Summit that gives birth to great ideas

When East Africa’s top 100 business leaders meet in Kenya in November, it will be an occasion to recall the success stories of the summit and celebrate the achievements in changing the face of the region.

The group, which meets every two years, has been the source of some of the best ideas that have opened up the five-member country bloc, setting the pace for development.

It has also become a vital link for private sector participation in the integration of the East Africa Community, and a forum to lobby respective states to undertake projects that improve the business environment.

At a Press briefing last week, the East African Business Summit noted with pride how their lobbying resulted in fast tracking of the laying of fibre optic cables in the region. EAC was, until then, the only region in the world without the vital cable, making communication within, and with the rest of the world, expensive.

The summit conceived the East Africa Submarine Systems, which brought together a consortium of public-private players to finance the deployment of the cable. The landing of the cable has changed the business environment in the region, linking it to the rest of the world and opening up job opportunities.

Pushed for value addition

Previous summits have also pushed for value addition to farm products, resulting in branding of tea, coffee and other goods.

Alternative infrastructure funding vehicles like concessioning of the Rift Valley Railways, involving a partnership between Uganda and Kenya, are some of the outcome of past meetings.

The summit is also instrumental in setting up Business Process Outsourcing.

“This year, the summit will explore ways to navigate the numerous emerging opportunities in Africa. In particular, we want to understand how CEOs’ decisions about strategies and operating models shape changes in the business landscape,” Mr Josphat Mwaura, chairman of the Convenors’ Committee, said in Nairobi during the media launch of the forum. Mr Mwaura is also the CEO and senior partner, KPMG East Africa.

The summit is to be held at Fairmont Mt Kenya Safari Club in Nanyuki and will discuss how the region can tap into emerging opportunities on the continent.

The meeting, scheduled for November 17 to 20, will bring together top chief executives from public and private companies in Kenya, Rwanda, Burundi, Tanzania and Uganda.

Convenors of the summit, held every two years, are Citi Group, Deloitte, KPMG, Nation Media Group, PWC and TPS Serena.

The theme will be Innovation — A Catalyst for Accelerated Growth in East Africa.

“We involve those in business and those out of business. The region has changed and will not be the same again, with huge opportunities for growth of business frontiers. We have seen business grow in the past 10 years and look forward to more growth,” said Mr Kuria Muchiru of PWC.