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TRENDS INTEL INDUSTRY COUNTY PURSUITS<br />
FDI OUTLOOK BRIGHTENS BREXIT<br />
<strong>KCB</strong> BANK FUNDS HOTELS’ BOOM WAJIR’S FIRST TARMAC ROAD THE SHAZA CLUB<br />
Not for sale<br />
Corporate Magazine<br />
| Oct - Dec, 2016<br />
Crown paints<br />
Kisumu red<br />
How first<br />
tarmacked<br />
road is<br />
transforming<br />
Wajir<br />
Narendra Raval<br />
MAN<br />
Focus on<br />
the hotel<br />
industry<br />
OF<br />
STEEL<br />
Devki Group CEO on the journey<br />
to a multi-billion shilling empire
BANK<br />
<strong>KCB</strong> APP, as convenient as<br />
you want life to be.<br />
Download the <strong>KCB</strong> App from your app store<br />
to enjoy a variety of exciting financial and lifestyles services<br />
including mobile banking, the latest news, forex rates,<br />
NSE stocks prices and so much more<br />
For more information, visit www.kcbbankgroup.com<br />
2 |<br />
Regulated by the Central Bank of Kenya
11<br />
VW arrival in Kenya<br />
boosts FDI portfolio<br />
Nairobi viewed favourable<br />
by investors looking for a<br />
gateway to East Africa’s<br />
400-million people market<br />
26<br />
A dash of colour<br />
20<br />
Radisson Blu makes a splash<br />
<strong>KCB</strong> Bank’s Sh5 billion loan to<br />
hotel developer is tranforming<br />
Upper Hill as the face of<br />
Kenya’s financial discrict<br />
38<br />
Stay. Dine. Meet. Join.<br />
The Shaza Club<br />
You can own a piece of this<br />
paradise in the North Coast<br />
Rakesh Rao explains how<br />
from the Kisumu plant,<br />
financed by <strong>KCB</strong> Bank, Crown<br />
Paints can use Lake Victoria<br />
to send products to Mwanza<br />
and use the road to transport<br />
our products to Rwanda and<br />
Uganda<br />
16<br />
Watching the Lions<br />
having bufallo steak for<br />
breakfast at Ole Sereni<br />
Four men are sitting in a<br />
lounge bar. They are about<br />
to make a decision that will<br />
transform the hospitality<br />
industry in Kenya<br />
32<br />
How first<br />
tarmac road is<br />
transforming Wajir<br />
According to Wajir County, majority of the<br />
700,000 residents had never seen tarmack<br />
before. That is now history for this north<br />
eastern town<br />
| 3
FDI OUTLOOK BRIGHTENS BREXIT<br />
<strong>KCB</strong> BANK FUNDS HOTELS’ BOOM WAJIR’S FIRST TARMAC ROAD THE SHAZA CLUB<br />
<strong>KCB</strong> Corporate Magazine | Oct - Dec, 2016<br />
EDITOR’S NOTE<br />
A bold new Venture<br />
TRENDS<br />
INTEL INDUSTRY COUNTY PURSUITS<br />
Crown paints<br />
Kisumu red<br />
How first<br />
tarmacked<br />
road is<br />
transforming<br />
Wajir<br />
Not for sale<br />
Our intention<br />
is to guide you<br />
in carving the<br />
appropriate<br />
niche for your<br />
business and<br />
ensuring that<br />
your business<br />
flourishes, as<br />
it should<br />
T<br />
here are two things<br />
about firsts; one is<br />
that they are sacred<br />
and two is that<br />
we should never<br />
run out of them.<br />
<strong>KCB</strong> Venture is one of our many<br />
firsts and as such, we take great pride<br />
in welcoming you to our newest<br />
initiative.<br />
This is the ideal magazine for you<br />
if you are looking to get ahead in the<br />
world of business and great banking<br />
partnerships.<br />
<strong>KCB</strong> Venture offers fresh insights to<br />
keep you in touch with all key areas of<br />
economic drivers. These insights will<br />
help you keep ahead of the pack, give<br />
you unvarnished access to your peers<br />
and present you with a bird’s eye view<br />
of the business landscape.<br />
Our intention is to guide you in<br />
carving the appropriate niche for<br />
your business and ensuring that it<br />
flourishes, as it should.<br />
Our brand purpose is an excellent<br />
representation of our commitment to<br />
you.<br />
In this magazine, we have placed<br />
special emphasis on cementing our<br />
relationships in ‘simplifying your<br />
world to enable your progress.”<br />
Which brings us to the two<br />
propositions at the core of this<br />
initiative.<br />
We believe our success is based on<br />
the achievements of our clients and in<br />
doing so, raises the profile of business<br />
partnerships in the country.<br />
It’s time to tell the stories and in<br />
particular each client’s unique niche in<br />
the marketplace.<br />
Our first issue centers on Narendra<br />
“Guru” Naval - Man of Steel.<br />
His story is full of inspiring nuggets,<br />
from his humble start in Gikomba to<br />
establishing himself as one of the most<br />
successful businessmen in Africa. He<br />
has ventured into aviation, cement<br />
manufacturing and is now embarking<br />
on a huge project to generate<br />
electricity from geothermal.<br />
We have also spotlighted<br />
partnerships in the hospitality<br />
industry. Radisson Blu as you will<br />
read is a world-beater. It started off<br />
as an idea to put up apartments and<br />
metamorphosed into what it is today.<br />
Ole Sereni is another client of <strong>KCB</strong><br />
Bank that has positioned itself as a<br />
business hotel in the city. Guests will<br />
occasionally wake up to the sight<br />
of hungry lions having a buffalo for<br />
breakfast, barely four kilometres to the<br />
CBD.<br />
And how about being a part of<br />
history by bringing the first tarmac<br />
road in Wajir County? Locals are<br />
known to take the long walk from the<br />
dry interior to get a feel of tarmac<br />
under their feet.<br />
Further in, we have other stories<br />
touching on the market of use to you<br />
and told in great quality by a top-notch<br />
editorial team.<br />
Welcome aboard and enjoy the read.<br />
Editor in Chief<br />
Narendra Raval<br />
MAN<br />
OF<br />
STEEL<br />
Devki Group CEO on the journey<br />
to a multi-billion shilling empire<br />
Focus on<br />
the hotel<br />
industry<br />
<strong>KCB</strong> Group Head of Corporate<br />
and Regulatory Affairs<br />
Judith Sidi Odhiambo<br />
<strong>KCB</strong> Group Marketing Director<br />
Angela Mwirigi<br />
<strong>KCB</strong> Bank Kenya Marketing<br />
Brand Manager<br />
Charity Wanjau<br />
<strong>KCB</strong> Group Corporate<br />
Communications, Kencom<br />
House, Nairobi<br />
Tel:+254 (20) 3270199 or +254 (20)<br />
2229685<br />
www.kcbbankgroup.com<br />
Facebook: <strong>KCB</strong> Group<br />
Twitter: @<strong>KCB</strong>Group<br />
Instagram: @<strong>KCB</strong>Group<br />
Give us your feedback at:<br />
corporateservice@kcb.co.ke or<br />
corporate@kcb.co.ke<br />
<strong>KCB</strong> Venture is published for<br />
<strong>KCB</strong> Group by Oxygène MCL<br />
venturemagazine@oxygene.co.ke<br />
www.oxygene.co.ke<br />
Editor in Chief<br />
Judith Sidi Odhiambo<br />
Sub editors Mutahi Mureithi,<br />
Mugumo Munene, Nick Wachira<br />
Contributing writers Biko<br />
Jackson, Nyambega Gisesa<br />
<strong>KCB</strong> Venture is available at<br />
all corporate branches and at<br />
select hotels and businesses in<br />
Nairobi.A digital copy is available<br />
free at venturemagazine.com.<br />
©No part of the contents may<br />
be reproduced without prior<br />
permission from the publishers.<br />
All advertisements and noncommissioned<br />
texts are taken<br />
in good faith. While every care<br />
is taken to ensure accuracy in<br />
preparing the magazine, the<br />
publisher and <strong>KCB</strong> Venture<br />
assume no responsibility for<br />
effects arising therefrom.<br />
4 |
OPINION<br />
Growing Business<br />
Through Partnerships<br />
Nairobi viewed favourable by investors looking for a<br />
gateway to East Africa’s 400-million people market<br />
By Moezz Mir<br />
I<br />
dentifying the right strategic<br />
partner to help a business<br />
grow and succeed is no easy<br />
task. It is a labour of pain,<br />
since partnerships are<br />
anchored on mutual<br />
trust, finding synergies between the two<br />
parties, and essentially settling on the right<br />
mix of attributes that will grow the business<br />
without creating friction.<br />
Companies therefore need financial partners<br />
who understand their goals and can help<br />
achieve its objectives. Building and fostering a<br />
relationship with a business partner can make<br />
all the difference in its future success.<br />
What is then required of the ideal business<br />
partnership is the application of expertise and<br />
a unique set of skills to help build a strong<br />
strategy and offer honest alternatives about<br />
what they can and cannot do for a company.<br />
Without having the relationship framework<br />
from the beginning, there is all the likelihood<br />
that the business will be adversely affected.<br />
As with any new venture, it’s challenging<br />
to find the right fit in a strategic partner. That<br />
is why <strong>KCB</strong> Bank strives to build and grow<br />
relationships with its clients right from the<br />
start.<br />
<strong>KCB</strong> Bank has stepped in to play an<br />
important role in helping suppliers and<br />
other service providers solve their business<br />
challenges. By providing tailor made financial<br />
solutions, the bank has earned the stripes over<br />
decades of relevant experience in the industry<br />
as a trusted and reliable financial partner.<br />
Regardless of the industry in which your<br />
business operates, having an ally on your side<br />
in the form of a strategic partner will push<br />
your business to the next level. A strategic<br />
alliance will give you a competitive advantage<br />
and an opportunity to access a broader range<br />
of resources and expertise. This means that the<br />
partnerships we create offer clients distinctive<br />
skill sets and infrastructure access that are<br />
above the competition.<br />
5 |<br />
For us, successful partnerships and alliances<br />
rely on the principle that the work involved in<br />
maintaining a partnership, and the benefits<br />
from the alliance are equally spread, in a<br />
mutually beneficial way.<br />
It has been proven that the best results from<br />
a strategic partnership generally occur when<br />
each partner delivers excellence in service<br />
areas that are different but related to what the<br />
other party brings to the table. That way, there<br />
is a play of strengths and expertise on the table<br />
for maximum utilization.<br />
However, not every detail of an operation<br />
can be planned for, and that the success of<br />
an endeavor depends on the amount of trust<br />
and communication between the parties.<br />
At <strong>KCB</strong> Bank, we are keen on shared<br />
prosperity that will require unprecedented<br />
efforts by all developing economies in the<br />
region to unleash individual sector-led<br />
growth. This reaffirms the Bank’s commitment<br />
to supporting entrepreneurship as a key driver<br />
of growth and development.<br />
Entrepreneurs have long been the backbone<br />
of local economies, and, by providing<br />
new solutions to old development<br />
issues, financial institutions can<br />
assist in positioning them as<br />
key drivers of sustainable and<br />
inclusive growth.<br />
We as an institution have<br />
a significant role to play<br />
in unlocking economic<br />
growth potential and<br />
accelerating growth<br />
and development. The<br />
efforts required will not<br />
be trouble free, but they<br />
are essential if Africa is to<br />
strengthen its competitiveness<br />
in a challenging global economy.<br />
The Writer is the Director,<br />
