July 2016

july 2016 Kshs. 300 / Ushs. 9000 Tshs. 6000 / RWF. 2200

INSIDE TRANSUNION KENYA: LEADERS INFORMATION AND RISK MANAGEMENT CO-OPERATIVE BANK FOUNDATION: EMPOWERING STUDENTS FROM POOR BACKGROUNDS SEVEN GEMS AT THE NAIROBI NATIONAL MUSEUM MUTUA MATHEKA AND THE LOVE FOR PHOTOGRAPHY

MICROFINANCE ENHANCING LIVELIHOODS

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The Microfince with a difference

Our Products And Services Are Strategically Designed To Empower Men, Women And The Youth Our Products And Services › Business Loans › Crop farming Financing › Livestock Financing › School Fees Loans › Institutional Loans › Check Off/Salaried Loans › ECLOF Afya › Asset Financing › Wash Products › Rembesha Nyumba › Emergency Loans

Other products & Services › Business And Leadership Training › Financial Education › Client Orientation Seminars

Head Office Mogotio Rd- off Chiromo Lane,Parklands, P.O. Box 34889-0100, Nairobi, Kenya Tel: 0721344699, 0707661077 Email: info@eclof-kenya.org website:www.eclof-kenya.org East Nairobi Motor World Building Opp City Stadium, Mezzanine floor 0705 658385 Kayole NjiruSHSS BLD, Ground floor Masimba stage 0728 969306 Githurai Gikanga plaza,first floor 0705 658386 West Nairobi Kawangware 46, Wakandi Plaza First floor, Room s8 0705 658417 Limuru Njengi plaza, second floor Room 3 Market Road 0705 658418 Githunguri Nyamuthanga Bld, Next to KWFT Second floor, 0705 658 387

Maua Kaing Bld, First Floor, Next to Central Petrol Station 0705 658389 Thika Pushpa Plaza, First Floor, Kwame Nkrumah St, Next to Consolidated Bank, 0705 658388 Matuu Next to Premier Hotel Opp. Furaha Clothing Textile 0700 279509 Ruiru CK Plaza, next to Ruiru Plaza Second Floor, 0728 969308 Murang’a Mugama Union Building Below Co-operative Bank Ground Floor, 0705 658428 Nyeri Mbaki House, Second Floor Next to Mathai Supermarket 0705 658424 Nanyuki Laipha House, Second Floor Room 20 Next to Total Petrol Station 0705 658425

Embu Unit Embu Motors Bld, First floor, Room A4, Next to Family Bank 0705 324799

Litein Ngobor Plaza, First Floor, Next To St. Mark Catholic Church 0707 706233

Moi’s Bridge matiha House, First floor 0705 658416

Nakuru Spikes Center, First floor, Room 3 Opp Wameer Cocacola Distributors 0705 658392

Bomet Malimali Building, Ground Flr Opp. Twigs Hotel, 0705 658431

Kericho Koineei plaza, Second Floor on top of Co-op Bank 0705 6589402

Naivasha Friends Plaza, Ground Floor, Room A11, Opp Eagle Center 0713 792985

Bungoma Bungoma Pharmacy Building First Floor, Opp. Post Bank Along Moi Avenue street 0705 658403

Karatina Kibanya Building, Second Floor Next to bata Shop, 0705 658425

Molo Dubai Plaza, First Floor, Room 6 0705 658393 Nyahururu Mjengo Building, Ground Floor next to Co-operative Bank 0705 658399

Kimilili Next to Swedish Co-operative Centre, VI Agroforestry SCC Viesten Africa 0700 279511 Webuye Hillside Pharmacy Building First Floor, 0705 658414

Eldoret Sugarland Plaza, First Floor Oloo street, 0705 658400

Kakamega Emission Bld, Second floor, Next to Post Bank, Canon Awori St, 0705 658391

Kapsabet KCB Building, First Floor 0705 658401

Kitale Ambwere Plaza, Second floor, 0705 658391

Customer Care No. 0708 233 233 Email: feedback@eclof-kenya.org l www.eclof-kenya.org

eclofkenya

Meru Nchegee Plaza, Kirukuru Road, Ground floor, 0705 658427 Kisumu Awori House,Second Floor Room 20, Behind Co-op Bank 0705 658390 Muhoroni Market Stall along post office 0708237556 Mombasa Above Baroda Bank, Digo Road First floor, 0728 969307

eclof-kenya.org

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Contents

18. MICROFINANCE EN-

HANCING LIVELIHOODS THROUGH INNOVATION

EDGE FOCUS 12. TECHIE MobuDesk, a local IT start-up is helping businesses to build and manage their customer relationship through mobile phones.

14. YOUNG AND ENTERPRISING Former lawyer banks on improved Kienyeji chicken to generate wealth.

16. MICROFINANCE Letshego celebrates sustainable development in Kenya

COVER STORY 18. Microfinance enhancing livelihoods through innovation

12.

THE TECHIE

20. ECLOF KENYA 5. HEAD START 6. QUOTABLE QUOTES 7. MAIL 8. BRIEFS

Leading microfinance institution banks on customer centric services and innovative product delivery to impact livelihoods at the base of the pyramid.

22. MUSONI The micro lender is entirely cash-free and paperless and utilizes mobile money for loan disbursements and repayments

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Contents

24. BIMAS Success stories

27. TRANSUNION KENYA Leading information and risk management provider banks on advanced analytics and specialised expertise to drive business growth CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY

30. CO-OPERATIVE BANK FOUNDATION Co-operative Bank Foundation empowers students from poor backgrounds through scholarships and mentorship programmes.

ECLOF KENYA 20.

OPINION 32. CREATIVE SELLING

44. WOMEN OF POWER

34. CUSTOMER SERVICE 36. BRANDING 38. HUMAN CAPITAL 40. LEASING

FEATURE 42. INSURANCE The Association of Kenya Insurers champions insurance disruption and innovation through its research and training initiatives

WOMEN OF POWER 44. Shaira Adamali quit her job at PriceWaterhouse-Coopers to start a resource centre that provides support services to cancer patients at no cost

ARTS & INDUSTRY

50.

ARTS & INDUSTRY

50. Mutua Matheka and the Love for Photography

BOOK REVIEW

42

INSURANCE

52. What Great Brands Do

TRAVEL & LEISURE 54. Seven gems at the Nairobi National museum

SONG REVIEW 56. Can’t stop the feeling

BOOK REVIEW 52

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Managing Editor Sylvester Okumu sylvester@edgemagazine.co.ke

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Business Development Manager Murrel Aluoch Marketing Executive Nelly Wambui Operations Washingtone Terry

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Head start

Making A Difference

E

ver since microfinance hit the global arena, the narrative has been that it funds establishment of micro, small to medium enterprises, producing supplementary income that improves borrower’s livelihoods; lifts them out of poverty, thus, making a difference.

But is it true?

While there has been doubt that sometimes most micro-borrowers might use their credit proceeds for other purposes other than what they ought to invest in. Our editorial engagement with some of the leading micro-lenders in the industry cast doubts on this.

