say rivalry rules still not level

The telecoms industry is under heat over competition rules that were opposed by Safaricom prompting the government to appoint consultants to review them.

Related Stories

 

Essar Telecoms says that it was not the work of the consultant to make rules rather that should have been left to the Communications Commission of Kenya. Photo/FILE 

 

Frontier Economics, a UK consultancy firm appointed by the Ministry of Information and Communications in June to take a fresh look at telecom regulations, has been accused by operators of re-working them in favour of Safaricom.

The consultants, in their verdict, found out that some sections of the rules were not in conformity with international best practices.

They have proposed the removal of the fair competition rule in the definition of dominance as a player with more than 25 per cent of total revenues in a particular market segment saying that threshold is low in view of best practice.

Unfair to amend document

In response, Mr Rene Meza, Zain Kenya’s managing director says, “whereas we appreciate the spirit of consultation in the sector, we fault the manner in which the review of these regulations has been conducted.”

Mr Meza says that in principle, it is unfair to amend a document that has been arrived at after extensive consultations just to accommodate the wishes of one player.

He says changes, if any, should have only been accommodated after the laws had been implemented.

“Laws are not created to suit one party,” he said, adding that as much as the revised regulations are a product of a review by a third party, the process of selecting the consultant should have been all-inclusive.

He says that by appointing Frontier Economics unilaterally, the impartiality of the process and the ultimate output becomes questionable.

Telkom Kenya’s head of regulatory affairs, Mr Stephen Kiptiness says that the competition rules are not introduced to punish for abuse of dominance, rather to control dominant behaviour which is an undesirable consequence of competition.

Essar Telecom’s country manager Atul Chaturvedi says, “Frontier Economics does not make regulations. It is only CCK which does. They were supposed to see whether our recommendations are in line with best practices in the world and they did bench marking with EU.”

Safaricom, which controls 78 per cent of the market, had opposed the regulations saying that they were aimed at curtailing its growth.

It accused the Communications Commission of Kenya of allegedly trying to penalise it for huge success.

In the earlier version of the regulations, it could take 90 days for a provider of regulated services (dominant player) to publish intended tariff changes.

The consultant has, however, proposed a reduction to 30 days.

According to Frontier Economics, the regulator will not have the power to set tariffs in cases where they are not satisfied with a dominant player’s application to adjust them.

The firm says CCK will only advise an operator to make readjustments on the proposed tariff without being specific.

In the clause of dominance, no operator will be declared to be so exclusively due to its market share but other factors.

They include those that can limit the entry of new players and those that can bar existing operators from expansion.

Micro-financier sets up shop in western Kenya

Mr. Dan Awendo, InvesteQ Capital CEO (right) receiving an award. Photo/FILE

Scramble for small and medium enterprises by financial institutions has intensified in Western Kenya with the latest entry of a new player.

InvesteQ Capital, a financial firm specialising in serving small and medium enterprises has opened an office in Kisumu and joins Faulu Kenya, Real People and Kenya Women Finance Trust which are targeting small businesspeople who tend to shy away from commercial banks due to high interest rate.

According to Mr Dan Awendo, the chief executive officer, the move meant is to bring services closer to the people from Western Kenya region and who have been travelling all the way to Nairobi to be served.

“We have been operating in Nairobi for the last seven years and most of our customers have been from outside Nairobi and in particular Western Kenya and that is why we are bringing service closer to them,” said Mr Awendo.

Speaking at Nation Kisumu office, Mr Awendo said that many people who wish to do business in the region have been unable to do so due to lack funds.

“We will be targeting people who have business ideas but lack funds to execute those ideas in Western Kenya due to devolving of funds to the grassroots,” the chief executive officer said.

InvesteQ general manager Allan Ogendo said the firm provides working capital, structured finance and other financial products that an SME may require to grow.

BECOMING ASSERTIVE IS MORE THAN FINDING THE RIGHT WORDS TO SAY

The foundation for effective assertion is your own thinking. Your thinking can either block you from being assertive or help you become more assertive. When you are in the process of developing a new assertive pattern, you will want to develop new ways of thinking as well as new ways of saying things. Here are some examples of ways of thinking that block and help you.

“Blockers”
I badly need this person’s approval.
I must never hurt anyone’s feelings.
I’d be a selfish person if I asked for what I want.
I couldn’t stand any scenes.
 
“Helpers
I would like this person's approval, but I could live without it.
It is unfortunate that someone’s feelings may be mildly hurt.
It is part of the Judeo-Christian ethic to think of myself as well as others.
While it would not be pleasant to have a confrontation, I could certainly stand it.

Kenya’s Constitution Passage May Draw Investment

Kenya probably will approve a new constitution tomorrow in a test of whether East Africa’s biggest economy can avoid the bloodshed that marred previous votes and restore its reputation as a stable investment haven.

The referendum will usher in changes that include devolving presidential powers and making land distribution more equitable. Those issues were at the root of post-election clashes in 2008 that left 1,500 people dead and forced 300,000 to flee their homes. The violence cost the economy an estimated $1 billion.

U.S. Vice President Joe Biden said in June the U.S. administration backs the new constitution and predicted that approval would draw record foreign investment. Centum Investment Co., Kenya’s only publicly traded investment company, agrees.

“If it’s a yes, I think it will have an immediate impact on reducing the perception of political risk in Kenya,” Centum Chief Executive Officer James Mworia said in an interview in Nairobi, the Kenyan capital. Centum has stakes in the Kenyan unit of Detroit-based General Motors Co. and Kenya Commercial Bank Ltd., according to its website.

Ethnic fighting pitting the Kalenjin and Luo communities against the Kikuyu people broke out in the aftermath of presidential elections in December 2007 that were disputed by supporters of President Mwai Kibaki and his main opponent, Raila Odinga. Kibaki and Odinga signed a power-sharing peace accord two months later that promised changes to the constitution. Both leaders publicly support the new draft.

Slower Growth

Kenya’s economic growth rate dropped to 1.7 percent in 2008 from 7.1 percent a year earlier as a result of the violence. Revenue from the tourism industry, Kenya’s third-biggest source of foreign currency after horticulture and tea, and which accounts for about 13 percent of gross domestic product, was slashed by over a third in the same year.