Corporate Banking at <strong>KCB</strong><br />
Bank Kenya<br />
“By providing<br />
tailor made<br />
financial<br />
solutions,<br />
the Bank<br />
has earned<br />
the stripes<br />
over decades<br />
of relevant<br />
experience in<br />
the industry<br />
as a trusted<br />
and reliable<br />
financial<br />
partner.”<br />
Moezz Mir<br />
| 5
TRENDS & INTEL<br />
Digital cash<br />
World goes<br />
cashless<br />
A<br />
ccording to the third Annual Digital Money<br />
report released in 2016, a partnership<br />
between Citi and Imperial College<br />
of London, emerging markets<br />
governments have a big role to<br />
play in entrenching the drive<br />
towards a cashless society since up to two-thirds of state<br />
disbursements are still done through cash or cheques.<br />
Citi estimates $150bn<br />
could be saved globally<br />
every year by digitising<br />
The abundancy of<br />
cashless payment<br />
systems in the region<br />
has also had a positive<br />
effect for many who<br />
prefer the convenient<br />
alternative method of<br />
payment.<br />
7m<br />
The number of<br />
customers the <strong>KCB</strong>-<br />
Mpesa platform has<br />
attracted since inception.<br />
The platform disburses<br />
betweeh Ksh20 million<br />
and Ksh 30 million daily.<br />
only a quarter of<br />
these payments, by<br />
eliminating the cost of<br />
cash transactions and<br />
reducing fraud.<br />
Another $150bn<br />
annually could be saved<br />
if only a quarter of retail<br />
payments were digitised,<br />
while up to $100bn<br />
could be saved through<br />
digitising a quarter<br />
of SME collection<br />
transactions.<br />
Ideally, traditional<br />
means of trade would<br />
naturally advance<br />
with the course of this<br />
technological revolution.<br />
Growing use of financial<br />
technology is enhanced<br />
by various companies<br />
looking to reduce the<br />
use of traditional cash<br />
exchange. To advance the<br />
efficiency of their economies, various countries have also<br />
turned to cashless systems. South Korea is well known for<br />
its high preference use of cashless technology. According<br />
to the Korea Times, “The Bank of Korea is planning a<br />
“cashless society” by 2020. If a shopper buys a 9,500 won<br />
item and pays with a 10,000 won banknote, for instance,<br />
the shopper will be credited 500 won to his or her prepaid<br />
card instead of getting a 500 won coin in change.”<br />
<strong>KCB</strong> M-PESA<br />
12bn<br />
<strong>KCB</strong> MPESA is a<br />
revolutionary mobile<br />
solution to the unbanked,<br />
enhancing the financial<br />
inclusion agenda of the<br />
bank.Latest statistics<br />
show that at least 40%<br />
of the loans processed<br />
through <strong>KCB</strong> MPESA are<br />
below Ksh 500 and 57%<br />
are below Ksh 1000.<br />
Over the last two years, a<br />
total of Sh12 billion have<br />
been disbursed on this<br />
platform.<br />
QR CODES<br />
Visa has launched its mVisa<br />
QR code-based mobile<br />
payment service in Kenya.<br />
With mVisa, consumers can<br />
directly access all of the funds<br />
in their bank accounts to pay<br />
merchants or individuals.<br />
Merchants will provide a<br />
QR code that will have their<br />
payment details.<br />
NFC<br />
Near Field Communication<br />
(NFC), goes way beyond<br />
making payments using<br />
smartphones. After all,<br />
there are also many credit<br />
and debit cards which<br />
contain NFC chips. These<br />
speed up POS payment<br />
processing by enabling<br />
smaller amounts to be<br />
paid quickly and easily<br />
without requiring a PIN or<br />
signature.<br />
After launching the<br />
payment application on<br />
your phone, the phone is<br />
tapped on the credit card<br />
terminal and a connection<br />
is made using NFC. From<br />
there, the payment<br />
finishes processing the<br />
same way it would in a<br />
traditional credit card<br />
swipe transaction.<br />
6 |
Facts:<br />
Agriculture<br />
contributes about 26%<br />
of the country’s GDP<br />
Agriculture employs<br />
about 75% of Kenya’s<br />
population.<br />
Agricultural produce<br />
exports account for<br />
nearly two thirds of the<br />
total domestic export<br />
100,000 - the<br />
individual number of<br />
youth and women <strong>KCB</strong><br />
Group has committed<br />
to funding in the<br />
agricultural sector<br />
INDUSTRY<br />
<strong>KCB</strong> Group commits<br />
to fund farming<br />
A<br />
rguably, every person on the African<br />
continent has either grown up on<br />
agriculture or has been educated<br />
on agriculture - an indication<br />
of the importance this sector<br />
holds in our lives and the<br />
economy.<br />
The sustainability of livelihoods is dependent<br />
on the bulk of investments made. Subsequently,<br />
an enormous multiplier effect is washing over the<br />
value chain (from the farmer, to the seller, to the<br />
consumer then to the economy).<br />
In an effort to enable farmers transform their<br />
farming practices from subsistence farming to<br />
commercial businesses through financial inclusion,<br />
<strong>KCB</strong> Group committed Kshs 35 billion (US$ 350<br />
million), 5 percent of their lending book, towards<br />
lending and capacity building in the agricultural<br />
sector over the next five years. This funding is<br />
expected to impact the lives of more than two<br />
million farmers including 100,000 youth and women<br />
who will now have access to affordable credit<br />
facilities.<br />
Furthermore, the partnership between <strong>KCB</strong><br />
Group and MasterCard Foundation will see the<br />
establishment of a Kshs 3 billion (US$30M) program<br />
that allows small holder farmers access to credit<br />
facilities and market information through their<br />
mobile phones in Kenya and Rwanda. Additionally,<br />
the partnership has seen the Bank also commit to<br />
spending $200 million (Kshs.20 billion) in credit<br />
to farmers under the programme dubbed <strong>KCB</strong><br />
MobiGro, manifesting its commitment towards<br />
supporting the agricultural sector in the region.<br />
By providing accessible funding coupled with<br />
training opportunities for the smallholder farmers<br />
and pastoralists, the bank aims to drive further<br />
growth and build on the strength of the sector<br />
seeing the significant and immediate impact it has<br />
to our country.<br />
Ksh20bn<br />
The amount that <strong>KCB</strong> Group has committed in credit<br />
to farmers under the programme dubbed ‘Mobigrow’<br />
| 7
TRENDS & INTEL<br />
NEW HEIGHTS<br />
Redefining<br />
Nairobi’s<br />
skyline<br />
450<br />
The <strong>KCB</strong> Plaza is a<br />
21 storey building<br />
including a car park<br />
that can accommodate<br />
450 vehicles on five<br />
parking levels<br />
U<br />
pcoming <strong>KCB</strong> Bank Plaza has been<br />
recognised as the leading<br />
commercial building in<br />
Kenya and the<br />
region by a<br />
panel of experts. The panel consists<br />
of pioneers in the architectural<br />
field included Shamla Fernandez<br />
from Kenya, Janfrans van der<br />
Erden from the Netherlands and<br />
Dr. Allan Kenneth Birabi from<br />
Uganda. Announced earlier this<br />
year, the Plaza is celebrated by the<br />
association for its sustainability<br />
efforts. The structure contains a<br />
natural ventilation system that<br />
maintains a zero dependency<br />
on automated systems for<br />
cooling support; instead, the<br />
structure is supported by the<br />
sky courts and atrium design.<br />
The striking design of the aluminum shading<br />
fins provides a natural mechanism to<br />
reduce indoor temperatures. Innovative<br />
accents are pronounced throughout the<br />
Plaza including an apparatus that can<br />
harvest rainwater and treat it. The<br />
Plaza preserves the theme of modern<br />
design using solar power beams to<br />
reduce electricity costs. Construction<br />
began in December 2010 and<br />
concluded in 2015. Located in the<br />
fast-developing financial district<br />
in Upperhill, the Plaza is in the<br />
company of Britam Insurance,<br />
UAP Insurance, the World Bank<br />
and Nairobi Hospital. The<br />
unique capabilities of the Plaza<br />
to express pioneering design<br />
while using environmentallyfriendly<br />
techniques makes it a<br />
real standout in the Kenyan<br />
market.<br />
“To enhace day lighting, there is<br />
extensive use of light reflecting<br />
metallic silver finish on the solar<br />
shading fins, use of high light<br />
transmittance glass and louvered<br />
horizontal shading.”<br />
8 |
CLIMATE CHANGE<br />
Cleaner<br />
energy:<br />
leading<br />
from the<br />
front<br />
Kenya is shaping up to<br />
be a distinct leader on the<br />
global stage in clean energy.<br />
The country is on track to<br />
become the largest producer<br />
of geothermal energy on the<br />
African continent by the year<br />
2022.<br />
Geothermal energy<br />
is classified as clean,<br />
sustainable energy that is<br />
produced from heat sources<br />
from the earth, including<br />
magma and hot rocks. The<br />
government outlined a longterm<br />
strategic goal in the<br />
Kenya Vision 2030 to provide<br />
nearly 70 percent of Kenyans<br />
with renewable energy.<br />
Currently, the economy<br />
relies on traditional sources<br />
including wood fuel and other<br />
biomass that account for 68<br />
percent of the total energy<br />
consumption.<br />
The country is aiming<br />
to diversify its sources<br />
of energy to advance and<br />
urbanize the economy. The<br />
increased use of green<br />
bonds or funds aimed to<br />
back projects that support<br />
green initiatives, can enable<br />
support clean energy, and<br />
as a result, source for more<br />
long-term capital for greener<br />
investment.<br />
Green bonds as an<br />
attractive investment<br />
portfolio are increasingly<br />
becoming popular.<br />
Key country<br />
indicators<br />
IN THIS ISSUE of <strong>KCB</strong> Venture<br />
we looked at some growth<br />
indicators and trends.<br />
We have also looked at<br />
global trends to put things in<br />
perspective.<br />
Last year, the global slump in<br />
oil prices affected oil exporting<br />
countries, though for oil<br />
importerts like Kenya, it was a<br />
blessing in disguise.<br />
In fact, the generally stable<br />
inflation rate was driven by<br />
the low oil prices among other<br />
drivers.<br />
Electricity production<br />
continued to be stable, with<br />
geothermal posting good growth<br />
further supplementing the<br />
government’s drive towards<br />
clean energy.<br />
Quantity MT<br />
Price Ksh/Kg<br />
| 9
EU POLITICS<br />
How Brexit<br />
will affect<br />
Kenya<br />
J<br />
une 23rd 2016 marked the day that<br />
Britain made an official exit from the<br />
European Union - a day that will<br />
forever go down in history. This<br />
decision caused widespread<br />
panic, especially among the<br />
African nations, due to their huge reliance on<br />
Britain.<br />
For Kenya, one of the greatest impacts Brexit has<br />
had is on the flower industry with more than a third<br />
of all flowers sold in Europe coming from Kenya. A<br />
butterfly effect has unsettled the market owing to<br />
the fact that UK is the second largest buyer after<br />
Netherlands.<br />
Despite all these setbacks that resulted from the<br />
Brexit, all hope is not lost.<br />
1<br />
A set of agreements between regional African<br />
blocs and the European Union, as well as<br />