There is evidence that microfinance has improved livelihoods.

I am beneficiary of micro-lending and I’m pretty sure that a large number of Kenyans have benefited from it in one way or another. While one may be sceptic about whether it raises incomes, i am sure that it has done things that are very central to people. It helps them to put food on the table and meet other pending needs. These other benefits are described interestingly in our main editorial which paints a picture of how microfinance institutions have helped low-income people through reliable credit facilities to make a difference in their lives.

Although the said individuals tend to operate micro businesses with unpredictable income patterns and savings mechanisms which seem unreliable; they value formal micro-financing because it is reliable. It is more flexible and a very important tool to manage their cash flow. Given the vulnerability of their income and lifestyles, low-income people tend to save and borrow constantly more than their well-to-do counterparts.

When all is said and done, i think there is strong evidence than low-income people find microfinance very valuable in helping to deal with their circumstances. So when a lender offers credit with affordable rates, customers will come out of the woodwork in droves.

After they have repaid, most of them come back for additional credit. Their main intention to repay is not for group pressure or fear of losing collateral, but rather their desire to keep future access to a service they find very dear.

Sylvester@edgemagazine.co.ke

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6

Quotable Quotes Dorothy Ooko “Rightly used, technology has the ability to break social and economic barriers, narrow the gap between the haves and have-nots.”

Currently, Dorothy heads Communications and Public Affairs for East and Francophone Africa at Google. A multilingual communications specialist with qualifications in strategic management, Dorothy has, for over a decade, leveraged her eclectic abilities to adeptly direct regional communications for some of the world’s most competitive, recognizable and renowned brands. Prior to joining Google, Dorothy was the Communications Manager, East and Central Africa and then East and Southern Africa, of the then leading multinational mobile handset manufacturer, Nokia. She also served as an assistant professor at USIU-Africa where she taught French. Dorothy mentors girls and young women, and sits on Akirachix board, an association that inspires and develops women in tech, networking, training and mentoring.

Edwin Dande “The US has 1-2 per cent GDP growth, Europe 0 per cent, in some cases even negative due to the Eurozone crisis. So, where are you left with growth? The only place you can then get 5-10 per cent GDP growth sustainably over the next 5-10 years is sub-Saharan Africa.”

At 40 years, Edwin is the Managing Partner & Chief Executive Officer of Cytonn Investments Management Limited. Edwin has over 15 years of diversified financial services experience spanning investment banking, private equity, investment management, and real estate in global and regional financial services brands such as KPMG, former Lehman Brothers, Bank of America Securities / Merrill Lynch, and Britam Asset Managers. He holds an MBA, Finance Major from the Wharton School University of Pennsylvania and Bachelor of Science Degree in Accounting from the Monmouth University. He is also a Certified Public Accountant.

Sarah Richson “I have learned the invaluable lesson of systematic thinking. Time is a resource that should not be wasted. Here in Africa we are still struggling with that.”

Sarah is the Global HR Director at Techno Brain Group, overseeing 20+ geographies across UK, USA, Asia and Africa. Having studied, worked and lived in the UK for nearly two decades, Sarah has a strong background in International Business with a special emphasis on Human Resource Strategic Management. She has demonstrated deep passion and expertise in fast-growth companies, successfully transforming unstructured environments into organised high-performing space through policy and governance.

Her career is multi-dimensional and includes years as a Leadership Development Professional, HR Trainer, Talent Architect, Culture Specialist and HR Consultant working on both European and Local African projects. She is recognized as a Prolific Speaker who advocates for empowering lives of local communities with inspirational mentorship programs. Sarah is the brainchild behind Pink Potential – IT Women Rock! Annual conference, the first IT Woman of the Year Award in sub-Saharan Africa which celebrates women achieving great impact through their work in the IT Sector. www.sarahrichson. com

Letters June Syowia’s story inspiring

Your circle determines your success

I was thrilled after reading June Syowia’s story. A young university student who has set up not one, but two successful businesses besides participating in a community based organization. She was also feted in the prestigious Top 40 under 40 in 2015, the youngest among all nominees. I believe June’s story should be an inspiration to the youth that with passion and determination,

Surrounding yourself with the right people has been proven to influence not only who you are, but your success as well. People within your inner circle influence your perceptions and projections. Edge Magazine main story on Biznet Circle was a good read.

Kenyans need innovative minds like that of Lawrence Kamanda. Creating a platform in which likeminded people can meet, network and exchange business referrals is one of the key ways in which businesses can grow in today’s

Jane Rose Muriithi Student, University of Nairobi

Tony Momanyi Via email, Mombasa

there is no limit to what they can do.

competitive environment.

Why start-ups fail High unemployment rate in the country has pushed many youths to start enterprises. While some are in transitional businesses, others have a vision to grow. However, it is not an easy journey for the passionate few.

Many start-ups fail. But why is this so?

What should be done? I think it is the high time the government creates a conducive environment for start-ups.

Imparting the necessary skills is also pivotal.

Benjamin Olaka Analyst, Nairobi

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8

Briefs

Company Announces Green Guarantee Facility

African Guarantee Fund Reaffirms Commitment To Growth Of SMEs In Africa

Mr. Felix Bikpo, AGF Group CEO with guests at a recent AGF stakeholder’s cocktail.

A

frican Guarantee Fund (AGF) reaffirmed its commitment of the growth of SME’s in Africa by announcing a Green Guarantee Facility that will support small and medium enterprises in investing in green growth.

AGF held a stakeholders and partners cocktail even where the group ceo Mr. Felix Bikpo expressed his elation at the progress that the fund has made since establishment: “In 2015, we acquired Guarantee Fund for Private Investment in West Africa (GARI Fund). This strengthened our capacity, accelerated our commercial presence across the continent and ensured that we are able to continue with our mandate of ensuring SME’s across

Africa have access to the finances they need to grow.”

African Guarantee Facility was established with support from the Nordic Development Fund (NDF) earlier this year who brought on board Euro 6 million in equity and an additional Euro 1.6 million for capacity development.

In this view, the facility is set to support the growth of Africa SMEs whose investments is critical for the sustainable growth and resilient development of African economies. This is further in line with AGF goals of sustainable development.

“We believe that SME’s are the tools by which African economies will continue

to develop. It is estimated that the revenues generated by SMEs stands atUSD 79 million. To date, AGF has disbursed USD 40 million as loans to SMEs in collaboration with our partner financial institutions,” said Mr. Bikpo. He also expressed his optimism to grow the capacity of SMEs across Africa in line with strategic partnerships with more financial institutions.

The event that took place during the organization’s fourth Annual General Meeting was attended by several dignitaries including Mr. Morten Christiansen and Ms. Anne Angwenyi of the Danish International Development Agency (DANIDA), Mr. Erik Ringborg of Swedish International Development Agency (SIDA), Mr. Stefan Nalletamby of the African Development Bank, Mr. Yves Boudot of the French Development Agency (AFD), Mr. Pasi Hellman of the Nordic Development Fund (NDF) among others.