As many as 64,000 security forces will be deployed across the country to safeguard the referendum, the Independent Interim Electoral Commission said today. There have been isolated incidents of violence before the poll, including a June 13 grenade attack at a prayer rally opposing the constitution in which five people were killed.

“This is the most significant vote ahead of 2012, and given the outcome of the last time Kenyans went to the polls, everyone is looking for the smooth passage,” Razia Khan, Africa analyst at London-based Standard Chartered Plc, said in a phone interview. Kenya holds its next general election in 2012.

President Kibaki urged voters to turn out in large numbers.

“Security has been stepped up in all parts of the country,” Kibaki said in a broadcast on the state-run Kenya Broadcasting Corp. today. “Tomorrow let us go out and vote peacefully.”

Majority Support

At least 68 percent of Kenyans back the proposed changes to the constitution, according to a poll last week by market- research company TNS Research International. About 25 percent said they will reject the document, according to the poll, which had a margin of error of 2.45 percentage points.

Approval of the changes may prevent violence at subsequent elections because the new constitution tackles issues at the core of conflict in Kenya, said Omweri Angima, program officer at the Nairobi-based Center for Multiparty Democracy.

“Power will be shared broadly, empowering people and doing away with tribal kingpins who create mischief,” Angima said. “Land, devolution, dispute-resolution mechanisms: These are affirmative clauses that will give people hope and make them feel it’s not necessary to engage in violence.”

The new constitution may also curb corruption, the 600- member Kenya Association of Manufacturers said in an advertisement in the Daily Nation on July 28.

‘Bribes’

“Many businesses have suffered in the hands of public servants who use their offices to extract bribes,” the industry group said. “The proposed constitution largely reflects the design of a more accountable government.”

Proposed changes include handing powers to Kenya’s 47 counties, such as responsibility for basic health services, agriculture, county roads and water. Public finances and authority over land would be audited by independent bodies to boost accountability. Lawmakers would have to vote to approve the president’s choice of Cabinet ministers and judges.

Maximum leases on land would be reduced, retroactively, to 99 years from 999 years, making ownership accessible to more Kenyans, and property handed out by politicians to their supporters will become public land. The majority of Kenyans are subsistence farmers.

Election violence often erupts in areas such as the Rift Valley, the tea-growing region where ethnic groups disagree over ancestral land rights, said Odenda Lumumba, coordinator of the Kenya Land Alliance. Reconciling differences over property distribution may help to resolve these decades-old disputes.

Hot Spots

“Central Kenya, Rift Valley; these have always been perpetual hot spots and will remain volatile until changes to the land laws,” Lumumba said.

Some Kenyans don’t believe that, once approved, the new constitution will be implemented, International Centre for Policy and Conflict Executive Director Ndung’u Wainaina said by phone from Nairobi.

Obstacles to implementation may include a lack of government manpower and financial resources, he said. “There must be drafting of roadmaps to enact a huge amount of laws. Our parliament is known to be slow at that.”

This week’s referendum comes against a backdrop of increasing tension between Kenya’s Muslims and Christians, adding to the mix of regional and ethnic divisions that stoked the violence in 2007, Bethuel Kiplagat, chairman of the Truth, Justice and Reconciliation Commission, said on July 15.

Christian Opposition

Christian religious groups oppose a proposal in the new constitution that permits women whose lives are endangered to end a pregnancy, already written in the penal code, and another clause, in the existing charter, that recognizes Islamic laws on inheritance, marriage and divorce.

“We warn that it will bring in unethical, un-African and un-Godly lifestyles,” John Cardinal Njue, Archbishop of Nairobi and Chairman of the Kenya Episcopal Conference, along with 25 pastors in Kenya, said in a statement in the Daily Nation on July 31. “There is concern that the rights of the family and the parents have not been properly defended; that there is still an opening for gay marriages.”

Kenyan political leaders have promised a new charter for almost 20 years to replace one dating back to independence from Britain in 1963.

About 150 international observers will join 4,612 local monitors in observing the vote by 12.7 million registered voters, Independent Interim Electoral Commission Chairman Ahmed Issack Hassan said on July 28. The expectation is that Kenyans will keep the peace, he said.

“We expect to have a peaceful referendum,” Hassan told reporters today in Nairobi. “We will not go there again,” he said, referring to post-election violence in 2008.

The final results of the referendum should be known within 48 hours after polling stations close while provisional numbers will be published much earlier, Hassan said. Voting starts at 6 a.m. and ends at 5 p.m. tomorrow, he said.

Shopping takes a rest as Kenyans go out to vote

Mr Vimal Shah former chairman of the Kenya Association of Manufacturers says employers must give their staff time off to vote.

Most businesses are closed Wednesday across the country as Kenyans decide on the fate of the proposed new constitution.

With President Kibaki declaring Wednesday a public holiday, government operations are definitely unavailable as public servants take part in the referendum by both voting and providing other essential services like security.

On its part, the business community said it felt it was their duty to facilitate their employees to exercise their democratic rights by voting during the referendum by not operating on Wednesday.

Their democratic rights

“We had recommended that all people be allowed to go and exercise their democratic right,” Mr Vimal Shah, former chairman of the Kenya Association of Manufacturers told the Daily Nation.

“Even those discharging essential services will operate in shifts so that they can vote in turns,” said Mr Shah who is also the Bidco Oil Refineries chief executive.

“It is a duty for them to close because it is a presidential decree that today is a public holiday and the referendum is a matter of national importance,” Central Organisation of Trade Unions Francis Atwoli said.

In his characteristic abrasive manner he, however, said some businesses had not given their employees a break to vote before returning to work.

“They are breaching a presidential decree and the government should take action against them,” said the trade unionist.

For those who like utilising the holiday period to do their shopping, today will find their alternatives limited with most supermarkets closed throughout the day.

Uchumi Supermarkets was the first to announce on Thursday last week that it will remain closed.

“We cannot afford to inconvenience our staff, suppliers and customers in their quest to exercise their democratic right,” said Uchumi Supermarket chief executive, Mr Jonathan Ciano.