between African countries themselves have<br />
and will curb the negatives. A solid example is the<br />
Tripartite Free Trade Area Agreement that creates a<br />
free-trade zone stretching from Cape Town to Cairo,<br />
covering 26 countries and representing almost half<br />
of African Union member states.<br />
2<br />
Brexit could also possibly result in fairer<br />
trade deals for Africa, both with Britain and<br />
the EU. But until Britain’s post-Brexit trade<br />
policy is established, it is not possible to assess<br />
how progressive it may be. A slightly debilitated<br />
EU however, may be forced to compromise more,<br />
enabling African countries to secure fairer deals.<br />
3<br />
For the UK and its African Commonwealth<br />
partners, stronger trade relationships are<br />
mutually beneficial. British officials have<br />
suggested that African farmers could benefit in any<br />
new trade deal with the UK because they could<br />
sell their produce at rates that would be attractive<br />
to the UK market. For Kenya and South Africa,<br />
whose roses and wine respectively are popular in<br />
the UK, Brexit could mean an end to the restrictive<br />
Common Agricultural Policy (CAP).<br />
4<br />
Finally, the pound is not so sterling anymore.<br />
As of September 2016, buying the pound<br />
currently stands at Kshs 131.34. This is good<br />
news for importers seeing that the exchange rate<br />
has drastically plummeted. The bad news is that<br />
exporters will earn less in Kenya shillings!<br />
Ksh23bn<br />
The<br />
amount Kenya exports to two of the biggest European destinations, the UK<br />
and the Netherlands. Trading statistics for the first quarter of this year show<br />
that the two EU states together accounted for 18.3 per cent of total exports.<br />
10 |
TRANSPORT<br />
Lightening<br />
the Load for<br />
Nairobi<br />
A light rail system will be<br />
constructed in Nairobi to ease<br />
congestion. The light rail system<br />
will run along nine major populated<br />
suburbs not supported by the<br />
current transit structure. Included<br />
in the nine suburban areas are<br />
stations in Ruiru-Thika, Juja<br />
Road-Kangundo, Jomo Kenyatta<br />
International Airport-Athi River,<br />
Lang’ata Road-Karen and Upper<br />
Hill-Ngong.<br />
The rail system will also include<br />
stops along the Eastlands area<br />
including Kabete-Kikuyu, Gigiri-<br />
Limuru and Outer Ring Road. It will<br />
connect the nine Nairobi suburbs<br />
to the city center, which will end at<br />
the Nairobi Railway Station in the<br />
Central Business District.<br />
The project, estimated to cost<br />
$140 million, will be supported by<br />
the wider Metropolitan Mass Rapid<br />
Transport System (MRTS). A recent<br />
survey of Nairobi says that the city<br />
contains the world’s fourth most<br />
congested roads.<br />
Additionally, the Kenyan<br />
government has estimated that<br />
traffic jams cost $578,000 a day<br />
in lost productivity. The MRTS will<br />
aim to provide a city-wide heavy<br />
rail, light rail and rapid bus transit<br />
to ease costs and congestion<br />
rates. The cost of the project will<br />
be financed by various private<br />
investors.<br />
Ksh57M<br />
The Kenyan government<br />
has estimated that traffic<br />
jams cost Kshs57 m a day<br />
in lost productivity<br />
FDI<br />
VW arrival in Kenya<br />
boosts FDI portfolio<br />
Nairobi viewed favourable by investors looking for a<br />
gateway to East Africa’s 400-million people market<br />
C<br />
ar maker Volkswagen<br />
is the latest major<br />
entrant into the<br />
Kenyan market<br />
as the country<br />
continues<br />
to boast of rising foreign direct<br />
investment arriving on its shores.<br />
Volkswagen is expanding its<br />
commitment in Africa with local<br />
production of the Polo Vivo in the<br />
Kenyan town of Thika near Nairobi.<br />
According to the German<br />
automaker, the project which will<br />
be jointly realised with local firm,<br />
DT Dobie, will be Volkswagen’s<br />
third production facility in Africa –<br />
alongside the South African factory<br />
and a local production facility in<br />
Nigeria. It is planned to build up<br />
to 5,000 units of the Polo Vivo per<br />
year at the plant operated by Kenya<br />
Vehicle Manufacturers (KVM) from<br />
2017.<br />
“We are taking the successful Polo<br />
Vivo from South Africa to Kenya<br />
to leverage the enormous growth<br />
potential of the African automobile<br />
TRENDS & INTEL<br />
market and participate in its positive<br />
development. This compact model<br />
is the best-selling car in the Sub-<br />
Saharan region – so it is the ideal<br />
entry model for the promising<br />
Kenyan market,” said VW’s Thomas<br />
Schäfer commented at the signing<br />
ceremony.<br />
“With this move, we are<br />
strengthening the brand’s overall<br />
position in Africa and taking an<br />
important step towards expanding<br />
our commitment in the region,”<br />
Schäfer continued.<br />
During a visit to State House<br />
by the VW team, President Uhuru<br />
Kenyatta said: “The investment by<br />
the Volkswagen Group in Kenya is a<br />
key milestone in my administration’s<br />
determined push to grow the<br />
manufacturing base and industrialise<br />
the nation.”<br />
Kenya is one of Africa’s emerging<br />
markets. The country plays a<br />
prominent role among East African<br />
nations and with a GDP of some US$<br />
63 billion, it is one of the strongest<br />
economies in East Africa.<br />
| 11
COVER STORY<br />
‘Guru’<br />
Narendra<br />
Raval, the<br />
Man<br />
Devki Group Chairman reveals how<br />
<strong>KCB</strong> Bank grew with him during the<br />
group’s formative years<br />
of<br />
Steel<br />
12 |
COVER STORY<br />
Stepping into the spacious<br />
reception of Devki Group of<br />
companies in the dusty little<br />
town of Ruiru, one is met by<br />
an antiseptic environment<br />
and tranquility that belies the<br />
reality outside the offices.<br />
A large TV screen<br />
welcomes you to the head<br />
office of the largest steel<br />
factory in the region. On<br />
the screen is a looping<br />
documentary on the journey<br />
the company has taken to<br />
become the behemoth it is<br />
today. Donning the walls are<br />
pictures of the Chairman,<br />
Narendra Raval in various<br />
poses with Very Very<br />
Important People.<br />
There is one with former<br />
President Daniel arap Moi.<br />
There is another with<br />
Narendra Modi,<br />
India’s Premier who,<br />
during a recent<br />
state visit to Kenya,<br />
squeezed some<br />
time to visit his old<br />
friend Raval, or<br />
Guru as he prefers<br />
being referred to, in<br />
his house in Nyari<br />
estate. The other is<br />
that of Raval with<br />
Mwai Kibaki, Kenya’s<br />
immediate past President.<br />
The most telling picture<br />
however is that of Guru<br />
adjusting Uhuru Kenyatta’s<br />
tie right where Raval’s cement<br />
and steel companies thrive.<br />
“The President is my friend<br />
and we have known each<br />
other for a long time,” says<br />
Raval as he ambles around his<br />
massive office. And it is a very<br />
big office.<br />
The entire top floor of<br />
“I started off at<br />
Gikomba in the<br />
cheapest store<br />
we could get<br />
because nobody<br />
was interested<br />
in the area as it<br />
was considered<br />
a very unsafe<br />
place,”<br />
the office complex is a case<br />
study in good taste; ambient<br />
lighting covers the entire<br />
floor; the furniture is what<br />
you find in those expensive<br />
catalogues while the walls are<br />
decorated with art and rather<br />
pricey looking wallpaper.<br />
The floor is bedecked with<br />
the most expensive Italian<br />
marble, a turquoise blue<br />
there, a gray and blue tile<br />
thither. Yet, he wasn’t born<br />
with a silver spoon.<br />
“I started off at Gikomba<br />
in the cheapest store<br />
we could get<br />
because nobody<br />
was interested in<br />
the area as it was<br />
considered a very<br />
unsafe place,” says<br />
the former priest.<br />
Having seen a<br />
gap in the hardware<br />
business, he took a<br />
plunge by sinking<br />
his savings in buying<br />
and reselling steel. The<br />
Kshs 3,500 shillings a month<br />
in rent for 5,000 square feet<br />
was considered steep for the<br />
time and place but Raval was<br />
undeterred. It was a tough<br />
time for him and the country<br />
in general. During the late<br />
eighties and early nineties,<br />
Kenya was going through the<br />
labour pains of the advent<br />
of multi-partyism and the<br />
epicenter was usually the area<br />
around Gikomba.<br />
| 13
COVER STORY<br />
“It was very nice of<br />
<strong>KCB</strong> Bank what they<br />
did to me. That’s why<br />
till today, I tell my<br />
board of directors that<br />
we will not ever leave<br />
<strong>KCB</strong> Bank because<br />
they understand<br />
the Kenyan market,<br />
they understand<br />
the people, and the<br />
business way of<br />
Kenya. “<br />
4,000<br />
The number of<br />
employees employed<br />
directly by the Devki<br />
Group. Thousands<br />
more are employed<br />
indirectly.<br />
“All the riots were starting<br />
around where our shop was,<br />
on Kombo Munyiri road. We<br />
endured a lot of tear gas”, says<br />
Raval rather mistfully.<br />
He started off buying steel<br />
from the existing mills and<br />
within five years, his store<br />
had become the largest steel<br />
hardware shop in the area.<br />
Having sold steel and seen<br />
the margins manufacturers<br />
were making, Raval decided<br />
to backward integrate by<br />
venturing into manufacturing.<br />
At the time, there were only a<br />
couple of steel rolling mills in<br />
the country that basically had a<br />
tight hold on the market.<br />
Raval found a site in Athi<br />
River, 30 kilometres from the<br />
city centre, where he planned to<br />
make his dream a reality. “We<br />
bought 25 acres at Sh35,000<br />
an acre. At the time, the<br />
whole place was nothing but a<br />
thick bush. Only Kenya Meat<br />
Commission had established in<br />
the area,” he says.<br />
Having bought the land,<br />
Raval was left penniless. He did<br />
not even have enough money to<br />
put up a boundary wall.<br />
“I used a have a pick up<br />
Toyota KXU 905 (today I don’t<br />
remember the number plates<br />
of any of my cars but this one<br />
I remember which means<br />
whoever stays with you in<br />
difficult times you will never<br />
forget them) that I used to<br />
ferry stones from the quarry for<br />
building the wall”, he says.<br />
After the fencing project,<br />
Raval approached <strong>KCB</strong> Bank<br />
for financing to set up his steel<br />
rolling mill. He had never done<br />
a business plan before, but he<br />
gave it a shot. It was shy of the<br />
bank’s expectations and as a<br />
result, he hired an expert who<br />
helped him prepare a proper<br />
plan.<br />
A <strong>KCB</strong> Bank manager, whom<br />
14 |
COVER STORY<br />
he fondly remembers as Mr.<br />
Ndambuki, kept encouraging<br />
him during the loan application<br />
process. Finally, he applied and<br />
received US$100,000 (at the<br />
time equivalent to Sh36 million)<br />
which he used to purchase his<br />
first steel rolling equipment.<br />
Production would start after<br />
<strong>KCB</strong> Bank gave him a letter<br />
of credit to import the raw<br />
materials needed to kick off the<br />
business.<br />
But a setback was to strike<br />