Since the official launch in 2012, AGF has grown to have operations in 35 African countries, working with more than 60 financial institutions and their subsidiaries.

About the African Guarantee Fund African Guarantee Fund (AGF) is a PanAfrican non-bank financial institution founded by the Danish International Development Agency (DANIDA), Spanish Agency for International Cooperation and Development (AECID) and the African Development Bank (AfDB). It was set up in June 2012. AGF was later joined by the French Development Agency (AFD) in December 2015 and the Nordic Development Fund (NDF) in April 2016.

It has mandates to facilitate access to finance to SMEs by sharing potential risk with financial institutions as well as providing capacity development to financial institutions.

Equitel voted the best Mobile Banking service provider at the Banker Africa East AfricaAwards.

Equity Bank Named The Most Innovative Bank In East Africa 2016

E Awards.

quity Bank, Kenya’s largest in terms of customers’ base, was recognized as the 2016 most innovative Bank as Equitel scooped the best mobile banking service at this year’s Banker Africa, East Africa

Equity received the two awards at the first live presentation of The Banker Africa, East Africa Awards 2016 held in Nairobi.

Equity Bank’s Innovation, Product Development and Mobile Payments General Manager Eric Karobia displays Equitel award for the Best Mobile Bank Service in East Africa.

Presenting the awards CEO CPI Financial, Robin Amlôt, applauded Equitel as the best mobile banking platform with its exponential growth since inception.

Upon receiving the award Equity Bank Director of Corporate and SME Banking, Rohit Kumar Singh, said winning the Most Innovative Bank and the Best Mobile Banking awards for the second year in a row; 2015 and 2016 is a great achievement:“These two awards, motivate and encourage us to be more innovative and to scale up our offering to meet our customer needs.”

In his keynote address during the awards ceremony, the Central Bank of Kenya Chairman, Mohammed Nyaoga, noted that the East Africa region was leading in the banking sector in many ways. “It is in Kenya that we first experienced mobile banking and it is here that it continues to rule the world from. In East Africa, innovations such as agency banking are bringing banking service to the most remote regions and to our citizens that need them.

This phenomenon has taken financial inclusion in our region to new heights.”

With Equitel, money transfer from one mobile phone or bank account to another within the Equity ecosystem is done free of charge making it the most convenient and affordable money transfer platform.

It brings the full mobility to banking by simplifying the payments and transactions process and is reducing the cost of mobile and banking services –enabling greater financial inclusion and access for many Kenyans.

The platform eliminates the need for mobile applications in accessing internet banking as even a simple feature phone will work in a similar manner like a sophisticated smart phone further demystifying financial services.

Equitel customers can also access loans like Eazzy Loan and ‘Eazzy Plus Loan’ where they can now borrow up to Sh3 million which is payable within 12 months.

According to CAK Report 2015; during the last quarter of the year, the number of mobile money transfer subscriptions was recorded at 26.7 million subscriptions whereas the number of active mobile money transfer agents stood at 141,542 at the end of the quarter. Mobile commerce recorded a total of 138.6 million transactions. 275.8 billion Kenya Shillings was used to pay for goods and services. This depicts how mobile money innovation is contributing to economic empowerment in the country.

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10

Briefs

Jamii Bora Bank Shareholders Endorse The Banks Strategic Plan To Raise Capital During The Annual General Meeting

additional capital would help to sustain the current growth strategy within the Central Bank of Kenya’s statutory ratios on capital adequacy and liquidity.

“With the kind of growth envisaged by the bank in the next 4 to 5 years, this additional capital will prove crucial in fueling its own growth in future,” said Mr. Gacheru. “We will continue to increase our branch network to enhance our accessibility to our customers. This quarter, we intend to set-up shop in Embu and Ruaka town. We will also open 3 satellite branches at select Uchumi outlets. This way we will be able to deliver banking services to our customers in a model that is a hybrid of a full branch and agency banking,” he added.

The shareholders also approved the bank’s audited accounts for 2015 which reflected a profit of Kshs. 76 million before tax, among other key performance indicators.

In the bank’s 2015 financial performance, the loans and advances increased from Kshs. 6.1 billion in January 2015, to Kshs.

10.1 billion as at 31 December 2015.

Deposits grew from Kshs. 8.4 billion to Kshs. 10.9 billion, in the same period.

Sam Kimani, Ingrid Munroe and Tim Kabiru.

S

hareholders of Jamii Bora Bank Limited (JBB), one of Kenya’s fastest growing banks in the country, endorsed the bank’s strategic plan as presented during the 2016 annual general meeting.

The bank’s key strategy is to raise capital to support its growth and scale up the business.

During the AGM, shareholders expressed their confidence in the bank’s performance sighting that it has a fully constituted and active board with six of the 11 board members being independent. They urged the management to continue with strategic bank projects and were confident that the

team, led by a highly skilled and qualified executive committee shall be able to meet the set targets.

Key among the projects is raising capital to enable the bank expand its reach and move closer to customers who are majorly SMEs. The bank has so far raised Kshs.1.2 billion in form of debt to be converted to capital by the end of the year. It is also looking to raise an additional Kshs. 3.8 billion, out of which Kshs. 800 million will be debt and Kshs.3 billion from a strategic partner/ investor.

Speaking during the meeting, the bank chairman, James Gacheru, said the

“In 2016, we want to grow our balance sheet to Kshs. 35 billion by aggressively marketing our products and services to the small and medium size enterprises,” said Mr. Sam Kimani; C.E.O, Jamii Bora Bank.

Delloite&Touche were reappointed as the bank’s auditors for another year in line with the provisions of the Companies Act.

The chairman said the bank was in the process of implementing a 3-year channel expansion strategy to create a modern banking platform suitable for younger consumers and the young at heart.

He also told the shareholders that the bank was in the process of creating value-adding partnerships that would help it enhance its products to adequately cater for the target customers, to bolster its performance and enhance its reach and increase its footprint in more counties with the country.

Your Fi

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BIMAS

VISION “To be the leading microfinance institution in Kenya”

OUR PRODUCTS »Business loan »Micro-insurance Loan » Health Loans » Education Loans »Women Loans »Group Project Loan »Dairy Loan

»Investment loan »Group Loans »Tank Loans »Development Loans »Savings »Afya Bora » Maji Kilimo

MISSION

“BIMAS exists to offer innovative financial and non-financial services to rural economically productive poor for sustainable wealth creation”

»Consumer loan »Solar Loans »Youth Fund loans »Emergency loan »Agri- business Loan »Agribusiness

At BIMAS We’ve Got Your Back OUR BRANCHES Embu office Tel aviv plaza near urban primary school next to neema plaza 0720211623 Nairobi office Enkei center-ngara same building with KCB 0788410342 Nakuru office Uchumi house next to Tuskys supermarket 0721616273

Nyahururu office Mbaria plaza 0715576414

Nkubu office Kariigi plaza 0723793050

Kiambu office Geoma house opp Equity bank 0720738343

Masii office Peter Mulei building 0728390916

kitengela office Gate house next to gate petrol station 0714360403

Kerugoya office Opposite FEP 0727873985

Meru office BIMAS House Opp Barclays bank 0720738343

Emali office Next to post office 0727102359

Makueni office Double K Plaza 0723817142

Kiritiri office Jodi enterprises building 0723110989

Chuka office Nthiga plaza next to KPLC 0724229395

Tala office Fiona complex next to KWFT 072368855211.