“That is why we felt it was our duty not only to close for one day, but also alert them well in advance,” he said.

Nakumatt Supermarkets followed suit by placing an advertisement in the daily newspapers on Wednesday, informing its suppliers and shoppers of the closure.

“All branches will remain closed on Wednesday August 4, 2010,” the supermarkets chain said in the advert.

The giant retailer, which has branches in most of the major towns in Kenya, said its 24-hour outlets close on Wednesday at 6am before opening like all others on Thursday August 5 at 8.30am.

Others like Tuskys, Ukwala and Naivas supermarkets are also not operating on Wednesday.

High turnout for Kenyan constitution referendum

Kenyans voted in droves in a referendum on a new constitution Wednesday, a poll seen as a test of democracy after disputed 2007 elections and one that could reshape the politics of east Africa's largest economy.

The constitutional changes are seen as important to avoid a repeat of the post-election tribal bloodshed in early 2008 that killed 1,300 people and took the country of about 40 million people to the brink of anarchy.
They address the corruption, political patronage, land grabbing and tribalism which have plagued Kenya since it won independence in 1963. The changes allow for greater checks on presidential powers, more devolution to grassroots administrations and an increase in civil liberties.
There were long queues at polling stations across the country, especially in the Rift Valley centres of Eldoret and Nakuru that were at the epicentre of the post-election violence.
Most Kenyans are expected to vote in favour of the new constitution, according to surveys. If the law fails, Kenya would revert to the current constitution bequeathed by former colonial power Britain.
William Ruto, a cabinet minister based in the Rift Valley who is leading "No" campaigners angry with clauses related to land ownership, said he would accept the outcome.

"This is a historic moment in our country and I'm sure Kenyans will make the right decision," he told reporters in his constituency. "Everyone has an obligation to accept the decision of the people of Kenya."
A previous attempt to change the constitution through a referendum in 2005 failed. To be adopted, the law requires a majority of 50 percent plus one vote of the ballot cast nationally and at least 25 percent of the votes in five of Kenya's eight provinces.

http://af.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idAFTRE6730EN20100804?pageNumber=1&virtualBrandChannel=0

When is the best time to invest?

Warren Edward Buffett is an American investor, industrialist, philanthropist and one of the richest men in the world.

He is also the primary shareholder, chairman, and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway, a holding company with a number of subsidiaries.

He is known for his adherence to the philosophy of value investing and for his personal frugality despite his immense wealth.

As a philanthropist, he has pledged to give away 99 per cent of his fortune to philanthropic causes, primarily via the Gates Foundation.

Born in 1930 in Omaha, Nebraska Mr Buffet became an entrepreneur at age 15 and later received a masters degree in economics from

Columbia University.

Through a series of investments, Mr Buffett has established himself as one of the most successful businessmen in the world.

His fortune peaked at an estimated $62 billion in early 2008, at which time Forbes named him the richest person in the world.

We have put together some lessons from Mr Buffett on investment.

When is the best time to invest?

During a recession. When people are fearful, they tend to make irrational decisions and sell stocks at a price below fair value. If you have cash and time on your side, pick blue chip stocks that are at their lowest.

How can you tell a good company from bad?
If you can’t describe in a few words what the company does, don’t invest in it.

You got to understand and know what a company does before you can become a shareholder.
You don’t have to know how to value all businesses.

Stay within your circle of competence and pick companies that sell for less than what they’re worth.
Research. Buying stocks also requires thorough investigation of the company in which you want to invest.

What should one look out for when investing?
What you are getting for your investment, whether buying or selling.

Do not decide on what to buy or sell based on what is going on in the economy today, that is a mistake.

When picking stock, keep in mind the long-term money you are expecting at any given time.

Challenges?
You will not always get it right in investments and could experience losses.

Despite this, it is important to continue working with the market.

While the market can be challenging, the only way to make money from it is to continue investing.

Survey finds managers at a crossroads with young workers

Kenyan firms must make big shifts in people management to retain a new crop of highly skilled employees coming into the workplace with high expectations, love for speed and responsibility to remain competitive in the labour market, a new survey indicates.

The study by consultancy firm PricewaterhouseCoopers has found that inability of the majority of Kenyan companies to motivate young employees, commonly known as the Generation Y, is raising the rate at which they are changing employers, creating the impression that they are a restless lot.

“Kenyan companies are losing about 40 per cent of their work force due to management issues, making retention an issue that 79 per cent of CEOs worry the most about,” said Wairimu Njage, People and Change manager at PwC.

PwC estimates that Generation Y, comprising people aged below 30 years, currently accounts for 25 per cent of the working population but this number is expected to rise to more than 50 per cent in two years , making it an important demography for business managers.

This generation of workers – born between 1979 and 1990 have been found to enter the workplace with higher expectations and demands than their predecessors, prefer short engagements to long term contracts, seek good perks and require a more relaxed working environment.

This mix of demands and expectations requires complete change in employee reward schemes as the economy moves from the factory floors to a knowledge-based platform.

PwC however found that the high rate of unemployment is stifling the exercise of these characteristics at the workplace causing a major misallocation of human resources that may be costing Kenya billions of shillings annually in unused or underused talent across all sectors of the economy.

“Scarcity of jobs has made Kenya a classic example of an employers’ market, said Kuria Muchiru, Kenya Country Manager at PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC). “Generation Y workers are being forced to accept jobs they would not consider thereby changing the dynamics within the talent pool.”

Mr Muchiru said this talent mismatch is creating a distinct disconnect between the perception of human resource managers and the needs of the young workers with negative results on employee satisfaction and retention rates.

Generation Ys are known for their unique perception of work and the workplace that is strange to most managers and sometimes in conflict with established company regulations.

They are, for instance, said to be comfortable working in T-shirts, communicating electronically and looking for flexible work hours that most employers have not provided for.

The PwC report shows that unlike their global counterparts, Kenya’s Generation Y is not necessarily driven by social networking, fast cars and technology gadgets but rather by the urge to grow, gain experience and succeed at an early age.

“For this generation of employees, work is a key part of life. They seek careers and job assignments that are challenging, stretching and intellectually stimulating. They tend to be high achievers and therefore it is important for organisations to engage fully with them,” Ms Njage. “They expect clear road maps for success with clear, consistent and constant feedback.”