immediately he started<br />
production. The global price<br />
of steel not only crashed<br />
spectacularly, but a couple<br />
of local competitors, keen on<br />
running Devki out of business,<br />
ganged up by undercutting him<br />
on the price.<br />
Raval’s steel was piling up in<br />
the godown and the market was<br />
flooded.<br />
“For five months, I could not<br />
pay salaries for my employees<br />
but they stuck by me. It was<br />
very nice of my bank and the<br />
Kenyan workers, some of whom<br />
are still working with me, to<br />
stick by the company,” says<br />
Raval.<br />
To his relief, <strong>KCB</strong> Bank did<br />
not push him for repayments<br />
but instead restructured<br />
the facility until the market<br />
recovered. Fortunately, fate<br />
was on his side. When prices<br />
recovered, the only steel<br />
available in the market was<br />
from Devki; all the competitors<br />
had cleaned out their stocks<br />
because they had been selling<br />
their product cheaply to force<br />
Devki out.<br />
“I woke up one day and I was<br />
the only one with steel in the<br />
store. I got a good profit margin<br />
at that time because I had the<br />
goods and nobody else had it”.<br />
He made a cool US$1 million in<br />
profit.<br />
Today, Devki is the largest<br />
steel firm in the region, with a<br />
production capacity of a quarter<br />
million tonnes per year spread<br />
over several factories. The firm<br />
employs over 4,000 employees<br />
directly and tens of thousands<br />
indirectly and, according to<br />
FORBES magazine, Raval is<br />
one of the richest men on the<br />
continent, with a net worth<br />
of some US$400 million. The<br />
Devki group has a turnover<br />
of Kshs65 billion according to<br />
FORBES.<br />
The company makes over<br />
300 items, ranging from shoe<br />
nails, roofing sheets, steel bars,<br />
wire mesh, barbed wire among<br />
others. The company also<br />
makes its own oxygen on site.<br />
“It was very nice of <strong>KCB</strong><br />
Bank what they did to me.<br />
That’s why till today, I tell my<br />
board of directors that we<br />
will not ever leave <strong>KCB</strong> Bank<br />
because they understand<br />
the Kenyan market, they<br />
understand the people, and the<br />
business way of Kenya. I have<br />
stopped doing business with<br />
many other banks, but I will<br />
never leave <strong>KCB</strong> Bank,” says<br />
Raval.<br />
Do you have a dream?<br />
Contact : +254 (20) 3270199<br />
corporateservice@kcb.co.ke<br />
BRANCHING OUT<br />
Devki’s<br />
other<br />
ventures<br />
The Devki Group has also<br />
invested heavily in cement,<br />
aviation and energy, partly<br />
through financing from <strong>KCB</strong><br />
Bank Kenya.<br />
The group owns National<br />
Cement Company, the makers<br />
of the Simba Cement brand.<br />
Raval says that all he wanted<br />
was to act as a disruptive<br />
force in the industry and<br />
sell his products below the<br />
prevailing prices. Today,<br />
Simba sells for Kshs575 a bag<br />
compared to the competition’s<br />
Kshs675.<br />
$400m<br />
Narendra Raval net<br />
worth (Forbes).<br />
“I decided that I will not<br />
only invest for profits, but<br />
make cement affordable to<br />
millions of Kenyans,” says<br />
Raval. “I feel <strong>KCB</strong> Bank is my<br />
own bank. The bank has never<br />
let me down in the thirty years<br />
that we have worked together.<br />
I can put my hand on my heart<br />
and say that I will not go<br />
wrong with this bank and they<br />
will stand with me in good and<br />
bad times.”<br />
| 15
16 |<br />
Watching<br />
the Lions<br />
feast<br />
at Ole<br />
Sereni
INDUSTRY FOCUS: HOSPITALITY<br />
Four men are sitting in a<br />
lounge bar. Which bar isn’t<br />
important. What’s important<br />
is what is about to transpire<br />
in that bar. As lore goes,<br />
the four gentlemen are<br />
knocking back scotch and<br />
bourbons and avoiding the<br />
complimentary peanuts<br />
because they want to stay<br />
in shape. You see, they are<br />
golfers, these men, albeit<br />
amateur golfers.<br />
They often do a round of<br />
golf together in Kabete and<br />
their wives exchange food<br />
recipes. Once in a while,<br />
they take their children for<br />
a holiday somewhere where<br />
they kick about a ball on a<br />
green lawn, or build a castle<br />
on a beach. So yes, you could<br />
say they are great chums.<br />
This is almost 15-years ago.<br />
The guy with the white<br />
socks is Kul Bakoo, who you<br />
might know as the owner<br />
of Kul Graphics in present<br />
time. Next to him is Bobby<br />
Jandu the owner of Allied<br />
Plumbers; they do a lot of<br />
plumbing, air conditioning,<br />
water treatment and all.<br />
The one holding the glass<br />
with his left hand is Mso<br />
Dave Bola; he’s based in<br />
Zambia now, running an<br />
insurance business. Lastly<br />
there is the tall one with<br />
a Godfather sneer. That’s<br />
Nazir Noobin. He, together<br />
with Raju started CopyCat<br />
in 1981. It blew the roof: 32<br />
years later and CopyCat is<br />
now a hundred million dollar<br />
company.<br />
What had previously<br />
happened was that the<br />
American Embassy, which<br />
bought the building they<br />
were now deliberating upon,<br />
after the bombing of their<br />
embassy in 1998 had just<br />
moved to a new building<br />
in Gigiri after selling it<br />
back to Kul Bakoo for a few<br />
hundred million shillings.<br />
The three gentlemen had<br />
pooled resources to help<br />
Bakoo buy it back. Then they<br />
had tried to sell it off with<br />
no success. It was a fortress,<br />
the place; steel, reinforced<br />
walls, blocked windows,<br />
boulders on the side facing<br />
the National Park. They<br />
didn’t know what to do with<br />
that 40,000sq ft building.<br />
Someone had swirled his<br />
scotch and said, “Let’s do a<br />
hotel.” There were chuckles<br />
of cynicism. Nazir sipped<br />
| 17
Extent of<br />
<strong>KCB</strong> Bank<br />
financing<br />
They knocked on <strong>KCB</strong> Bank’s<br />
door and asked for Sh650<br />
Million loan. The Bank<br />
obliged. They signed up a<br />
management contract with<br />
a company from India called<br />
Sarovar Hotels after opening<br />
the doors to the hotel on the<br />
1st of November 2009.<br />
<strong>KCB</strong> Bank also provided a<br />
dollar based facility ($21<br />
million) for phase two of the<br />
project. “One of the basic<br />
things is that <strong>KCB</strong> Bank<br />
agreed to give us the money<br />
in US Dollars which was very<br />
appropriate for us in terms of<br />
offering a bit of a relief on the<br />
way our projections would<br />
work.”<br />
650m<br />
The first loan from<br />
<strong>KCB</strong> Bank for Phase<br />
one of the Ole<br />
Sereni hotel project<br />
his Johnnie Walker Black and<br />
groaned: none of them had any<br />
hotel experience. What did they<br />
know about running a hotel?<br />
This was mad, gentlemen. But<br />
they are businessmen, selfmade<br />
men, risk takers, their<br />
hearts bled for adventure and<br />
enterprise. So just like that<br />
they agreed to start a hotel.<br />
Ole Sereni Hotel was born.<br />
They knocked on Kenya<br />
Commercial Bank’s door and<br />
asked for Sh650 Million loan.<br />
The Bank obliged. They signed<br />
up a management contract<br />
with a company from India<br />
called Sarovar Hotels after<br />
opening the doors to the<br />
hotel on the 1st of November<br />
2009. They only had 45 rooms<br />
for a start. The gym was not<br />
ready, the salon was not ready,<br />
the specialty restaurant was<br />
not ready. Things didn’t pick<br />
immediately but pick they<br />
did. Now they are at 84%<br />
bed occupancy and almost<br />
about 96% on revenues versus<br />
budget.<br />
Does having four directors<br />
who are friends coming to<br />
run a business complicate<br />
things? “Not at all,” Nazir<br />
stresses. “The relationship<br />
between us four people is a<br />
very strong relationship. We’re<br />
from different backgrounds,<br />
different religions but before<br />
this, we’d already known<br />
each other for 30 years.<br />
We’re friends, yes but when<br />
it comes to business, it’s a<br />
totally different ball game,<br />
18 |
INDUSTRY FOCUS: HOSPITALITY<br />
we all respect each other in<br />
terms of what we are good at.<br />
So everybody respects each<br />
other’s contribution.”<br />
Early this year, a pride of<br />
lions killed a buffalo right<br />
next to the watering point a<br />
stone-throw away from the<br />
hotel. For almost a week,<br />
the lions didn’t move from<br />
the kill. Guests would wake<br />
up daily to find them lolling<br />
about the watering point,<br />
eating and napping and giving<br />
everybody a front-seat show.<br />
That is one of the charms of<br />
Ole Sereni Hotel, this ringside<br />
seats to the spectacle of<br />
Nairobi National Park. From<br />
the Eagle SteakHouse you can<br />
sink into your rich leather<br />
chair and feast your eyes on<br />
the park. Or at sunset, a glass<br />
of cognac in hand, sit at the<br />
Water Hole Snack Bar and<br />
watch the sun paint the park<br />
orange, and then, red, with a<br />
sharp paintbrush of warmth<br />
and light.<br />
However, the turbines of<br />
Nairobi’s enterprise never<br />
sleeps. Hotels are coming up<br />
every month, some positioned<br />
facing the park, threatening<br />
to bite Ole Sereni’s pie. They<br />
seem unperturbed. Rather,<br />
they are unperturbed. “We are<br />
not focused on what others<br />
are doing,” Nazir says, “We<br />
are focused on developing a<br />
sustainable brand, something<br />
that will stand the test of time<br />
as a beacon of hospitality.”<br />
To prove their point, they<br />
went back to knock on the<br />
door of their only friend who<br />
has held their hands since that<br />
day the dream was born; <strong>KCB</strong><br />
Bank. The bank has always<br />
tailored their financial services<br />
to what they need. They told<br />
the bank they wanted to<br />
embark on a bigger project:<br />
Ole Sereni 2:0, or just OS2.<br />
The project entails the<br />
expansion of the existing hotel<br />
with an additional 154 rooms,<br />
three large conference rooms<br />
with a capacity of 800 clients<br />
and three basement parkings<br />
with a holding capacity of 500<br />
vehicles. They will have to<br />
employ 150 more employees.<br />
The project is meant to be<br />
completed in two years time.<br />
There is excitement and<br />
enthusiasm all around. Ole<br />
Sereni is taking it to the next<br />
level and with it comes great<br />
hopes. When you walk through<br />
the foyer of the hotel and up<br />
one of the winding staircases,<br />
you will see a golden sculpture<br />
of a leopard. It’s more than<br />
a decoration. It’s what Ole<br />
Sereni seems to embody; the<br />
resilience and stealthiness of<br />
a leopard. The hotel will not<br />
make noise, but it gets its prey<br />
all the time.<br />
Do you have a dream?<br />
Contact : +254 (20) 3270199<br />
corporateservice@kcb.co.ke<br />
HOSPITALITY<br />
Ole Sereni<br />
partnership<br />
with <strong>KCB</strong><br />
Bank<br />
“One of the basic<br />
things is that <strong>KCB</strong><br />
Bank agreed to give<br />
us the money in US<br />
Dollars which was<br />
very appropriate<br />
for us in terms of<br />
offering a bit of a<br />
relief on the way our<br />
projections would<br />
work.”<br />
Bhakoo Co-Director<br />