Nyeri office Peak business centre 072816077818

Mikinduri office Mwimbi building 0721945955

Marimanti office Next to knut office 0722960709

Kitui office Fena house near mosque 0723418921

Mwea office Next to coop bank 0715576414

Maua office Next to forester fashion 0721623434

kibwezi office Tarabu house 0720046147

Thika office Biashara plaza opp Equity plaza 0775277978

Machakos office Kinyali building behind equity bank 072881215723.

Nanyuki office behind IBIS HOTEL. O725681446

Mwingi office Kasina house 0720382814

Matuu office Free market store 0714396224

Murang’a office Muguma building next to Barclays bank 0702716323

Laare office Opp Kampala house 0701623622 Kasarani- pivoli heights building .opp PCEA kasarani church Loitoktok-Next to metropolitan Sacco Limuru- Next to metropolitan Sacco Siakago-Muriuki building Opp peko petrol station

HEAD OFFICE Bimas plaza|off shell petrol station Manjego area,behind Chief Camp (Embu) Po Box 2299-60100 Embu | Tel: +254 068 31645 Wireless: +254 020 3570169| Fax: +254 068 31645 Email: info@bimaskenya.com Website: www.bimaskenya.com

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12

The Techie

We Help SMEs Manage Their Customer Relationships MobuDesk, a local IT start-up is helping businesses to build and manage their customer relationship through mobile phones Words

Sylvester Okumu

M

obu Desk helps businesses build and manage their customer relationships.

Most small businesses use mobile phones as their first computer. They are therefore unable to have access to CRM’s that are specifically compatible with desktops. Mobu Desk wishes to fill this gap.

They are currently working with 100 test merchants both online and offline and are testing and modifying the application to best suit them. Edge Magazine caught up with Kennedy Nyaga, the founder, and noted that the business has done quite a number of iterations to suit customer needs. We discussed in length and clarity how he wants to shape up SMEs experiences with their customers through the revolutionary mobile app.

A brief highlight of your educational and professional background I am currently an ACCA affiliate and a graduate of Business and IT and Bsc in Informatics from Strathmore University.

While at Strathmore, I met and later worked with the co-founders of former Mzoori Ltd and by the time I completed my studies, I had partnered with a friend to co-found Onad Interactive−a digital marketing firm.

What’s MobuDesk?

MobuDesk is a mobile CRM (Customer Relationship Management) for micro, small to middle enterprises in emerging markets like Kenya. It’s a mobile first in

the industry. We found that most of these merchants interact with their smartphones to perform computer-related tasks on a daily basis. This is heightened by the 2015 industry reports by the Communication Authority of Kenya which showed an exponential growth by mobile penetration in Kenya to stand at 88 per cent. Driven by increased affordability of devices, global statistics also indicate that the developing world will lead most of the growth in global smart-phone adoption, reaching 63 per cent by the turn of the decade. Armed by these statistics, we realised that these individuals have been excluded from expensive desktop CRM platforms espousing them to more affordable mobile-CRM solutions.

MobuDesk was therefore born out of my interactions with these merchants.

Most of them insisted that their biggest predicament was managing their customer information and data. Some of them operated a visitor’s book to record customer contacts, which was challenging to manage. I had a burning passion to help the merchants turn these predicaments into an asset.

What are some of the benefits that clients derive from using MobuDesk?

We found out that most merchants collect customer information to foster meaningful, personal and sustainable interactions.

While at this, a merchant has to physically

transfer the contacts to a mobile phone to text or call a customer. There’s an instance where a merchant described to us how it was tasking to send a simple message to all her customers, it takes her 7 days. Furthermore, the messages are unstructured and impersonal.

We therefore built MobuDesk to do the following: Reduce the friction in collecting customer contacts. Most merchants find it hard to have their customers share contacts. With MobuDesk, the merchant can collect the contacts via; ○ Online Form. e.g. via Facebook or Twitter ○ Manual entry; ○ MPESA /Airtel money payments ○ Personal contacts; ◆ Backup to prevent loss-Some merchants reported stress when they dismissed an employee and the employee made away with the customer book. With MobuDesk, these contacts are encrypted and securely backed up to the cloud. Where a store has multiple owners, the customer book can be synced across their devices. ◆ Customer Retention−Merchants can use the application to reward customers with future discounts. ◆Customer contact card-When a customer calls, the application quickly compiles a customer profile and presents it as a card (Like truecaller). Therefore, on picking up, the merchant is well-informed on how to respond and have a better conversation.

MobuDesk’s competitive edge?

We are mobile first, and specifically built for the emerging markets which we better understand. We also have the first mover advantage interested in the SME segment.

Whom do you target? And how has it been received in the market?

We target SMEs in the region. We are working with numerous merchants and have grown organically as the app makes work easier for them, thanks to the endless referrals.

Have you faced challenges? If so, how have you addressed them?

High cost of educating our target market about the app is a major challenge.

Most of them are sceptical about a new

With Mobu Desk, small merchants can utilize the following services:

• Collect customer contacts via, ◆ An online form that can be shared online ◆ M PESA payments received ◆ Direct input to the application

• Backup contacts collected to the cloud and synchronize them across other mobile devices

• Send customised SMS’s to their customers

• Segment the contacts into lists/groups.

• Send back a thank you note whenever they receive MPESA

• Reward their MPESA customers via unique code on the platfrom

product, but this has changed after their interactions and using the app, thanks to its effectiveness in solving their predicaments. We are actively encouraging new users to try the product for free before purchasing.

Comment on the emerging trends you are seeing in this space?

Rise of AI(artificial intelligence) bots.

The future of business relations may be assisted by bots. Bots will assist in providing lean businesses services that run 24 hours a day. Bots will also answer customer questions and provide customers with relevant information to help them make a better informed choice.

When used well, Bots will fit best in customer relationship management. A smart bot will give customers directions to the store or provide the customer with details of current stock.

In your view, what should players in this industry and their regulator do to strengthen its performance?

Today, businesses are using social media tools to engage with their customers.

However, in most cases, the communication is one sided and blunt. Industry players should work to make Customer Relationship a two-sided communication forum.

Industry Regulators like CA has failed to engage business while defining communication parameters. We have situations where business communications have been blacklisted as spam, counteracting the freedom of business to engage with customers.

What would you say is the role of technology in shaping the future of Kenyan economy?

Technology, especially Software development, might be key in solving most of our problems. Software development is also a simpler task than most other industries. It might be a key factor in balancing the import/export deficiency.

The government should encourage more youth to develop software for export.

Software is also easy to package and can be quickly distributed over the internet and across borders in seconds.

What’s the outlook for MobuDesk?