PWC says Kenyan employers may be forced to come to terms with new management methods to handle an influx of new workers whose characteristics vary from the current crop of employees.

“The expectations are quite different. They look for immediate compensation - they are more loyal to themselves and are comfortable with human resource managers who are sensitive to their needs,” said David Muturi, the CEO of the Kenya Institute of Management.

Are you disappointed?

If you have ever experienced disappointment in life,  do not worry. It’s very normal to go through times of feeling that something in life stinks and all there is to see and feel is the current mess.

If you have not experienced disappointment in life ask yourself the following questions:

Have you had a challenging day or week? Feel a little tired or discouraged with a current situation? Ready to throw in the towel and quit something?

Here is something neat to ponder during those times, though. When doing battle with discouraged feelings, take a look at this report and reflect on this man’s record of failure. It is a testament to how human beings can learn and grow and win despite the losses and defeats.
imagine...
Failed in business in 1831
Defeated for legislature in 1832
Failed in business again in 1833
Elected to legislature in 1834
Sweetheart died in 1835
Nervous breakdown in 1836
Defeated for speaker in 1838
Defeated for land officer in 1843
Defeated for congress in 1843
Elected to congress in 1846
Defeated for re-election in 1848
Defeated for senate in 1855
Defeated for vice president in 1856
Defeated for senate in 1858
Elected President in 1860
Who was he?
He was a simple, uneducated, country boy who refused to allow his uncongenial circumstances to stop him. He refused to be a victim. He refused to accept failure. He refused to listen to people who told him he was crazy. He refused to stay down when he felt like nothing was going his way.
Simply put, he picked himself up no matter what and kept on going after his dream. He educated himself and did whatever it took to keep moving in the direction of his passions.
Who was he? Abraham Lincoln.
If you reflect back on your life, you can find patterns of the times you grew the most. Many of those times were probably a result of some kind of previous ‘failure,’ maybe even a series of them.
Remember: children don’t fail when they are learning to walk. They fall down over and over again. It is the falling that teaches them and strengthens them.
Each failure is a learning experience. And the faster people pick themselves up, reflect on the past occurrence and go again, the faster they can achieve their goals and dreams.
So with this in mind, choose the one thing that may not be going exactly as you wish right now and do one thing to move you closer to achieving the result you want. And remember, life is about learning and growing.
*Key Points To Consider: We can choose to either see adversity and times of challenge as life simply trying to beat us down, or we can make the decision to look beyond that simple outlook and focus instead on one that will serve us — one that says, the challenges we are experiencing are meant to allow us the opportunity to grow in some way — to emerge stronger, and better prepared for some eventual success that will be ours in the future.
Two very different ways to see things — not easy to do, but one will keep you stuck, while the other will serve you and allow you to become better for having faced it and ultimately overcome whatever challenge life threw at you. That my friend is worth considering! Here’s wishing you much success. Remember, it’s your life, LIVE BIG!

Young Kenyans vying for the Top Position

Armed with big ideas and technology, youth under 25 are successfully running their own companies. 

When they talk or walk by, they arouse caution. Kenya’s youth, widely depicted as unruly and often impatient, are a feared lot. And why not?

Almost everyone – from teachers to politicians and religious leaders to the media – feels compelled to give direction to the so-called Generation Y. They have even been christened the “lost generation,” having been raised on cereals, before they learnt to play video games and spend hours on the internet downloading music.

Most of those born in the 1980s grew up with computers and those of the 90s find it hard to imagine life without the internet or mobile phone. As a chief executive officer, you will certainly spend sleepless nights wondering how to absorb such people into your company.

As the entrepreneurial bug defies age, a new worry for managers is emerging, and it’s positive: how to compete with and embrace the young, restless but creative minds. These 20-somethings and even teenagers, in their oversized jeans and “strange” mannerisms like hairstyle, are starting their own companies, swaying a good number of consumers with often fascinating ideas.

Dismissing this generation, it turns out, could be counterproductive. Take Mr Oscar Kimani, 23, who is the CEO of TransTech Investment Ltd, an e-business services firm he set up in 2007. Mr Kimani says he was sent away by a bank when he tried to open a bank account for the company. “I was accused of running a pyramid scheme, since, according to them, there was no way a 20 year-old could have a registered company,” he says.

As everybody worries about what to do with this generation, most of them in either high school, college or university are busy in their dormitories and hostels creating companies or dreaming fancy ideas. Perhaps they are inspired by class-to-grace stories of the likes of Microsoft founder and chairman, Bill Gates, Google’s Larry Page and Sergey Brin and, more recently, Mark Zuckerberg of Facebook.

Kenya’s Generation Y is indeed restless. Mr Kimani registered TransTech while still studying accounts at Strathmore Business School and working part time at FedEx. Besides, he sold ladies clothes. Unlike the older generation who spend days on end drafting business plans and making proposals for financing punctuated with corporate jargon like leveraging and gearing, the young breed of entrepreneurs is very idealistic, carefree and fearless about technology.

Mr Kimani opened the e-business with neither a computer nor formal training computer applications and had to look for the clients, equipment and expertise later. “Actually, unlike many of my agemates,” he says, “I was straight from the village and my first contact with computers was at Strathmore. I got an interest in how it works and I had to train myself how to use it before I could write a business plan.”

He says the internet aspect was particularly fascinating and as he learnt, he got interested in how he could make money out of it. “I just needed someone to get the technical stuff done.” “I may not have the technical training in technology, but I see opportunities that can be exploited using technology,” says Mr Kimani who also owns Unique Africa Safaris, a travel company that uses the power of technology to promote domestic and external tourism.

This company was born out of the national business plan competition, “Chora Bizna,” he participated in 2007. Chora Bizna loosely translates to “write a business” plan. When the business took off much later, he immediately clinched a Sh1 million deal.

The perception society has about young people is somewhat mixed when they deal with them either as employees or clients. Successful entrepreneurs say young people should take one step at a time and venture into business after enough grounding by working for other businesses.