at Ole Sereni.<br />
Ole Sereni has grown over<br />
time and continues to prosper<br />
even as many hotels open shop<br />
in Nairobi, competing for the<br />
same pie. They are currently<br />
embarking on a project called<br />
OS2, or Ole Sereni Phase 2. The<br />
project entails the expansion<br />
of the existing hotel with an<br />
additional 154 rooms, three<br />
large conference rooms that has<br />
a capacity of 800 clients, three<br />
basement parking with a holding<br />
capacity of 500 vehicles. The<br />
project is meant to be complete<br />
in two years’ time.<br />
| 19
INDUSTRY FOCUS: HOSPITALITY<br />
Radisson Blu m<br />
20 |
akes a splash<br />
<strong>KCB</strong> Bank’s Sh5 billion loan to hotel<br />
developer is tranforming Upper Hill as<br />
the face of Kenya’s financial District<br />
Hotels are all about the experience<br />
guests carry home and not the silver<br />
fork and knife laid out on the table, and<br />
certainly not the brick and mortar that<br />
make up the superstructure.<br />
Mr. Jens Brandin, Radisson Blu’s Upper<br />
Hill General Manager knows this just too<br />
well; guests come for a reason other than<br />
food and a bed. They are looking for an<br />
experience.<br />
He says it and does it with an African<br />
ring as though he were echoing the words<br />
masterfully written by celebrated novelist<br />
Chinua Achebe in his classic ‘Things Fall<br />
Apart’.<br />
The towering Jens Brandin marched<br />
into what is perhaps Nairobi’s most<br />
modern hotel reception with the gait and<br />
confidence of a maestro in front of an<br />
accomplished orchestra on a busy August<br />
mid-morning.<br />
He was effortlessly fitting into four<br />
roles all in under the three hours the <strong>KCB</strong><br />
Bank media crew was in the hotel; the<br />
weight on his shoulders of hosting three<br />
Heads of State and a Prime Minister, time<br />
for our media crew, chaperoning a highpowered<br />
diplomatic team on a tour of the<br />
hotel to finding the time to keep up with<br />
his maintenance staff. He gave not the<br />
slightest indication that on his shoulders<br />
was the burden of hosting the Heads of<br />
State and numerous VIP delegations;<br />
that actually the hotel was running at full<br />
capacity.<br />
“When you have a full hotel, the work<br />
happens before. This is actually the fun<br />
part,” he said.<br />
As you enter the hotel lobby, you are<br />
met by Nairobi’s roomiest hotel reception,<br />
with its understated but elegant African<br />
theme in the lobby and throughout the<br />
open spaces.<br />
To the right hand is a corridor leading<br />
down to an array of shops, where the<br />
high-end tourists or business clientele<br />
indulge in a spot of retail therapy<br />
between business, a work-out in the gym,<br />
pampering sessions in the spa or a minisafari<br />
to the Nairobi National Park to the<br />
south, a 20-minute drive away.<br />
The lobby with its comfy sets of sofas<br />
eases out to the Chop House where you<br />
can start a meal with grilled vegetables<br />
and cured meats served on planchas<br />
(hot metal plates), and then enjoy the<br />
show as one of the hotel’s skilled servers<br />
carve barbequed meat at your table while<br />
watching the rest of an authentic African<br />
meal being prepared in the open kitchen.<br />
Alternatively, you can branch out to the<br />
Larder restaurant and order a plate of an<br />
international favorite, or try something<br />
distinctly Kenyan. The Larder is open all<br />
day with its alluring aesthetics enveloped<br />
in warm lighting and charming ambiance<br />
offering a top-end menu from slow-roasted<br />
local meats to traditional fish stew.<br />
Or further out on the southern<br />
verandah at the Al Fresco Pool Bar & Grill<br />
where guests can dine at the poolside with<br />
a glass of wine while relishing a menu<br />
designed by nutritionists to blend healthy<br />
options with local cuisine, while enjoying<br />
| 21
INDUSTRY FOCUS:<br />
HOSPITALITY<br />
<strong>KCB</strong> Bank<br />
believed<br />
in the<br />
dream<br />
Michael Kairo<br />
wondered just how to turn<br />
the multi-million dollar<br />
dream into reality.<br />
“As far as I know he<br />
approached many banks<br />
in Kenya and a lot of<br />
them, obviously foreign<br />
banks, were not able to<br />
see the vision he saw,”<br />
said Mr. Brandin. “But<br />
he was fascinated by the<br />
flexibility and partnership<br />
that he received from <strong>KCB</strong><br />
Bank.”<br />
The bank bought in and<br />
financed him to the tune<br />
of Sh5 billion, creating<br />
what has become one of<br />
Kenya’s top hotels.<br />
the Nairobi breeze.<br />
Not to mention that the<br />
history of the city, traditional<br />
homeland of the Maa-speaking<br />
people, is captured in Maasai<br />
shukas placed on the backs<br />
of selected chairs at the Al<br />
Fresco, to give the feel of<br />
cake sprinkles on white icing.<br />
Or the three Maasai statues<br />
towering above the lobby<br />
next to the bank of elevators,<br />
each of which has a glass rear<br />
so that guests can relish a<br />
breathtaking bird’s eye view of<br />
the lobby on their way up or<br />
down, to or from their selected<br />
quarters.<br />
It seems to give a new<br />
meaning to opulence as<br />
Nairobi’s jewel in the crown<br />
when it comes to the upscale,<br />
modern five-star hotels.<br />
“I think we’re definitely one<br />
of the largest hotels, certainly<br />
one of the most modern in<br />
terms of layout and flexibility.<br />
From day one, our meeting<br />
rooms have been busy” said<br />
Mr. Brandin with under-stated<br />
emphasis.<br />
The Radisson Blu is in a<br />
class of its own: It brings<br />
to life the upcoming Upper<br />
Hill Financial District, with<br />
stunning views of the city. It<br />
has a good view of the city to<br />
the north and Nairobi National<br />
Park to the south.<br />
The hotel boasts 1,400<br />
square meters of space for<br />
events.<br />
“We have amazing views of<br />
the national park on one side<br />
and the CBD on the other side.<br />
You really notice that you’re in<br />
Upper Hill when you look to<br />
the north,” said Mr. Brandin,<br />
still looking delighted by the<br />
stunning location of the hotel<br />
two years into the job.<br />
The meeting space with 12<br />
rooms is versatile and offers a<br />
possibility of hosting a small<br />
party for friends or a large<br />
gathering in the 590-squaremeter<br />
Mount Kilimanjaro<br />
Ballroom, which can<br />
accommodate up to 700 guests<br />
for a reception. The meeting<br />
space is outfitted with features<br />
like free high-speed, wireless<br />
Internet access and state-ofthe-art<br />
audiovisual equipment.<br />
Even Mr. Brandin knows<br />
that this is a coveted location<br />
22 |
INDUSTRY FOCUS: HOSPITALITY<br />
“We have 1400<br />
square meters<br />
of function<br />
space, always<br />
(in) day light<br />
facing south and<br />
north. Amazing<br />
views facing the<br />
national park<br />
on one side and<br />
the CBD on the<br />
other side. You<br />
really notice<br />
that you’re in<br />
Upper Hill when<br />
you look to the<br />
north,”<br />
for any hotel, not just for its<br />
stunning views but surrounded<br />
by competition for what will<br />
be Kenya’s tallest building in<br />
the foreseeable future. In the<br />
Upper Hill District, Britam is<br />
building what will be the tallest<br />
building followed by <strong>KCB</strong> Bank,<br />
UAP Insurance Company and<br />
then World Bank. This brings<br />
business to within walking<br />
distance of Radisson Blu.<br />
“I think many of those in<br />
Westlands would wish their<br />
hotels are situated here,” says<br />
Mr. Brandin.<br />
The road taken by the hotel<br />
has not been smooth at all. The<br />
iconic dream that has become<br />
part of the more than 1,400<br />
hotels around the world run<br />
by the Carlson Rezidor Hotel<br />
Group has long become a<br />
reality; it was eight years in the<br />
making actually.<br />
The outfit that today<br />
routinely hosts heads of State –<br />
they had four during the Tokyo<br />
International Conference on<br />
Africa Development (TICAD)<br />
held in Nairobi at the end of<br />
August – was the brainchild of<br />
Mr. Michael Kairu.<br />
His initial idea was to build<br />
executive serviced apartments<br />
on the two-acre property, said<br />
Mr. Brandin, until a Danish<br />
architect convinced him that<br />
the bigger the dream the easier<br />
it would be to attract funding.<br />
“The Danish Architect<br />
suggested that they go big<br />
to attract funding … Out of<br />
a medium small residential<br />
apartment idea it became a big<br />
beautiful hotel ….which we’re<br />
in now,” says Mr. Brandin, his<br />
hands swooshing in tandem<br />
with his pronouncement to<br />
illustrate the fulfilment of the<br />
moment.<br />
The dream graduated from<br />
the serviced apartments into<br />
this magnificent structure that<br />
now boasts 271 rooms and a<br />
secure more-than-ample 240<br />
parking lots which opened its<br />
door to guests in November<br />
last year.<br />
“When you think about a<br />
project that’s been eight years<br />
in the making … imagine when<br />
you plan for the space, for the<br />
layout … you cannot change<br />
it from one day to the other.<br />
I think we really got it right;<br />
the mix between 271 rooms<br />
the rooms, standard, superior,<br />
suites with the function<br />
space…” said Mr. Brandin.<br />
Those staying in a Business<br />
Class Room or in one of<br />
the Suites receive access<br />
to the exclusive Business<br />
Class Lounge, which serves<br />
complimentary breakfast, tea<br />
and coffee each morning and<br />
canapés, wine and beer during<br />
club hours between 5pm and<br />
7 pm.<br />
Just before it all began to<br />
come together, there was the<br />
elephant in the room; where<br />
to get Ksh7 billion needed to<br />
bring the superstructure to<br />
life, complete with its glamour<br />
and glitz. Mr. Kairu and his<br />
business partners in Elgon<br />
Road Ltd certainly didn’t have<br />
it.<br />
They drew up a plan and<br />
turned to banks with an<br />
elaborate proposal on just how<br />
to turn the multi-million dollar<br />
dream into reality.<br />
“As far as I know he<br />
approached many banks in<br />
Kenya and a lot of them,<br />
obviously foreign banks, were<br />
not able to see the vision he<br />
saw,” said Mr. Brandin. “But he<br />
was fascinated by the flexibility<br />
and partnership that he<br />
received from <strong>KCB</strong>. Bank”<br />
“It’s great to see that there<br />
is entrepreneurship and trust<br />
because money and banks need<br />
to come first before dreams can<br />
become a reality,” he added.<br />
<strong>KCB</strong> Bank came in and<br />
financed the project to the tune<br />
of Ksh5 billion.<br />
Mr. Brandin, a German<br />
national who’s working for<br />
the first time in Africa having<br />
worked previously in Europe, is<br />
happy that the hotel is up and<br />
running and just can’t seem<br />
to get enough of the Kenyan<br />
spirit.<br />
“It’s great to be in a country<br />
where you have such a<br />
hardworking workforce. We do<br />
not have to train our staff how<br />
to be welcoming. The staff have<br />
this in them,” he says adding,<br />
“They have the most amazing<br />
natural smile that you can find,<br />
FEATURE<br />
Radisson<br />
Blu and<br />
the Green<br />
Key<br />