We are seeking to develop better businesscustomer relationships with our app. We aim to be the best and fortunately integrate other solutions like Sendy for delivery and feedback tools.

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14

Young And Enterprising

He’s All ‘Kuku’ About Kienyeji Chicken Former lawyer banks on improved Kienyeji chicken to generate wealth Words

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Jenny Nyawira

If you are not enjoying your job, then you are in the wrong profession,” opens Ian Mutwiri, chief executive officer at Homerange Poultry Kenya.

Mutwiri−a lawyer by profession− has never practised. After graduating from college, he got a banking job but later realized he was unsettled. He resigned in 2010. “Although the job was economically fulfilling, I was not emotionally satisfied. I wanted to invest in something that I like,” he recalls.

By then, he was only 25 years.

He tried his hands in a few enterprises but failed. He eventually settled on farming. He researched on rabbit and pig farming and quickly realized that they were not promising. He thought of poultry farming and realized it could be lucrative. He started rearing layers and broilers, however the high investment costs and risks involved would later deter him. However, he discovered the demand for Kienyeji chicken was massive compared to exotic ones. This offered him a glimmer of hope.

Along the way, he contacted Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Research Organization (KALRO) and he was introduced to improved Kienyeji chicken breed. He was fascinated by the breeds and procured 200 chicks.

He leased a small piece of land in Ruaka at a cost of Kshs 5,000 per month to construct a chicken coop to house them.

Homerange Poultry Kenya

From a small structure in 2013, the enterprise has immensely grown over the years.

Homerange Poultry Kenya now boasts of

Improved kienyeji chicken.

Ksh. 350

The cost of producing a kienyeji chicken from day old to five months is about Kshs. 350

over 5,000 KALRO’s improved Kienyeji chicken. It provides farmers with quality chicks and chicken products.

It doubles up as a training and capacity building center for budding poultry farmers.

Kienyeji chicken take longer to mature compared to their exotic counterparts. However, they consume less feeds, which is cheaper and are resistant to many diseases. He says they are profitable. “I sell a one day old chick at Kshs. 120, a month old at Kshs. 300, while a mature chicken costs Kshs. 800.”

Mutwiri says he explores digital platforms to learn more tips on poultry farming. In addition, he has authored a comprehensive online journal on how to rear Kienyeji chicken in view of his successes.

He further shares optimism on the huge demand for the breeds. “The client’s orders are overwhelming, I can’t satisfy them all.”

This, he says, may be due to the fact that they’re considered healthier and nutritious. “People are increasingly concerned with their health and what they eat. As such, they demand healthier foods.”

KALRO improved Kienyeji chicken The breed has started gaining traction among urban farmers. It is however mainly practiced in rural and semi-rural areas.

The chicken are mostly free-range and can be raised in a small space/surrounding leaving the birds to scavenge for their own food.

Introduced in 2012 by KALRO, it is a cross breed of best indigenous chicken. Besides having high resistance to common poultry diseases, they can be managed easily by maintaining proper hygiene and vaccination standards. Being free-range, they can feed on local plants, stones, insects, worms and even Kitchen waste. Processed feeds come in as complementary.

“The cost of producing a kienyeji chicken from day old to five months is about Kshs.

350,” he says.

Furthermore, hens start laying eggs at 4.5 months. They produce more eggs compared to ordinary Kienyeji (24 to 26 eggs every month), grow relatively fast and weigh more on maturity.

Occasionally, he visits farmers at the grassroots and trains them in their locality.

It cuts down on logistics cost especially for groups.

He’s also partnered with a number of public and private institutions to boost capacity and ensures that farmers access vital information on best practices.

“In September 2015, we partnered with the Nation Media Group, Egerton University and Wambugu Farm Agricultural Training Center which took to Nyeri the first ever seeds of gold poultry farmers’ clinic. Over 2,700 farmers attended the event.” During such forums, participants are encouraged to interact with experts on poultry matters while making enquiries on areas they are facing challenges.

M-kuku

Recently, Homerange launched M-kuku.

It is an SMS based platform that provides

Player: Ian Mutwiri

essential poultry farming information to farmers. They include Kienyeji farming tips, feeding, disease management, and marketing as well as local agrovets nearby. ”We aim to reach as many farmers as possible, especially those in rural areas who have no access to internet,” observes Mutwiri. Farmers can use their phones to get information at low cost.

He looks forward to set up a support center that will employ trained officers who will offer free services to the public on poultry farming.

The youthful entrepreneur has overseen major transformations over the few years he has been in operation. He has supplied over 250,000 Kienyeji chicks to farmers and created employment through his 50 distribution networks across the country.

He further aims to introduce more farmers into the practice.

Business: Homerange Poultry Kenya is a firm that specializes in rearing KALRO Kienyeji chicken as well as training farmers on best practices.

“Generally, through the application of various best practices such as proper housing, feeding, disease management and incubation, hatching and breeding, farmers are guaranteed of high returns,” observes Mutwiri.

Established: 2013

Training

Homerange provides training to individuals, organizations and groups among other interested parties on best practices which should be applied in poultry farming in order to maximize production. “We have trained over 5,000 individuals over the past 3 years,” he notes. He runs a single training session every month.

X-Factor: Kienyeji chicken are considered healthier and more nutritious than their exotic counterparts. People’s concern about healthier food has driven demand for the chicken.

Funding: Used own savings

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16

Microfinance

Letshego Celebrates Sustainable Development In Kenya

Letshego well represented during the launch.

• Letshego announced the launch of its refreshed brand in Kenya, celebrating progress made in providing inclusive finance to support the people of Kenya over the last 7 years.

• The new brand “Let’s improve life” positions Letshego as a brand that aims to make a positive difference to people’s lives • Letshego is committed to deepening access to broad-based inclusive finance in Kenya and across the continent

Championing inclusive finance for the people of Kenya remains a key focus for Letshego Kenya Limited. The business celebrates a clear commitment towards improving lives across the country through greater access, partnership, and support. This was shared at the launch of the newly refreshed Letshego brand at a stakeholder engagement in Nairobi before key partners of the Letshego business,

including Cabinet Secretary, Ministry of Finance, Honourable Mr. Henry Rotich; and Ambassador, Botswana, His Excellency Mr. John Moreti.

According to Mr. Chris Low, the group Managing Director,Letshego has a clear strategy of building a leading African financial services group focused on financial inclusion. “Kenya is a key market for the Group which we are humbled to have called home for more than ten years now, with Letshego as the parent for four years.This is largely driven through strong relationships with customers, strategic partners, and our communities - the many valued stakeholders of the Letshego brand. It is through their support and the work of the Government in creating an enabling environment for inclusive finance that we are able to help make a difference.This in turn encourages us to do more in the future,” said Mr. Chris Low. The refreshed brand comes at a time when the Group has entered a transformation phase with many positive digital developments taking place that will have sustainable impact on many lives in Africa. Also the launch serves to bring to life Letshego’s narrative across the Group’s African

• Letshego Holdings Limited was incorporated in 1998, is headquartered in Gaborone and was publicly listed on the Botswana Stock Exchange (BSE) in 2002.

footprint, with the brand promise “Lets improve life’ articulated through the new Group identity.