“Some of us started in similar situations,” says Mr Aruni Devani, the managing director and founder of Synresins Ltd, who started his synthetic resins company at the age of 26. “I had one year experience working with a big company and I regretted why I dint take two or three years.”

This kind of hand-on experience is important because, he said, it builds confidence and inculcates business ethics like honest and team work. Mentorship and training alone are not enough, according to Mr Devani, who holds that experience is the best teacher.

“Listening absorbs only 40 per cent and reading about 50 to 60 per cent,” said Mr Devani, a former chairman of the Kenya Association of Manufacturers. “But when someone does something, they absorb 90 per cent.” After managing to buy his first computer for TransTech Ltd and finally putting together a business plan, Mr Kimani got two deals to design a website for Sh58,000 and the next one for Sh80,000.

“While that would have been the moment to relish in my business life, trouble had just set in,” says Mr Kimani. The web designers he had hired to do the work for a 40 per cent share of the contract’s worth disappeared soon after he paid them before doing the job, leaving him to deal with the client.

“It was so hard to deal with the customer, trying to convince them that I was not just another young guy trying to con them. At the beginning of the business, I learnt a valuable lesson, that building a relationship with your clients is more important than the money.”

This is where Mr Devani says trust and integrity count – virtues that locks out most young people from big deals. “A business must develop confidence and reliability,” he says, “because business is not about transactions but it’s a partnership. At 25 or below, it’s not easy to get good lawyers and financiers and that’s why working for two or three years is good to develop your network.”
As an advantage, the young CEOs have age on their side and plenty of time to make mistakes, learn and move on to the next level of the business. “Often they try to reinvent the wheel, which disrupts things and makes them scary. Having energy and vision doesn’t set up a business,” says Mr Devani.

Bank manager dreams big

At only 18, Brian Waweru is the founder and CEO of a school bank, GigaVault, a student-run-business at the African Leadership Academy in Johannesburg, South Africa, where he is studying. GigaVault is a model business that runs like any other normal commercial bank. It runs a cash service that disburses the school’s grants to all students.

The bank has developed an online system where students can request for money or even make purchases online. It also runs a cashless system on campus where other students who run businesses can sell to their colleagues and have the money spent on purchases deducted from their grant without physically handling the money. It then charges the respective businesses for using this “cashless purchases service”.

Moving Youth into Action

It is not everyday that a young person literally lays down his life to empower his peers. After form four, a youthful enterprising man brought together a group of friends and started a programme called Youths in Action. This initiative has impacted to career guidance on sexuality, HIV/ AIDS and other sexually transmitted infections awareness to the Kenyan youth who are hungry for such information. The initiator of the programme, John Njuku has managed to build this programme to massive heights than he had expected.

This programme has managed to tap the expertise from local and foreign volunteers who help streamline the programme’s agenda in schools, hospitals and other institutions
visit http://www.parentsafrica.com/ for more information.

Kazi Kwa Vijana Initiative

Kazi kwa vijana the new thing for the unemployed youths, funded by the ministry of youth affairs, Kazi kwa vijana consists of various branches of works from digging trenches, environmental clean ups such as the Nairobi river and also tree planting. All this was brought about by president Kibaki on helping to curb unemployment, but for how long will this project survive? that's the main question. It has been a month since it started and the payment criteria was on a weekly basis but since then most of the youths claim that they haven't been paid.
The youth fund now is set to be raised to 5billion over the next three years. The youth enterprise development fund has so far financed more than 65,000youths across the country, and created 200,000 job.Also in addition there is the women enterprise fund, currently 1.2billion is currently set aside for the fund. 92,000 women has already been disbursted with 682million, and still an additional 500million is to be added to raise the total available for women to 1.7billion.