Taking responsibility<br />
for the environment and<br />
local community has been<br />
an important part of the<br />
broader commitment of the<br />
Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group<br />
to sustainable development<br />
for many years.<br />
The Radisson Blu Hotel,<br />
Nairobi Upper Hill is<br />
proudly certified with the<br />
international Green Key<br />
eco-label. This international<br />
eco-label for hotels<br />
1,800<br />
Establishments in 34<br />
countries around the<br />
world who are certified<br />
with the international<br />
Green Key eco-label.<br />
currently covers over<br />
1,800 establishments in<br />
34 countries worldwide.<br />
It is based on ecological,<br />
social and technical criteria<br />
that surpass official<br />
environmental laws within<br />
the respective countries.<br />
Green Key aims to raise<br />
the awareness of hotels,<br />
staff, and clients about<br />
sustainable methods of<br />
operation and technology<br />
and the running of<br />
ecologically sound and<br />
responsible businesses,<br />
thereby reducing resource<br />
and energy use.<br />
| 23
I think, anywhere in the world.”<br />
The Kenyan spirit fuses<br />
well into the theme of the<br />
experience that the Radisson<br />
Blu team works to offer their<br />
clientele – an unforgettable<br />
experience different from any<br />
other hotel.<br />
“Not only the design and<br />
facilities but the service. I<br />
have worked in many parts of<br />
the world. We have our main<br />
vision called ‘Yes I Can’. It’s a<br />
mixture between a philosophy<br />
and a service programme<br />
… which we try to use to<br />
make it right for the guests<br />
all the time and really create<br />
memorable moments,” says<br />
Brandin. “Nowadays, especially<br />
in our sector, it is not really<br />
about sleep and food. People<br />
don’t come to us because they<br />
are hungry and tired. We are<br />
selling experience.”<br />
And he’s full of optimism<br />
about the future.<br />
“We have elections next year<br />
but we have so much positivity.<br />
Talk to people who were here<br />
A meeting room<br />
like no other<br />
700<br />
The capacity at Kilimanjaro<br />
meeting room . The<br />
space is outfitted with<br />
features like free highspeed,<br />
wireless Internet<br />
and state-of-the-art<br />
audiovisual equipment.<br />
ten years ago and they go wow!<br />
What has happened here? I<br />
think there’s so much potential<br />
here. This is where it’s<br />
happening. This is where you’ll<br />
see an amazing development<br />
in the middle class and so on.<br />
We have great local partners<br />
and we’re trying to bring the<br />
international experience and<br />
the synergy which is truly<br />
amazing,” he says.<br />
And they are putting their<br />
money into hosting the weary<br />
traveler on holiday or the<br />
24 |
“We have two projects<br />
in Nairobi; Park Inn<br />
and Radisson Blu<br />
Serviced Apartments<br />
coming up in<br />
Aboretum. We also<br />
have Kigali coming up.<br />
We will have hotels<br />
coming up in Kampala,<br />
Tanzania and all over<br />
Africa really”<br />
Mr Jens Brandin, GM<br />
Radisson Blu<br />
business executive inking the<br />
next deal an experience like no<br />
other. And there’s not stopping.<br />
“We have two projects in<br />
Nairobi; Park Inn and Radisson<br />
Blu Serviced Apartments<br />
coming up at the Aboretum.<br />
We also have Kigali coming up.<br />
We will have hotels coming up<br />
in Kampala, Tanzania and all<br />
over Africa really,” he says.<br />
271<br />
The number of rooms<br />
that Radisson Blu<br />
offers in three distinct<br />
varieties. The hotel<br />
also has 240 parking<br />
spaces.<br />
Do you have a dream?<br />
Contact : +254 (20) 3270199<br />
corporateservice@kcb.co.ke<br />
| 25
26 |<br />
How first<br />
tarmac road is<br />
transforming<br />
Wajir
COUNTY: ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT<br />
According to Wajir County,<br />
majority of the 700,000<br />
residents had never seen<br />
tarmack before. That is<br />
now history for this north<br />
eastern town<br />
D<br />
ubow Abdi has lived his entire life in northern<br />
Kenya. Born 66 years ago 15 kilometers east<br />
of Wajir town, one of the oldest hamlets<br />
in northern Kenya, he has lived through<br />
the colonial period and the village elder<br />
has been around long enough to have seen it all. Or so<br />
he thought.<br />
Mr. Abdi has not travelled that much. He has only<br />
managed to visit several towns within northern Kenya,<br />
the likes of Habwasein, Eldas and El Wak.<br />
But like most people in his village Mzee Abdi had<br />
never seen a tarmacked road prior to 2014.<br />
So, when the county government announced in<br />
late 2013, that it had prioritized the construction of a<br />
tarmacked road in Wajir town, he slaughtered a camel<br />
for his family in anticipation.<br />
On the day that Ogle Construction Company - the first<br />
contractor to lay the town’s tarmac - applied the first<br />
sealant, the section which protects water from seeping<br />
through the foundation of the road, Mzee Abdi, his three<br />
wives and eleven of his children literally camped in<br />
Wajir town to get a feel of the tarmac.<br />
“It’s very funny that we didn’t know that it was not<br />
even tarmacked. But, we didn’t care because my wives<br />
and my children had never seen a tarmac road before,”<br />
he said during an interview in Wajir for Venture.<br />
Since that day, almost two years now, Mzee Abdi has<br />
made it his business to ferry people from the interiors<br />
of Wajir County - one of Kenya ’s largest counties which<br />
occupies 10 per cent of the land mass of the country - to<br />
see the tarmac.<br />
“We started by walking, then started using boda<br />
bodas and we now use taxis. I used to charge Sh. 100<br />
for someone to come and see the new road but I lost<br />
business when people discovered that you can see, hold,<br />
touch and sit on the tarmac road without paying a<br />
penny,” he says with a cheeky smile.<br />
Mzee Abdi is not alone.<br />
According to the Wajir County Government, a<br />
majority of over 700,000 residents of the County had<br />
never seen a tarmac road before the county constructed<br />
the first kilometer in 2014.<br />
| 27
COUNTY: ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT<br />
The vision<br />
Wajir Town, established<br />
by the British in 1912 as their<br />
regional colonial office, is one<br />
of the country’s most remote<br />
places. It’s a semi arid outback<br />
that has never shed off its<br />
badhia (rural area, in Somali<br />
language) tag.<br />
Located almost 700<br />
kilometers from Nairobi, it<br />
would take you about three<br />
days by bus, if you are lucky.<br />
If not, you can spend a week,<br />
sleeping in the open, while<br />
mechanics try to bring the bus<br />
back to life.<br />
Wajir, a dusty and rugged<br />
town, is so remote that when<br />
the county government put<br />
out the advertisements for the<br />
tarmacking of the roads, out of<br />
the dozens of companies that<br />
applied, only one qualified.<br />
One of the main reasons why<br />
most of the contractors were<br />
disqualified is that they did not<br />
even have a clue how the town<br />
looked like.<br />
Ogle Construction Company,<br />
a family owned company that<br />
was first started in northern<br />
Kenya before spreading to the<br />
rest of the country, was the<br />
only one which qualified.<br />
Registered in 2005, Ogle<br />
Construction was the pioneer<br />
road construction firm in<br />
the former North Eastern<br />
Province. The company has<br />
Abdi argues that<br />
without the input<br />
of <strong>KCB</strong> Bank, the<br />
project could<br />
probably have<br />
stalled.<br />
“Due to structural<br />
hiccups within the<br />
county, we were not<br />
getting the required<br />
funds flow in time.<br />
<strong>KCB</strong> Bank came at<br />
the right time to<br />
ensure that we had<br />
the finances to carry<br />
out the project in the<br />
required time,”<br />
Ogle Construction<br />
MD, Mr. Ahmedsiad<br />
Abdi<br />
440<br />
Wajir has a total of 440<br />
km gravelled roads,<br />
out of 5,280 km road<br />
network. The rest of the<br />
roads are unclassified.<br />
Up to this year, the county<br />
had no tarmac road.<br />
However, the county has<br />
an international airport<br />
in Wajir and 7 airstrips;<br />
Habaswein, Khorof Harar,<br />
Wagalla, Buna, Bute,<br />
Tarbaj, and Diff.<br />
28 |
COUNTY: ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT<br />
entered the history books with<br />
the Wajir road construction.<br />
“I was doing the Kwale-<br />
Lunga Lunga road, a national<br />
government project when I<br />
saw the advert. I told myself<br />
that Wajir is my home. I have<br />
to go back and do something<br />
for my people because not<br />
many of them have the<br />
experience, the personnel<br />
and the equipment to do<br />
that kind of work,” recalls<br />
Ogle Construction MD, Mr.<br />
Ahmedsiad Abdi.<br />
Despite its vast experience<br />
in road construction, building<br />
a tarmac road in a place such<br />
as Wajir was not a smooth ride.<br />
“The County was barely a<br />
year old. It had no capacity for<br />
such a project. There were no<br />
structures, no personnel and<br />
exposure and skills to do the<br />
project. It was a very young<br />
county,” Abdi explains.<br />
As a result of the<br />
inexperience, a lot of time was<br />
lost in decision making before<br />
construction started.<br />
“The County officials did<br />
not understand that for some<br />
of these contracts there are<br />
requirements that once you<br />
certify a payment it needs to be<br />
paid within a certain time. If<br />
you don’t, it will have impacts<br />
on the progress of the project,”<br />
Abdi says.<br />
To save the situation,<br />
Ogle Construction Company<br />
approached <strong>KCB</strong> Bank, their<br />
principal bank for several<br />
years, for funding.<br />
“Already we had secured the<br />
support of <strong>KCB</strong> Bank. Such<br />
a project requires a number<br />
of guarantees that must be<br />
secured by a bank. These<br />
guarantees must be secured<br />
by a recognized bank locally.<br />
Without this you cannot even<br />
execute a contract. But we<br />
needed more assistance so as<br />
to finance the project,” he says.<br />
Abdi says that without the<br />
input of <strong>KCB</strong> Bank, the project<br />
could probably have stalled.<br />
“Due to structural hiccups<br />
within the county, we were<br />
not getting the required funds<br />
flow in time. <strong>KCB</strong> Bank came<br />
at the right time to ensure that<br />
we had the finances to carry<br />
out the project in the required<br />
time,” he says.<br />
Having graduated from a<br />
normal regular account holder<br />
to a corporate client, Ogle<br />
Construction Company further<br />
sought asset financing from<br />
the<br />
<strong>KCB</strong> Bank.<br />
“Our construction<br />
equipment is procured through<br />
a facility from <strong>KCB</strong> Bank<br />
which is structured based on<br />
one-to-one discussions and<br />
which they consider based<br />
on our requirements. They<br />
understand what we want and<br />
How we did it<br />
The deal<br />
with <strong>KCB</strong><br />
Bank<br />
In total, the bank<br />
financed between 20 to<br />
25 per cent of the Ogle<br />
Construction Wajir tarmac<br />