Letshego has gained a strong reputation for social impact in Kenya, through its focus on inclusive finance. This sees provision of financial services that are both appropriate and accessible,while remaining affordable to Kenyans who are in the lower income segments of society. “Our refreshed brand reinforces the strong contribution to society improvement that Letshego makes in Kenya and indeed in all 10 ocountries that have our presence. We work towards providing support and upliftment as shown by the fuller base of our logo, facilitating growth with our customers and communities through upward motion and partnerships. Delivering responsible solutions, financial success and improving lives together is our commitment,” saidMr. Low.

In the last 7 years, Letshego has disbursed loans to over 146,000 customers across Kenya through mobile, and branch-based networks. Financial solutions introduced are geared to financing micro and small entrepreneurs, and offer means for sustainable and productive community and economic development. Said Letshego Kenya

• It is a Botswana International Financial Services Centre−accredited holding company with lending and deposittaking subsidiaries across ten countries in Southern, East and West Africa − Botswana, Kenya, Lesotho, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Rwanda, Swaziland, Tanzania and Uganda.

• Letshego is the largest indigenous company on the BSE by market capitalisation (in excess of US$634 million as at 31 December 2015) and profitability (in excess of US$104 million profit before tax for the full year 2015) and ranks among the top 40 market value sub-Saharan Africa companies (excluding South Africa).

Limited CEO, Mr. Charles Njoroge,“As Kenya’s largest credit-only MFI, with a strong culture of innovation and enterprise, we see Kenya playing a significant role in realising Letshego Group’s inclusive finance strategy. Letshego Group operates in 10 countries in Africa, thus providing a wealth of resources, talent and experience that we leverage here in Kenya, as we work with Government and other partners to stimulate sustainable economic growth.”

Letshego has a clear commitment to the social improvement across Kenya, reinvesting up to 1 per cent of profits before tax into the society to facilitate sustainable community development. Future plans include significant investment in Kenya, with more than 50 per cent of the social investment to be directed to the health sector. “Over time, we plan to increasingly bring more under-served and un-banked into the Kenyan formal economy, embodying our brand promise of “Let’s improve life”.We will continue to focus on growing our customer base through innovation and technology, as well as through improving access and delivery of our inclusive finance needsbased solutions in Kenya” concluded Mr. Njoroge.

• It has over 268 representation points across its footprint, servicing a base of over 300,000 borrowers and 100,000 depositors.

• The Group employs over 2,300 team members, across more than 20 nationalities.

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18

Cover Story

Microfinance Enhancing Livelihoods Through Innovation By remaining true to its social mission of poverty alleviation, the microfinance industry has played a critical role in deepening Kenya’s financial sector. It has penetrated and served the mass market mainly through filling the gaps created by the failure of mainstream banks to develop financial products for clientele in the base of the pyramid. The amendment of the Microfinance Act in 2013 has been an upshot for the industry. Microfinance Institutions are now allowed to convert into banks and can now operate current accounts, trade in foreign exchange and issue cheques just like commercial banks. This has gone a long way in facilitating the development of innovative and fairly priced products to the benefits of customers and MFIs alike.

Words

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Jenny Nyawira

he potential of the microfinance industry in deepening our financial sector cannot be overlooked in Kenya. It has grown over the years to play a major role in alleviating poverty among the economically disadvantaged populace, improving livelihoods along the way. Its contribution to the country’s social and economic growth and development is huge. Thus, the Economic pillar in Kenya’s Vision 2030 identified financial services as a major driver to enhance growth in gross domestic product (GDP). Microfinance institutions (MFIs) have been cited as a pivotal player in this sector.

“A few years back, most people were totally excluded from the financial sector.

MFIs were therefore established to extend banking services to these people in the base of the pyramid and support them financially,” says Benjamin Nkungi, chief executive officer, Association of Microfinance Institutions in Kenya (AMFI-K).

The sector has significantly spurred development in rural areas and improved people’s standard of living. To achieve that, it has developed a range of innovative financial products that are customized to the needs of the common mwananchi in

agriculture, education, business, health care, water and sanitation.

According to Nkungi, MFIs are leveraging on information technology platforms to penetrate the low-end market and serve

the unbanked. For instance, the use of mobile money as well as internet banking is now the norm. It has reduced the cost of transactions and made credit affordable.

Generally, these institutions nurture clients from scratch by giving them the necessary non-financial and financial support.

This means that in addition to credit, they provide customers with basic education on finance, leadership, management and marketing among others. As such, they are more informed when accessing credit and use it productively.

“We have grown our clientele base. Today, we have over 6 million Kenyans accessing financial services through the MFIs,” the CEO avers.

Since its inception, AMFI-K has continued to play a key role in the development of the microfinance industry. It has an objective of promoting a conducive environment for the development of MFIs. Its membership ranges from micro-finance banks, commercial banks which focus on micro-lending, credit only lenders, wholesale micro finance lenders, developmental institutions, and insurance companies (micro-insurance) to Saccos. To date, it has 60 members and continues to recruit for more because there are a handful of MFIs in the country.

Industry regulation AMFI-K has achieved a major milestone through lobbying for a better regulation of the sector. “We have influenced the government to enact and amend laws to meet the industry needs,” observes Nkungi.

The enactment of the Microfinance Act by the Parliament in 2008 was intended to bring the industry under a legal, regulatory and supervisory framework so that it could become a pivotal part of the formal financial sector.

“We enacted the Microfinance Act of 2006 and pushed for further amendments in 2013 where deposit taking MFIs were allowed to convert to microfinance banks where they take deposits, trade foreign exchange and operate current accounts just like commercial banks,” offers Nkungi.

As such, the microfinance banks are now regulated by the Central Bank of Kenya and operate across the country.

It is worth noting that many investors have taken interest in the industry. “In order to enhance that, newtork on behalf of our members and link them with support institutions.”

Benjamin Nkungi, chief executive officer, Association of Microfinance Institutions in Kenya (AMFI-K).

Currently, AMFI-K is developing a regulation to oversee the conduct of credit only MFIs so that they operate in a professional way and stem away quacks. “We are doing this to protect investors and borrowers.

These players have to operate in a regulated way so that we can predict their behaviours and and encourage professionalism.”

In general, the Association is working with the government to promote people’s confidence in the financial sector to be safe and sustainable, despite the few cases we have seen in the recent past where banks have been place under receivership and other shut down. Nkungi expresses his confidence that the sector is resilient to such cases due to their models and that of trust.

Capacity building Besides regulation, AMFI-K also provides training to its members on service delivery, product development, customer care and governance. This is aimed at building their capacity so that they can effectively deliver services. According to Nkungi, AMFI-K conducts survey to identify customer needs.

This is followed by product development training to ensure that institutions develop products that are customized to customer needs.

Moreover, the Association has created an environment for knowledge exchange and management, where members can benchmark with others for best practices, both locally and internationally.

