Nation and Bidco join top group of high-growth firms

Nation Media Group has been selected to join a grouping of high-growth companies within the World Economic Forum.

The World Economic Forum (WEF) announced that it had picked 16 companies to join its Global Growth Companies (GGC) community on Tuesday.  The Geneva-based institution is hosting a conference on economic growth in Africa in Abuja, Nigeria, beginning Wednesday.

NMG and Bidco Oil Refineries were the only Kenyan companies in a list dominated by Nigerian and South African firms.

The 16 companies will join a community of more than 360 other firms from across the globe in the GGC grouping.

Prior to this selection, Equity Bank was the only Kenyan company represented among the GGCs.

“GGCs are fast-growing companies with clear potential to become global economic leaders…[they] share in common a track record of exceeding industry standards in revenue growth, promotion of business practices and demonstration of leadership in corporate citizenship,” said WEF, in a press statement.

This community of firms contributes to WEF’s meetings in various capacities. In turn, executives from these firms engage in exchanges with governments, civil society and academia in forums meant to help shape “global, regional and industry” agendas.

The World Economic Forum on Africa is taking place in Nigeria amid tight security in the face of recent attacks by the terror group Boko Haram.

Global leaders, including President Uhuru Kenyatta, Rwanda’s Paul Kagame and Chinese Premier Li Keqiang, are expected to attend the forum, whose agenda is inclusive economic growth and job creation in Africa. The meeting will also focus on sustainable affordable healthcare.

Business community representatives will include Nigerian billionaire Aliko Dangote, who is co-chairing the meeting, and India’s Sunil Bharti Mittal, the chairman of the Bharti Enterprises.

A report released last week by the organisation Grow Africa, which is convened by the Africa Union Commission, WEF and the Nepad Agency, calls for more private sector investment in agriculture to grow economies on the continent.

Grow Africa promotes investment on the continent on behalf of governments. Commitments to put money in Africa’s agriculture by its affiliate companies more than doubled to Sh625.82 trillion ($7.2 billion) in 2013. 

Little of the money committed by the grouping, about Sh104.3 million ($1.2 million), was targeted at Kenya.

Grow Africa said this was due to the fact that it did not actively promote the country among its partner companies.

The bulk of the commitments were channelled to Nigeria, reflecting the size of the country’s economy as well as a renewed government focus on boosting agriculture.