project.<br />
Abdi says that without<br />
the input of <strong>KCB</strong> Bank, the<br />
project could probably<br />
have stalled.<br />
“Due to structural<br />
hiccups within the county,<br />
we were not getting the<br />
required money flow in<br />
time. <strong>KCB</strong> Bank came on<br />
board to ensure that we<br />
had the finances to carry<br />
out the project in the<br />
required time,” he says.<br />
Having graduated from<br />
a normal regular account<br />
holder to a corporate<br />
client, Ogle Construction<br />
Company further sought<br />
asset financing from the<br />
bank to be able to acquire<br />
the equipoment that was<br />
needed for the task.<br />
| 29
COUNTY: ECONOMIC<br />
DEVELOPMENT<br />
work around that,” he says.<br />
In total, the bank financed<br />
between 20 to 25 per cent of<br />
the Ogle Construction Wajir<br />
tarmac project.<br />
“Without <strong>KCB</strong> Bank, we<br />
could not be talking about<br />
contracts, getting the much<br />
needed finances to continue<br />
with the project and the<br />
necessary equipment,” he says.<br />
Ogle Construction Company,<br />
constructed the first eight<br />
kilometers out of the 28<br />
kilometers that are now<br />
tarmacked in the town.<br />
Abdi describes building<br />
the tarmac road as the most<br />
unique experience in his road<br />
construction career.<br />
“Unlike other urban areas<br />
where we have a project and<br />
people have encroached on<br />
the road and thus it is difficult<br />
to relocate them, in Wajir,<br />
the residents cleared the<br />
roads even before we reached<br />
the sections that they had<br />
encroached on,” says Abdi with<br />
a smile.<br />
According to Wajir<br />
County Governor Ahmed<br />
Abdullahi, the tarmac road<br />
has transformed Wajir town<br />
more than anything else since<br />
independence.<br />
“Before the tarmac road, we<br />
had only two storied buildings<br />
in Wajir Town. We now have<br />
at least five storied buildings<br />
coming up. We didn’t even<br />
have demarcations for the<br />
town but the road has now<br />
made it possible for us to<br />
demarcate the town better,” the<br />
Governor said.<br />
Construction of a tarmac<br />
road, the most unorthodox<br />
means of spurring<br />
development, has totally<br />
transformed the once sleepy<br />
and dusty town.<br />
Value of property along the<br />
tarmac has gone up. Dozens<br />
of old buildings along the<br />
road have come down and are<br />
being replaced with modern<br />
buildings. There are two<br />
new hotels. One of them, the<br />
Wajir Hilton Hotel, is already<br />
recording a rise in business.<br />
A Kenya Medical Training<br />
College (KMTC) is almost<br />
complete. The county has<br />
constructed a Huduma Centre<br />
and for the first time in history,<br />
you can train as a teacher<br />
within the county at the Wajir<br />
Teachers Training College.<br />
There is even a university<br />
under construction.<br />
Residents like Shukri<br />
Dubow, a 35-year-old<br />
watchman who calls himself<br />
Contribution to<br />
the economy<br />
500<br />
The number of cars<br />
estimated to be operating<br />
in Wajir, up from 150,<br />
following the tarmacking<br />
of the roads<br />
“macho ya town,” have a<br />
new moniker for the town.<br />
“This is the new Eastleigh,”<br />
he terms it.<br />
Like Eastleigh, there is a<br />
new swagger in the town. The<br />
county recently sounded a<br />
warning to donkey owners to<br />
“keep off” the tarmac.<br />
Residents used to walking<br />
can now use taxis.<br />
Before the tarmac was<br />
done, the local matatu and<br />
taxi association estimates that<br />
there were about 150 vehicles<br />
operating in the town.<br />
“We now have more than<br />
500 vehicles. We are excited<br />
that soon we might also have a<br />
feel of traffic jams,” Abdi Noor,<br />
a taxi operator, jokes.<br />
Even boda boda operators<br />
are not being left behind.<br />
“We used to have less than<br />
100 boda bodas operating in<br />
this town. Since the tarmac<br />
road was done, we now have<br />
more than 300 operating,” says<br />
Timothy Kamenjo, a 25-yearold<br />
boda boda operator.<br />
Along the tarmac road,<br />
businesses open late after the<br />
county government installed<br />
20 floodlights and more than<br />
300 solar-powered street lights<br />
to boost security.<br />
Wajir now offers an<br />
example in road infrastructure<br />
development to other counties.<br />
“Just the other day, there<br />
was a delegation from<br />
Mandera County who visited<br />
us to learn how they can<br />
construct tarmac roads,” Mr<br />
Abdullahi says.<br />
The tarmac is now a main<br />
feature in the reconstruction<br />
of the new Wajir that is meant<br />
to be a “Gateway to northern<br />
Kenya, with a dream to be<br />
the affluent, service-oriented<br />
capital of Kenya’s forgotten<br />
north, and a beacon of hope<br />
Do you have a dream?<br />
Contact : +254 (20) 3270199<br />
corporateservice@kcb.co.ke<br />
30 |
““Before the tarmac road, we had<br />
only two storied buildings in Wajir<br />
Town. We now have at least five<br />
storied buildings coming up,”<br />
Wajir Governor Ahmed Abdullahi.<br />
500<br />
The estimated number of<br />
vehicles operating in Wajir<br />
Town since the tarmacking<br />
of the road up from about<br />
150<br />
| 31
A<br />
dash<br />
of<br />
colour<br />
Rakesh Rao explains how from<br />
the Kisumu plant, Crown Paints<br />
can use use Lake Victoria to send<br />
paints to Mwanza and use improved<br />
infrastructure to transport products<br />
to Rwanda and Uganda<br />
32 |
PROJECT FINANCE<br />
If you take a walk in Nairobi’s Industrial area,<br />
you will probably notice Crown Paints’ factory<br />
located on Mogadishu Road. Hundreds of men in<br />
aprons smeared with different colours of paint<br />
are busy doing their thing.<br />
It’s a busy place where<br />
man and machine form an<br />
intriguing combination.<br />
A sea of humanity mills<br />
around the plant, producing<br />
about 1 million litres of paint<br />
a year.<br />
However, almost two years<br />
ago, the company, which is<br />
the country’s leading paint<br />
manufacturer, discovered that<br />
its factory was not optimally<br />
serving its business.<br />
The company also found<br />
that for every tin of paint<br />
transported to distant markets,<br />
it was actually transporting<br />
70 per cent water, the amount<br />
of water that is contained in a<br />
can of paint.<br />
Last year, the company<br />
decided to open up an<br />
automated factory in Kisumu,<br />
which could help it solve the<br />
inefficiencies.<br />
“Kisumu is located at a<br />
central place to serve the<br />
Western Kenyan market and<br />
neighboring countries. From<br />
the Kisumu plant, we can use<br />
Lake Victoria to send paints<br />
to Mwanza and use the road<br />
to transport our products to<br />
Rwanda and Uganda,” Rakesh<br />
Rao, the CEO of the company,<br />
says, from his office located at<br />
Crown Paints headquarters in<br />
Nairobi’s Likoni Road.<br />
The company, which has<br />
been in existence since 1958,<br />
has 75 per cent market share<br />
in Western Kenya serving<br />
Kisumu, Eldoret and several<br />
other towns in the region.<br />
However, the period in<br />
| 33
PROJECT FINANCE<br />
<strong>KCB</strong> Bank<br />
partnership<br />
with Crown<br />
Paints<br />
Crown Paints intends to get<br />
more funds from <strong>KCB</strong> Bank<br />
for future expansion at the<br />
factory.<br />
“Currently, we are holding<br />
no stocks. We produce and<br />
sell the all paint we make.<br />
We will need to build a<br />
showroom and hardware<br />
for storing the finished<br />
goods,” says Rao.<br />
The Kisumu factory has<br />
assisted in changing<br />
fortunes for the company.<br />
“In Rwanda, the business<br />
has grown by over 100<br />
per cent. In Tanzania, we<br />
have just broken even and<br />
despite some teething<br />
problems in Uganda, we<br />
are doing well,” Mr Rao<br />
says.<br />
For the past four decades,<br />
Crown Paints has<br />
maintained its reputation<br />
as a manufacturer of<br />
various paints and paint<br />
related products such<br />
as internal and external<br />
paints, specialized and<br />
textured paint finishes,<br />
roof paints, floor paints<br />
and wood varnishes.<br />
400m<br />
The amount it cost<br />
Crown Paints to set up<br />
the Kisumu plant.<br />
which the decision to open<br />
a factory was made, was a<br />
difficult and painful one for<br />
the Nairobi Stocks Exchange<br />
listed company.<br />
To start with, the company<br />
was just coming out of a costly<br />
expansion in the East African<br />
region that had consumed<br />
billions of shillings.<br />
Secondly, the company<br />
had suffered heavily from the<br />
exchange rate changes with<br />
the currencies in Tanzania,<br />
Uganda and Rwanda<br />
depreciating by about 50 per<br />
cent.<br />
The effect was a loss to the<br />
tune of Sh. 300million.<br />
To raise capital for the<br />
Kisumu plant, Crown Paints<br />
approached <strong>KCB</strong> Bank,<br />
through which the paint<br />
manufacturer conducts over<br />
80 per cent of its businesses.<br />
“We have benefited a lot<br />
from the bank. When we<br />
approached the bank to<br />
finance the Kisumu project,<br />
they gave us the best interest<br />
rates that were much more<br />
competitive,” Mr Rao says.<br />
Crown Paints has a<br />
partnership with <strong>KCB</strong><br />
Bank in which they benefit<br />
from special discounts and<br />
free advice from the paint<br />
manufacturer.<br />
“We offer free advice on<br />
special finishes, various<br />
decorations and paints to use<br />
to the bank’s customers who<br />
take loans to build property,”<br />
Mr Rao says.<br />
With <strong>KCB</strong> Bank financing,<br />
the company built the Sh.400<br />
million Kisumu plant. After a<br />
few months of operation, the<br />
Crown Paints Kisumu factory<br />
is already a success.<br />
The factory is completely<br />
automated and produces 1.2<br />
million litres of paint per<br />
month.<br />
During the production<br />
process, other than<br />
when loading the paint<br />
34 |
manufacturing ingredients,<br />
there is no manual<br />
intervention.<br />
“The cost of operation<br />
is lower compared to the<br />
Nairobi plant. We only<br />
need 20 to 30 people to<br />
produce one million tonnes<br />
of paint compared to a staff<br />
of over 100 at the Nairobi<br />
plant. Interestingly, we get<br />
the same quantity of paint<br />
within two to three hours<br />
compared to the six hours<br />
or more we could have<br />
used in the Nairobi factory.<br />
It takes 50 per cent less<br />
time to produce the same<br />
amount,” Mr Rao says.<br />
He adds that they<br />
intend to get more funds<br />
from <strong>KCB</strong> Bank for future<br />
expansion at the factory.<br />
“Currently, we are<br />
not holding any stocks.<br />
We produce and almost<br />
immediately sell the paint<br />
we make. We will need<br />
to build a showroom and<br />
hardware for storing the<br />
finished goods,” he says.<br />
The Kisumu factory has<br />
boosted the fortunes for the<br />
company.<br />
“In Rwanda, the<br />
business has grown by over<br />
100 per cent. In Tanzania,<br />
we have just broken even<br />
and despite some teething<br />
problems in Uganda, we<br />
are doing well,” Mr Rao<br />
says.<br />
For the past four<br />