The challenge of being an ICT entrepreneur

ICT entrepreneurs face a myriad of challenges. But as Zachary Ochieng finds out, it is not all doom and gloom for those who have the spirit to soldier on.
The Information and Communication Technology (ICT) sector has been one of the key contributors to the impressive growth performance in Africa over the last decade. To sustain this growth momentum, it is imperative that African governments, besides fostering peace and stability, create an environment that would be conducive to the growth and development of ICT entrepreneurs and nurturing young talents similar to the Silicon Valleys in India, United States, Israel and other countries. Recognising the economic potential of ICTs for Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SMEs), they should be assisted in increasing their competitiveness by streamlining administrative procedures, facilitating their access to capital and enhancing their capacity to participate in ICT-related projects. An example would be to offer incentives in form of tax rebates to ICT entrepreneurs who export their goods or services out of the country, inorder to encourage export of ICT services.
Private equity always expensive
Michael Macharia, founder & Group CEO, Seven Seas Technologies (SST), the top local ICT integrator and provider of integrated business and technology solutions, says today the only source of capital is private equity or loans from commercial banks which are always expensive and hence it is time the Government invested in a pool of funds to support ICT entrepreneurs in  form of Government private equity either by teaming up with  private quity firms that are well established, who would then manage the fund and also guide and mentor the enterpreneurs in their Boards  to ensure proper deployment and utilization of the funds for growth .
“Entrepreneurs would be encouraged to develop products for export if, for instance, the Government offers them loans which can be written off later and  tax rebates on the revenues generated from exports. Countries like China and the Philippines are offering 10-year tax holidays to their IT companies. This way, Kenya can become a regional ICT hub”, Macharia says, adding: “As an ICT company, our largest overhead cost is the people element of our business in terms of salaries, travel and training. If these people develop and offer unique  products and services to the regional and international market, then we should qualify to get rebates!.. Otherwise what motivation do we have to innovate and be the next Silicon Valley beyond personal sheer determination and will?” Access to capital remains a major constraint
While appreciating that Kenyan entrepreneurs have great ideas with more young talents waiting to be nurtured, Macharia says access to capital remains a major constraint. Arguably one of the most successful ICT entrepreneurs in the region, Macharia, 34, ventured into business at the age of 24 using his own capital, later bringing on board a venture capitalist and evenutally a leading private equity firm and has since transformed the  SST group into a billion shilling plus business.
Macharia cites the Indian ICT industry that has witnessed excellent growth in the past two decades. Capitalizing on its advantages of talent pool, lower cost of operation and the innovative remote delivery model, India has established itself as a global leader in the ICT sector.
Collaboration fostered between new innovation destinations
Today, India is clearly acknowledged as the global services hub. He adds the foremost implication of innovations in the India ICT space was the collaboration that it fostered between the new innovation destinations like US, China and Israel. Between countries, there are lots of collaborative efforts towards raising funds to invest in state-of-the-art technology companies that will benefit both the countries. This leads to the development of the entire innovation ecosystem comprising of entrepreneurs, high-tech companies, startups and possible buyers .To achieve the same they created a culture or innovation and an ecosystem to nurture and encourage entrepreneurs. The Government, industry, institutes, investors and other stakeholders came together to create such an ecosystem.
“In Kenya, if we foster and encourage a culture of innovation and entrepreneurship, we could enable global competitiveness and equitable growth a reality in the ICT industry and other related Industry sectors”, Macharia adds.
Bitange Ndemo, Kenya’s Information and Communications Permanent Secretary concurs: “The speed of technological changes always is a problem in developing countries where capital is scarce.  It is often very difficult to catch up when enterprises are undercapitalised with less returns that take far too long to achieve the pay back before technology changes.”
Ndemo agrees that partnerships are necessary in order to inject optimal resources that can assure better returns and a shorter pay back period.
“One of the challenges we face as entrepreneurs is the acceptance of your own product in the market. The other challenge is the time it takes to be accepted as a successful entrepreneur”, Macharia observes.
Not enough role models in the market
Then there are also historical challenges. According to Macharia, there are not enough role models in the market or there is little or no effort  given by the media to showcase such success stories .The enterprenuers themselves also need to make an effort to showcase their successes. 
Moses Kemibaro, Business Development Director and co-founder of Dotsavvy Limited, shares similar sentiments.
“By far the hardest challenge when getting started is funding. Most ICT entrepreneurs in Kenya and regionally normally have to start using their own savings as well as funds from friends and families. This is how we started. We also aggressively pursued business when we started to keep moving and asked for referrals all the time. Networking was also key by looking for business everywhere - you would be amazed that business is indeed everywhere if you network a lot and ask for it”, Kemibaro says.
According to him,  another challenge is that of building brand awareness and visibility for your business - being unknown and unproven makes securing business really hard.
Competitive poaching is commonplace
“There are many challenges. The beginning is the hardest! Cash flow is by far the biggest one – ensuring you get paid is absolutely essential for the business to keep running. Securing and maintaining top notch talent is another - employees leave for better pay and competitive poaching is commonplace in ICT businesses. Establishing and maintaining good business practices and processes is another. I find that lately innovation in terms of offerings to be challenging since there is so much competition and you have to stay ahead of the curve to remain relevant when competitors are trying to win your customers.” 
Inappropriate curriculum
Timothy Waema, Associate Professor, University of Nairobi’s School of Computing and Informatics, says inappriate curriculum remains a major challenge.
 “The Computer Science/IT curriculum does not have adequate business courses while the Business curriculum does not have adequate IT/computer science courses. There is also lack of Government policy on incentives for ICT entrepreneurs, e.g. software developers or IT consultants. Then there is the widespread perception among university students that they are being trained to get a good-paying job”.
All the 7 public universities, more than 10 of the newly created university colleges and over 14 private universities offer a degree in computer science, IT or equivalent. They in total have a total enrolment of over 2,000 CSs/IT students and producing over 500 graduates year to year. This excludes the Diploma graduates. In addition, there are very many business schools that have Information Systems as a specialization - over 30 academic units train in business studies or related disciplines (e.g. economics) with some IT specialization. This is where other entrepreneurs come from.
“That is what universities are doing. Whether these are enterpreneurs or not is another discussion, which will involve examination of curriculum. But suffice it to say that anecdotal evidence shows that fresh graduates are increasingly creating their own companies and running them”, Waema says.
 