Challenges facing the industry One of the major challenges is lack of affordable funds. “Credit from commercial banks is very expensive. Besides, afforadble funds that were previously available from social investors have become limited since the demand is very high,” says Nkungi. The CEO believes that the government can help in building a strong microfinance industry by coming up with solid funding interventions. For instance, by creating a small and medium enterprise (SME) fund that can be accessed by MFIs at friendly terms.

Over-borrowing is also prevalent, leading to serial defaulting and business failure.

Mainstream banks have been affected by bad loan books. Nkungi however shares his optimism that non-performing loans in the microfinance sector is less than 5 percent.

This is attributed to the size of loans, types of businesses financed, the lending model and client engagement.

Furthermore, as one of the founding members of credit information sharing (CIS), AMFI encourages all microfinance institutions to share both positive and negative information to the credit bureaus.

It has been pivotal in understanding the credit worthiness of borrowers and help curb further losses due to serial defaulting.

Nevertheless, there is concern that CBK mandates only regulated institutions to share information to CRBs which underscores CIS efforts.

Future of MFIs “The future of the industry is promising as MFIs will continue to play the role of poverty alleviation not only in Kenya, but in the region at large,” projects Nkungi. So far, a number of MFIs have gone regional.

AMFI is a member of the East Africa Microfinance Network. In 2015, the first ever East Africa Microfinance Summit was held in Kenya. Its aim was to promote best practices in the field, stimulate knowledge exchange and work towards empowering livelihoods.

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20

Cover Story

ECLOF KENYA: Promoting Prosperity of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises

Leading microfinance institution banks on customer centric services and innovative product delivery to impact livelihoods at the base of the pyramid Words

Sylvester Okumu that are tailored to meet the target market needs− further cement it as a leader in its line of business. “Our service delivery approaches are sensitive to the unique needs of the target clientele,” she adds.

For instance, through the development of agribusiness strategy, ECLOF Kenya has been able to meet the needs of small scale farmers. Through this diversification clients are able to choose how they want the services delivered to them. “We impact lives and livelihoods by enabling these micro and small entrepreneurs to grow their businesses as well as their state of wellbeing,” observes Mrs. Munyiri.

Innovative financial products and services The institution develops products and services based on feedback from clients through its regular client’s satisfaction surveys. At micro levels, it targets both individuals and groups where members can co-guarantee each other.

Mary Munyiri, chief executive, ECLOF Kenya.

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CLOF Kenya was incorporated as a microfinance company limited by guarantee in 1994 to address the course of low income earners.

It achieves this through providing financial and related non-financial services to micro, small and medium enterprises.

Initially established as a very small outfit, the institution has grown in leaps and bounds to have its footprint across 37 touch points in Kenya, servicing over 50, 000 customers. It is one of the National ECLOF Committees (NECs) affiliated to the ECLOF international, based in Geneva, Switzerland.

“Our vision is to create a world of human dignity and prosperity. This is possible by enabling the target clients who are both in rural and urban areas realize their dreams and experience abundance of life through the provision of financial and related nonfinancial services such as training, advisory and management services,” opens up Mary Munyiri, the chief executive at ECLOF Kenya during an interview at her office with Edge Magazine.

ECLOF Kenya has a defined target market which is underscored by its loan size and the delivery mechanisms. Its deliberate efforts on product design and services

The products are classified into four broad categories: • Business loans –For working capital in ordinary business.

• Agriculture loans–Basically for agribusiness ventures.

• Social or support loans –These eases the concerns and woes of a clients and allows them to focus on their core income generating activities. They include; i. Education loan for school fees ii. Micro-healthy insurance iii. Water, Sanitation and hygiene -loans for constructing decent pit latrines especially in the rural areas, loans for sinking shallow wells to avail water for consumption, irrigation and

2008 is an example of such regulations.

The trend reiterates the significance attached to the industry and the future being perceived by the country. We are more likely to see the MF industry emerging as an equally strong industry similar to mainstream banking.

Technology Thrust

Board members and part of ECLOF Kenya staff.

for livestock, loans for acquisition of fully fitted water tanks for rain water harvesting. Clients are encouraged to put iron sheet roofs and gutters to harvest rain water. iv. Green energy loans that enables clients to buy solar panels and biodigesters. v. Home improvement loans−allows clients to buy household items and refurbish their houses.

• Personal loans−advanced to salaried clients for their personal developments.

All these products are available in all the 37 outlets across the country backed by quality services that are customer centric, as well as close and personal.

Challenges Despite operating successfully, Mrs. Munyiri observes that the industry has been riddled with a number of challenges.

There is increased competition among microfinance players, new entrants as well as commercial banks downscaling to micro lending. She however shares her optimism: “We overcome this by continually improving our service delivery and listening to our client more in order to gain their loyalty.”

“Some clients also have a tendency to borrow from different sources to the extent that they are overly indebted. We work with credit reference bureaus to mitigate this. We also advise them on the importance of managing their finances and the risks of over borrowing because it can stifle their businesses and lead to major losses.”

Increased taxation is another nightmare for the industry. The recent introduction of

excise duty on all the fees charged by the financial institutions is such example of the way taxation has been increasing. The increase cost is passed on to clients hence making services a little bit expensive.

The microfinance sector is very sensitive to social, economic and political upheaval.

The company has to keep tab with the developments in these fronts and advise clients accordingly. It also works closely with community peace groups to continuously educate clients as a way of coping mechanisms and also build on their capacity to repay loans to avoid delinquency and defaults.

Mrs. Munyiri also expresses her concerns on staff turnover. Although it has not affected her organization in a major way, it is prone in the industry. More often, new entrants to the market offer to pay a little more to entice already prepared employees than train their own. A holistic approach in incentive to employees can retain skilled, competent and high performing employees.

Emerging trends Commercialization of MFIs Funding from donor funds have been the prime sources of funds for MFIs. However, this scenario is changing gradually. MFIs are now selling stake to raise capital.

It has become quite clear that there is huge market opportunity and potential for business growth of the Microfinance industry.

Changing face of Regulation in MFIs Gone are days when MFIs were viewed as loss making charitable institutional exercises. Kenya for example is enabling, empowering and supporting the MFIs with regulations and legislations. Microfinance Act 2006 which became effective in May

The initial cost of investment and subsequent maintenance fee charged by technology vendors had kept many MFIs away from meaningful adaption of technology solutions in their operations.

However with passage of time and the increasing volumes of business, vendors and MFIs have realized that technology is indispensable for long term growth strategy. Vendors have also come up with affordable solutions.

Increase of innovative Delivery Channels The importance of delivery channels like biometric, smart cards and mobile phones will be realized by all players. The marriage of mobile phone operators with financial services providers has presented an unconquerable combination. ECLOF Kenya is collaborating with mobile phones operators in order to enhance accessibility of its products and services.

Increased inclination towards rural population The MFIs in Kenya, driven by various factors such as risk, return and convenience, have been more skewed towards the urban poor than the real rural poor population. However, this is changing.

With the emergence of devolution of some essential services to the counties and the advent of innovative delivery channels, the inclination towards rural population is also rising.