decades, Crown Paints has<br />
maintained its reputation<br />
as a manufacturer of<br />
various paints and paint<br />
related products such<br />
as internal and external<br />
paints, specialized and<br />
textured paint finishes, roof<br />
paints, floor paints and<br />
wood varnishes.<br />
Currently, Crown Paints<br />
occupies more than 65<br />
per cent of the premium<br />
market share and about 44<br />
per cent of the premium<br />
and economy paints<br />
market.<br />
The company has a net<br />
worth of over Sh6 billion<br />
and now produces over 5<br />
million tonnes of paint in a<br />
month.<br />
In 2014, Mr Rao was<br />
honoured as the CEO of the<br />
Year and Crown Paints as<br />
the Company of the Year<br />
during the Company of the<br />
Year Awards (COYA).<br />
Do you have a dream?<br />
Contact : +254 (20) 3270199<br />
corporateservice@kcb.co.ke<br />
PROJECT FINANCE<br />
“We offer free advice on special<br />
finishes, various decorations<br />
and paints to use to the bank’s<br />
customers who take loans to<br />
build property”<br />
Rakesh Rao, CEO Crown Paints<br />
| 35
PURSUITS<br />
CLASS REDEFINED<br />
The 2016 Range Rover offers a<br />
luxurious experience like no other<br />
Prodigious off-road<br />
ability<br />
You never forget that you’re<br />
driving a tall two-tonne, top<br />
heavy SUV when you’re behind<br />
the wheel of the Range Rover,<br />
but the car is more agile than<br />
you may expect. It feels precise<br />
and inspires confidence in most<br />
situations, allowing you to place<br />
it accurately on the road.<br />
Superbly comfortable<br />
and refined<br />
Refinement is one of the Range<br />
Rover’s strongest areas. It’s<br />
particularly impressive cruising<br />
at high speeds, when it does an<br />
excellent job of isolating you<br />
from the elements, thanks in<br />
part to an acoustically laminated<br />
windscreen.<br />
Land Rover Range<br />
Rover Boot Space<br />
You won’t want for boot capacity<br />
in the Range Rover. There’s more<br />
than enough space for a couple of<br />
adults’ luggage and a reasonably<br />
hefty baby buggy – or a few sets<br />
of golf clubs.<br />
At least you don’t have to worry<br />
about opening and closing the<br />
boot; both the upper and lower<br />
sections are electrically powered<br />
as standard across the range.<br />
T<br />
hey say you can never<br />
buy class… we beg<br />
to differ with this<br />
particular notion.<br />
Class can indeed<br />
be bought, but<br />
at a very steep price. What is the first<br />
thing that comes to your mind when<br />
you see that sleek white expensive<br />
looking four wheeler speed past you<br />
on the highway? Yes, you guessed<br />
it… Class. You know, that vehicle that<br />
leaves everyone in traffic questioning<br />
their existence. The vehicle that<br />
speaks on its own and needs no further<br />
introduction. The kind of automobile<br />
that automatically sets you apart from<br />
the crowd. The 2016 Range Rover.<br />
This is not your ordinary car. Unlike<br />
the rest, it has its place in both the<br />
hearts of men and women alike.<br />
Its sleek, curved and proportioned<br />
presence serves that exact purpose.<br />
This Range Rover model boasts<br />
of a 5.0-liter V8 engine that uses a<br />
Roots-type twin vortex supercharger<br />
to generate 550 horsepower to keep<br />
you cruising along Nairobi’s highways<br />
at your heart’s desire. In the interest of<br />
your safety, the auto experts ensured<br />
that in the event of an unfortunate<br />
incident, the car has been fitted with<br />
dual front, front side and full-length<br />
side curtain airbags in addition to<br />
traction and stability control systems<br />
and a tyre-pressure monitoring system.<br />
Allow driving to become your<br />
next best hobby with the impressive<br />
interior the model has been built to<br />
accommodate. The leather upholstery,<br />
genuine wood trim, a touchscreenactivated<br />
navigation system within the<br />
2016 Land Rover Range Rover ensures<br />
you are comfortable and confident as<br />
you navigate through the city streets..<br />
Complimentary features that assert<br />
the fact that this indeed the automobile<br />
of the century include the heated front<br />
seats, a heated steering wheel, a power<br />
lift gate, a rear parking camera, tri-zone<br />
automatic climate control, Bluetooth<br />
phone connectivity with audio streaming<br />
and 19-inch alloy wheels.<br />
In the case of the 2016 Land Rover<br />
Range Rover, class is earned.<br />
http://www.landrover.com/vehicles/<br />
range-rover/specifications.html<br />
36 |
SWINGING<br />
Golf made easy<br />
G<br />
olf is not only a<br />
lifestyle, it’s also<br />
a good way of<br />
unwinding<br />
after a<br />
intense<br />
week in the office or managing<br />
your business.<br />
It is the perfect way to relax<br />
over the weekend, do some<br />
exercise, catch up with friends,<br />
and perhaps conclude that deal.<br />
Today, the profile of the Kenyan<br />
golfer has changed to that of<br />
young to middle aged person<br />
contrary to earlier times when<br />
it was associated with geriatrics<br />
who had made their money during<br />
the colonial times.<br />
It is a game of discipline and<br />
integrity; you are your own<br />
referee. You report your mistakes,<br />
and penalize yourself while at it!<br />
For those who have not started<br />
playing (as yet), golf looks like a<br />
lazy man’s (or woman’s) game.<br />
It isn’t. To begin with, for an<br />
eighteen hole, you will take a<br />
brisk walk of not less than seven<br />
kilometers, and for longer courses<br />
(like Thika Greens), more than ten<br />
kilometers.<br />
Usually, a round of golf lasts<br />
about four hours, again depending<br />
on many variables, such as<br />
weather, the number of<br />
people playing and the<br />
speed of play by all<br />
the teams in the<br />
field; as they<br />
say, a herd of<br />
buffalos (or any<br />
other animal<br />
for that matter)<br />
moved as fast<br />
as the slowest<br />
member of the herd.<br />
For the uninitiated,<br />
here are some of the words<br />
that you will hear golfers<br />
mention casually, but which<br />
might sound like some Greek.<br />
Medal: It’s got nothing to do<br />
with winning a medal. It is a<br />
format of play where all shots<br />
are counted, as opposed to<br />
stableford, another format<br />
of play that is popular with<br />
amateurs.<br />
Par: Every hole (and there are<br />
eighteen of them) is ranked in<br />
terms of length. Par 3, 4 or 5.<br />
If you get a par on a par three,<br />
you have finished playing with<br />
three strokes.<br />
Birdie: You have played better<br />
than the hole ranking. i.e par<br />
three, you have holed out<br />
in two.<br />
Eagle: You have played two<br />
better than the hole ranking<br />
i.e par four, you have holed<br />
out in two.<br />
Albatross: Well, they are very<br />
rare. On a par five, you get<br />
your ball in the hole in two<br />
shots.<br />
Hole in one: As rare as an<br />
albatross. Means that you<br />
hit your tee shot, and it flies<br />
straight into the hole.<br />
Bunker: Nothing to do with<br />
Saddam Hussein. It is where<br />
you find some sand, just<br />
to make your life slightly<br />
more exciting (or difficult,<br />
depending on how you have<br />
been playing generally)<br />
Tee Box: It is where you plant<br />
that little plastic or wooden<br />
tee and start off your<br />
journey.<br />
Fairway: It is where<br />
the ball should<br />
(ideally) land<br />
after teeing off.<br />
Greens:<br />
That’s where<br />
you use your<br />
putter, that<br />
little club that<br />
taps the ball ever<br />
so slowly into the<br />
hole. Nicely mowed<br />
and smooth, and with some<br />
exotic grass, some caddies<br />
have been known to remove<br />
their shoes when walking on<br />
the green.<br />
RALLYING<br />
Keeping ‘Flash’<br />
Tundo on the<br />
move<br />
Front suspension<br />
The proto car boasts of a Ford<br />
body and Mitsubishi Evolution 10<br />
engine that makes it a beast to reckon<br />
with the <strong>KCB</strong> Bank rallies. This<br />
new entrant to the rally scene costs<br />
between Sh. 15-24M in assembly<br />
costs depending on the level of<br />
customization, undeniably making it a<br />
car of choice for the rallying gurus.<br />
Costs of running the car during<br />
outings are extremely high with the<br />
machines using at least 200 litres of<br />
aviation Gas fuel and 10 tyres during<br />
each outings. Peek just some of the<br />
specs and resources below that go<br />
into making one of the first choice<br />
vehicle in the world of motor sport.<br />
Rear suspension<br />
Estimate<br />
Tyres- 22,000 Kshs each x<br />
14 tyres - Sh. 308,000<br />
Aviation gas fuel 200 litres<br />
@ 200 - Sh. 40, 000<br />
Brake discs – Sh. 193,200<br />
Roll cage – Sh. 213,600<br />
Carbon seats Evo- Sh.<br />
288,000<br />
Drivers and Co drivers foot<br />
well – Sh. 96,000<br />
Door Cards – Sh. 201, 160<br />
Intercom – Sh. 83,000<br />
Trip Meter- Sh. 43, 900<br />
| 37
PURSUITS<br />
GETAWAY<br />
Stay. Dine. Meet. Join.<br />
The Shaza Club<br />
T<br />
here is a new club in town.<br />
The members of this<br />
club pride themselves<br />
on the fact that they<br />
have earned the<br />
privilege of a true and authentic African<br />
experience. Membership in this exclusive<br />
club gives you the opportunity to escape<br />
at any time and revel in treats the club<br />
has to offer. The Shaza Club is where you<br />
want to belong.<br />
It has one of the highest ratings on<br />
Booking.com based on client feedback.<br />
The Shaza, recognized and published<br />
by the Rolls-Royce Enthusiasts’ Club<br />
(RREC) in their Strive for Perfection:<br />
A Celebration of Design & Luxury, the<br />
club awards you with the ultimate coast<br />
address.<br />
The strong Swahili and Moroccan<br />
architecture is prevalent within the<br />
expanse of the breathtaking lobby<br />
and the spectacular design resonates<br />
throughout the club. Members have<br />
their pick between the lavishly furnished<br />
penthouse suites, the studio suites or the<br />
exclusive suites. Fine dining at Saffron,<br />
ice cream and milkshakes with your<br />
family at the BLu ice cream bar and<br />
sundowners at the pool bar overlooking<br />
the awe-inspiring panoramic view of the<br />
Indian Ocean are many of the activities<br />
available to Shaza club members.You<br />
have a choice of a Penthouse, two and<br />
three bed apartments.<br />
You deserve it; Give it a go. The Shaza<br />
Club is located on Shanzu Beach road in<br />
Mombasa, Kenya.<br />
www.theshaza.com<br />
“A house is made of<br />
walls and beams; a<br />
home is built with<br />
love and dreams.”<br />
William Arthur Ward<br />
38 |
| 39
BANK<br />
Voted Best Local Trade Finance<br />
Bank 2015 – Kenya<br />
For the 4 th time in a row, we are proud to be recognized as leaders<br />
in Trade Finance.<br />
We thank you, our customers for your continued support.<br />
Our services include:<br />
• Pre-shipment Finance / Pre-export Finance<br />
• LPO Financing / Supply Chain Financing<br />
• Bills / Invoice Discounting Facilities<br />
• Stock Financing Facilities<br />
• Documentary Collections<br />
• Bank Guarantees / bonds<br />
• Post-import Finance<br />
• Letters of Credit<br />
For more information, visit www.kcbbankgroup.com or a branch near you.<br />
Download the <strong>KCB</strong> App<br />
Regulated by the Central Bank of Kenya<br />
40 |