Challenges are surmountable
Though challenges abound, they are surmountable. According to Macharia, one of the ways of overcoming the challenges is to create an incubation platform that is sustainable. One of the reasons behind SST Group’s  success has been its credibility in the development of local talent.
“We have about 70-80 percent talent from local universities and polytechnics. We have a very clear recruitment programme in which we hire staff and train them, before eventually giving them proper career roadmaps and certification”, Macharia offers. Again retention is always a challenge .
With a young workforce, companies face the challenge of meeting expectations in a market where talent is in the driving seat. The biggest problem that brings about talent shortages is the increasing gap between what universities provide and what the industry needs. So all companies in need of the talent should build close relationships with these institutions to help build a pipeline of skilled employees that can fill talent gaps quickly and cost effectively .
Knowledge 4 Life
 “At SST we have created a platform that allows this kind of training to be available to those who need it. That is why we came up with the concept ‘Knowledge 4 life’. Knowledge  4 life is an initiative available on the social media networks too that allows us to train pre-screened university students when they are on holidays or weekends at our training centre for free”, Macharia says.
“We use our own already highly trained, experienced and specialised experts who we recruited from the same universities to train and mentor them. We then team up with corporates, integrators and competitors who are in need of these resources. In that way, we hope to have a vetted pool of staff available for the whole ecosystem and the cost of labour is maintained at realistic levels”.
 SST came up with the idea of recruiting students after realising that the labour costs in the open market are exorbitant while the relevant supply is not available. While acknowledging that staff retention remains a big challenge as employees leave for greener pastures, Macharia says he works closely with the company’s Chief Talent Officer who devotes considerable time in talent management  because talent is key to the company’s success, not to mention that great talent is willing to work for a company if it has a great and inspiring vision they can relate to, and a clear employee value proposition.
Share options for staff
“We have come up with share options for our staff to enable them own equity and create long term view of wealth creation. We see that as a way to keep them focused on the business and long term objectives rather than short term benefits .It does not mean we dont encourage the talent to leave and see what the world has to offer but we always leave the door open for them to return and this happened in several cases and they return with much more knowledge and experience”, Macharia offers.
The challenge, Macharia says, is to ensure  that the company gets enough projects to keep talent motivated since most large organisations including government are  risk averse to local organisations in terms of delivering complex projects .
“We, however, have come to understand this view and overcome it by stragetically teaming up with global delivery partners where we insist to be part of the team deploying projects so we can get the experience. In a recent case, we had an exchange programme where our staff were based in Portugal for a year to shadow and learn from the more experienced companies as we worked on a very strategic project for one of our key customers . The customers was happy with the arrangement and it has worked quite well for all parties.”
Indeed, the challenges facing ICT entrepreneurs are numerous. However, Kemibaro, who has been an entrepreneur for seven years, says in terms of beating or managing challenges, it requires first and foremost an unrelenting tenacity to build your dream - even when you do not have money to fuel your car or pay your rent.
“This is the key to being successful in the face of entrepreneurial challenges. Thereafter you can then engage strategies and tactics that will then keep you going. For cash flow, making sure services are delivered on time and quality is key. It is also important to hire competent team members who can deliver to client expectations. Sometimes it’s not just a better salary that keeps staff but other motivators like a good working environment and work-related travel for instance”, Kemibaro observes, adding: “I think branding is a key differentiator for business development as is having a good customer portfolio and testimonials that ensure you can get the job done. Another key factor is having technology that gives you an edge in the business market as well as business processes that add value across the board.”
Strong brand a powerful magnet
Macharia concurs with Kemibaro that a strong brand is a powerful magnet for potential employees and talent retention.
“As enterprenuers, we dont spend money and enough time on the image our companies project and clarity in what we stand for. Nurturing loyalty to the company’s brand and values is an increasinly important factor in talent attraction and retention since the fundamental backbone of our business is talent. And as SST continues moving up the value chain in Application Integration ,consulting and Outsourcing services where margins are more sustainable ,people are the number one priority.”
Sharing his experience with CIO East Africa, Macharia says SST  was incorporated ten years ago and has a staff complement of 90 globally, with the number increasing by 25 percent every year. Besides Kenya, the company has branches in Uganda, Ethiopia and project offices in Rwanda. The company has undertaken significant and critical projects for some of the largest corparations, government institutions  in the region and with a key focus in establishing some deals in Nigeria this year .
“Today we are a billion Shillings Plus business, we used our own sweat capital at the start of this business. It was a major sacrifice but at 24 years what did I have to lose ?. I was fortunate to meet a venture capitalist, by the name James Gachui, who later became a great mentor, and invested in the business after 3 years without looking at any balance sheet. Both our companies took a business trip to India and he was inspired by the energy and vision I had for the business and industry. Eighteen months ago, we raised money through Aureos Capital, a global private equity firm with offices in Kenya. The Private equity investors coming on board have assisted us grow and bring a high level of financial reporting discipline required  for enterprenual business to scale and go public”.

Macharia is upbeat about the future of the company.
“Our dream is to really create a pan-African ICT organisation through collaborative synergy brought together by private equity fund with their other strategic investments in other ICT companies in South Africa and Nigeria”, says an upbeat Macharia, adding: “We want to become the biggest outsourcing and application integration business in this market. “Our destiny is simple. We want to be a pan-African organisation delivering IT services in the consulting, applications and  infrastructure outsourcing arena.  In my mind I am clear that we want to be efficient, more agile, using our own local skills utilizing a consistent geographic neutral delivery plaform and our own IP and I am extremely bullish we will achieve this through strategic partnerships, talent management and gradually shifting from a‘box’ to a service oriented organisation, hence our positioning statement “Service Excellence Delivered.”
Incubation arm to nurture entrepreneurship
The company is in the process creating an incubation arm to nature entrepreneurship and innovation within the organisation .
“In two to three years, we’ll have gone  IPO or a synergystic merger or acquisition with a global organisation.  We’ll look for organisations that share a common vision with us”.
Macharia says one issue that needs to be addressed is the need to adopt quality frameworks in the region.
“We don’t have standards. I would say the standards of ICT are controlled by vendors. We need to have standards, like those of engineering where all technological courses have a standard qualification. Just like in other global markets, we need to harmonise standards in the region in terms of software development, infratsructure and security management. Some of the standards include and not limited to (CMMI, ITIL , ISO ,PMI ),  but these will have to be driven by customers and the organisations like the Kenya ICT Board . They have to insist on a level of certification and competence and in turn the local companies will sharpen their internal delivery process in order to compete at a global leval .”
BPOs collapse in quick succession
It is the lack of standards that is partly to blame for the collapse of BPOs in quick succession. According to Kemibaro, Kenya is relatively unknown and untrusted as a BPO destination. The firms in this sector have to discount services heavily and do not have the credibility to access key accounts directly  - instead working through intermediaries. Also, until the high speed cables arrived, bandwidth has been too expensive and unreliable so services being offered could not be done so efficiently or profitably. There is also the issue of service delivery - Kenya is relatively new to BPO work so the investment alone required to train and create high standards as well as processes is high - its a steep and expensive learning curve.
Waema says that while the collapse is expected with all start-ups, we still do not have an appropriate strategy and support to encourage growth rather than death of BPOs.

