Western Kenya counties plan trading league

What you need to know:

  • KPMG product development manager Robert Onyango said the lack of information still deters investors from taking initiatives to grow their business.

Kisumu Governor Jack Ranguma Saturday unveiled plans by 10 counties in western Kenya to form  a common trading bloc with the aim of expanding markets for local products.

He said his counterparts from Homa Bay, Kisii, Nyamira, Migori, Siaya, Busia, Kericho, Nandi, and others bordering Lake Victoria were in talks on how to pool resources for development.
Mr Ranguma, speaking at the launch of the Top-100 medium sized companies survey in Kisumu, said the counties have created a suitable environment for investment.

“As a hub of trade for East and Central African markets, Kisumu has room for economic growth,” he said.

The governor challenged the business community to be innovative through creating value addition industries for products from the region.

He said the anticipated national industrialisation was possible through county development pillars on industrialisation, agriculture, technology and health investment.

“These are the areas where the market will be as we also look into companies that can extract juice from guavas,” said Mr Ranguma.

Nation Media Group and survey firm KPMG asked leading entrepreneurs of medium-sized companies (MSEs) from the region to participate in the Kenya Top-100 2014/2015 competition, to form part of more than 500 entrants anticipated to be enrolled in the Sh40 million contest.

The contest will climax in October at a gala in Nairobi where the finalists will be announced.

Expand it to Burundi

NMG chief operations officer Tom Mshindi said the Top 100 competition had grown, and there were plans to expand it to Burundi after the successes recorded in Rwanda.
“The contest will make you part of a large network of recognisable companies that do business the way it is supposed to be done,” said Mr Mshindi.

He said the contest was driven by concerns that MSEs have not attracted much attention yet they are the biggest contributors to employment and economic growth.

“Having realised that we were doing very little with the initial focus on the glamour of large corporates, we decided to introduce the survey to motivate small companies,” said Mr Mshindi.
KPMG product development manager Robert Onyango said the lack of information still deters investors from taking initiatives to grow their business.

“We want a situation where MSEs achieve greater growth by turning the negatives of business management into opportunities for growth,” he said, adding that companies whose capital base ranges from Sh70 million to Sh 1 billion were eligible to compete.

“Kisumu is home to many companies that are not listed in the NSE, and we urge you to take advantage of the survey,” he said.

“Those companies that will satisfy these requirements stand to enjoy the powerful brand embedded with the Top-100 logo.” Business Daily Managing Editor Ochieng Rapuro said innovative approaches of MSEs were worth rewarding and asked participants to share their stories through the media.

“The media is the best platform for building a brand name; Business Daily expects more stories from you to join the growing list of what we have published,” he said.

Skylark Creative Products finance director Minesh Prajapati wowed the participants as the only firm from the region to have ever made it to the top 100 category.