According to Ndemo, the problem with BPOs is less than optimal investment in the sector. 
“We plan to locate them in one area where resources can be optimised and each can grow.  You need at least a 250 seat capacity to succeed yet most Kenyan enterprises have less than 50 seats”.
Regional ICT hub
Despite teething problems, Kenya still has the potential of becoming a regional ICT hub.
“Like with banking, Kenya can become a regional ICT hub. Most of the big banks are now in Kenya. As for ICT, Kenya should tap its human resource and encourage local investors. The Government must be seen as a high adopter of technology and have the right incentives to make people invest”, Macharia observes.
Dotsavvy’s Kemibaro sees the need to  have centres of excellence for training and service delivery.
“Strategic partnerships with international businesses and countries who have achieved what we are trying to do is key. We also need to disconnect ICT services as meaning BPO - there are many ICT niches that Kenya can be successful at and not just BPO. We, for instance, export our web services to clients in the US, Ireland, Zambia, Tanzania and Uganda. Imagine the potential of ICT from this perspective - every Kenyan ICT business could be a global business from right here in Kenya even if its a small firm”, Kemibaro observes.
But while acknowledging that the Government has  done most of what needs to be done in the ICT sector, Ndemo says,   “we need to scale up the transport and energy sectors which impacts on what we do in the ICT sector”.
On his part, Waema says the Government should develop solid and quality infrastructure, take talent development seriously and prioritize it, create an enabling environment - especially political, policy, regulatory and institutional and have a high level leadership and championship of ICT in government that is cascaded at all levels of Government.
And therein lies the challenges and the opportunities for enterprenuers for Vision 2030.
 “There needs to be much more marketing at Government level through Public-Private Partnerships (PPP). This is already one of the reasons the BPO sector has challenges - there is a lot of work to be done and 2030 is just around the corner. But the process has begun and it’s getting better everyday. We can make it happen but so much more effort is needed right here and now”, Kemibaro observes.
Macharia agrees.
 “In his Jamhuri day speech, President Mwai Kibaki made reference to technology, mentioning about the digitisation of court and land registries. This is very encouraging as technology can be used to eliminate corruption. These are great strides and opportiunities for the local entrepreneurs to rise up to the challenge. We plan to play heavily in this sector. The government is always the largest spender”, Macharia says.
He further adds that a key learning that has always motivated him is Peter Drucker’s ‘The entrepreneur always searches for change, responds to it, and exploits it as an opportunity’.
Overall, the future of ICT looks bright in the region.
“There are so many prospects that it’s hard to tell. BPO has already been seen as key for Kenya and the region. But what about KPO? Not much has been done in this area (yet). There are many KPO prospects for the region for professional services. In many cases, KPO requires far less resources to set-up than an BPO business. As a region, it would seem that the rest of the world has run off with most of the opportunities but consider Ushahidi which was delevloped in Kenya for crisis reporting and is now a global phenomenon. There are many success stories waiting to happen”, Kemibaro says.
According to him,  we need more innovation centres for ICT as well as funding for  good ideas.
“We need to improve industry standards and practices. We need to tell our children that being a lawyer or a doctor is not  the only profession worth having and that they can make a living  as techies doing software and animation. There is a very very broad scope for the future in the region”.
On his part Ndemo says Kenya will soon be as competitive as India or the Philipines.
 “We shall soon be leaders in content production”, Ndemo enthuses.
As part of Vision 2030, the Government is looking for appropriate facility to develop incubation centres  for ICT young entrepreneurs.  This facility will be classified as an Export Processing Zone (EPZ) for the entrepreneurs to take advantage of the benefits in such a location.  The Government is also developing a Special Economic Zone (SEZ) that will have far greater benefits that before and will also embark on aggressive capacity building programme.

Young Kenyan entrepreneur finds success in sunflower oil business

The processing firm as viewed from the roadside

Most young men holed up in Nairobi have only one desire: to get a well paying job, and then rise through the ranks to head a company. Very few take the alternative route – entrepreneurship. But Mathew Kiilu is an exception. At 24, he has set up a 2.5 million Kenya shillings ($33,000) oil pressing firm in the heart of a rural village Kenya. EAiF reporter got a chance to have an up-close and candid discussion with the young man.
It is 2.30 pm, the sun is blazing hot in Makutano village, Makueni District – about 80 miles from Nairobi. Kiilu has his white shirt and hands greased in oil, beads of sweat cover his face as he inspects the mammoth oil storage tank.
After what seems like eternity, he retreats to the front office where he is setting a mini shop for retailing his pure oil named Hafya. But what would make a young man, born and raised in the city, to retreat into the village? “I loved discussing business plans with my friends and family [ and it was during such a moment]  when the idea of sunflower processing came to mind,” Kiilu says when he settles for the interview. His friends were against the idea partly because it was not “youthful” or attractive. “But my old man played a very big role in this. He encouraged me,” notes Kiilu.

Mathew Kiilu

He explains, “I just decided to shut out the negative voices and go for what my heart craved for. Life without risks has no romance.” He was in his third year at the Nairobi University in 2007 studying electrical and information engineering – that he started the project with the support of his father.
But why would Kiilu opt for the village? “It was about cutting costs, number one. It would have been very costly to set up in Nairobi in terms of renting premises and other factors. But again I also wanted to offer some employment to my people in the village.”
There were obstacles to grapple with. Despite not being far from the nearest electricity source, KPLC took 10 months after his application to connect power to his business location.
“Getting sunflower seeds for pressing was a hustle, especially after the post-election violence, just soon after the work had begun. We had difficulty getting seeds from Western Kenya,” Kiilu says. Western Kenya was the worst hit during the post-election violence of 2007 ,so he decided to source seeds from Mombasa and Oloi Toktok.
An engineer himself, Kiilu has been able to cut costs by fixing electrical and other technical aspects of the plant himself. He diagnoses mechanical problems on site and repairs them as they arise.

storage tank

Extracting oil from sunflower seeds is a technical and tedious process. Referred to as oil pressing, the extraction process begins with the mechanical expulsion of oil from the seeds. This initial process gives out an end product of unrefined oil known as ‘cake’. The ‘cake’ is transferred to a settling tank where decantation – heating of the oil to do away with particles – is done before the partially refined oil is relocated to a storage tank. Filtering is then done to remove pulpy invisible dust, in a procedure referred to us ‘rooting’. Lastly, the oil is refined before it’s packed in varying quantities.
To do this effectively, Kiilu says that he had to start small and use his profits to make improvements and get other necessary machines. For one to successfully set up a pressing firm, an oil press, vacuum cleaners, refiner, settling tanks, food storage tanks, bottling line and shrink-wrapping machine are mandatory.
Kiilu currently packs 500ml retailing for Kshs 105 ($1.4), 1 litre at Kshs 200 ($2.6), 5 litres at  Kshs 850($11.3), and 20 litres at  Kshs 3,400 ($43.3). The waste product is a protein-rich substance sold to animal feed firms.

Still youthful, Kiilu is upbeat about his future. Striking as a jack of all trades and a master of all, young Kiilu is experimenting with flour milling through his mother company, Kilimanjaro Light Industries.
The road to success, he notes, has been bumpy and even now, Kiilu still struggles to push the product to the end market. Sunflower seed prices have since gone up, and the cost of production continues to skyrocket.
But again, as he says, failure to take risks is failure to enjoy the romance of life!