Increased due diligence With the introduction of the Credit Reference Bureaus, MFIs are able to establish the credit worthiness of the clientele that have become more financial literate and can borrow from more than one source.

The outlook ECLOF Kenya will continue in its quest to pursue cost effective models in a bid to scale up, serve more clients and continue offering financial services relevant to the market. Transforming to Microfinance Bank (MFB) is one of the options.

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Cover Story

Musoni Bets On Mobile Technology To Enhance Financial Inclusion The micro lender is entirely cash-free and paperless and utilizes mobile money for loan disbursements and repayments Words Jenny Nyawira

These advancements in mobile payment and the need for affordable credit options spurred the establishment of Musoni Kenya. Established in 2009, it is a microfinance institution that provides financial services through mobile payment. “Our operations entirely cashfree, paperless and technology driven and utilizes mobile money for loan disbursements and repayments,” says James Onyutta, chief executive officer of Musoni Kenya during an interview with Edge Magazine at his office. It is the first MFI in the world whose operations are entirely mobile based.

The name ‘Musoni’ consists of m which stands for ‘mobile’ and ‘usoni’ the Swahili word for ‘future’, thus mobile future, which

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We believe that the future and survival of the sector is based on these digital transformations”

James Onyutta, chief executive officer, Musoni Kenya.

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he invention of mobile money has revolutionized banking in Kenya. Before then, many people were financially excluded and/or had limited access to formal financial services. Today, people can transfer money to each other,

make payments directly to businesses and service providers, and borrow and repay money safely at the comfort of their location. Suffice it to say the success of mobile payment has transformed economic interaction to a cashless system.

explains the concept of the institution.

Through that, the financier has delivered services beyond the reach of traditional methods and simultaneously extended financial inclusion.

Given by its slogan, the next-generation MFI, it not only delivers financial services

for 14 per cent of its portfolio. “We have developed a unique agribusiness product known as Kilimo Booster that helps smallscale farmers multiply their yields and enhance their assets in agriculture,” he says.

Musoni Kenya headquarters staff members.

to its clients, but also uses relevant innovative technology to enhance financial inclusion.

As such, the lender targets the unbanked, mostly people at the base of the pyramid.

“They are economically active but low income earners who are mostly entrepreneurs. 80 per cent of rural Kenyans are economically involved in agriculture,” observes Mr. Onyutta.

Since its inception in 2010, Musoni has grown tremendously to serve over 22,000 clients across its 15touchpoints in the country. It now provides loans to individuals and groups. These include business loans, agribusiness, emergency and education loans.

Loan application Loan applications are done electronically.

It has over 100 field officers with portable tablets which aides them to recruit and register clients and process applications electronically. Loan disbursements and repayments are subsequently done through M-pesa. “The applications and processing is instant. It improves efficiency, transparency and accuracy with less operational costs,” observes Mr. Onyutta.

The success of the institution exemplifies that technology is key to the growth and future of the microfinance sector. It is also crucial in improving livelihoods through financial inclusion. “We believe that the future and survival of the sector is based on these digital transformations,” opines the executive.

Lending models When lending to groups, it encourages members to be in a formation of at least five people. Members are therefore able to guarantee each other, downplaying the need for collaterals. “In these formations, we give an average of Kshs. 25, 000 but can grow to a high of Kshs 500,000. This has enabled many people to access credit that would otherwise be out of reach,” notes the ceo.

Individuals can also access credit backed with tangible collateral as security. “They can enjoy credit from a low of Kshs 5, 000 to a high of Kshs. 1 million. Our products have been well received in the market due to our trust and transparency,” observes the ceo.

Musoni further prides itself as a leader in agribusiness financing which accounts

Recently, the micro lender was awarded $1.3 million grant by the Master Card Foundation through the Funding for Rural Prosperity (FRP) project. “With this kind of support, we want to tremendously expand our footprint in financing the agricultural sector,” he adds. Musoni was among the five African lenders selected as a beneficiary.

The financier has invested in imparting skills to its customers through basic financial education. “We take about six weeks to train our customers on finance, leadership and management,” reveals Mr. Onyutta.

Risk management The micro lending model relies on customers’ cash flow. “We have incorporated an intelligent credit scoring in our operations that predicts credit risks,” says Onyutta adding that “It also helps to speed up decision making before granting loans.” However, he points out that analysis based on cash flow may not be adequate since some individuals have the ability to pay, but lack the willingness.

Credit Reference Bureaus therefore came in handy. “We can identify defaulters based on the credit information we share with CRBs, thus enhancing the quality of our loan books. Musoni is a member of Credit Information Sharing (CIS) Kenya and shares both positive and negative information with CRBs,” he reveals adding that: “We have a robust risk management system in place which accounts for our success in loan recovery. Over 99 per cent of our clients actively pay back.”

Road ahead The financier plans to grow its footprints in order to have a wider reach, especially in the rural Kenya. Besides, it will continue leveraging on innovative fintech to remain relevant and lead the way in financial provision.

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24

BIMAS Success Stories

Former Banker Reaps Big In Partnership With BIMAS By

Jenny Nyawira

“

You can never go wrong with BIMAS. They are good listeners, caring and offer customized solutions to clients needs.

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illiam Wainaina’s story is one of the many untold tales of successful agribusiness entrepreneurs in Kenya. He is one of a kind and never settles for less. His insatiable passion for agriculture made him quit his lucrative job as an operations manager for a commercial bank.

“I practiced poultry farming while still in employment and the returns were good,” says Wainaina. “I used to make between Ksh. 100,000 to Ksh. 120,000 every month entirely from selling eggs,” he reveals. However, his wife was the one in charge while he was busy at his office job.

All this time he was unsettled. He envisioned that if he could join hands with his wife on the venture, they would double returns. The entrepreneurial bug bite him and he resigned in 2013 from his 9 years banking career. This would later pay in a major way.

From 3,700 layers in 2013, it grew to 6000 in 2015.

He however reveals that a handful of chicken have died due to poultry diseases.

Partnering with BIMAS Part of this success was credited to his partnership with BIMAS. He was granted a first loan of Kshs 1.4 million which he used to construct more poultry structure and buy more layers.

The high cost of feeds was a concern. “I decided to cut costs with homemade feeds which are cheaper,” says Wainaina. After buying the necessary equipment, he did not have enough money to buy raw materials. He therefore approached BIMAS and was granted another loan to make feeds which he now sells to neighbours at a cost, fetching him more income.

“You can never go wrong with BIMAS. They are good listeners, caring and offer customized solutions to clients’ needs,” says Wainaina.

In addition to poultry, he runs a dairy farm where he sells up to 20 litres of milk every day. He also practices horticulture, focusing on French beans and tomato farming.

Bananas and avocados cap off his intensive farming.

Wainaina makes use of everything from the farm. He has a bio-digester and plans to outsource green energy to neighbours. He also looks forward to venture into pig farming while keeping an eye on his other ventures to grow organically.

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BIMAS Success Stories

Catherine Wanja: BIMAS Has Liberated Me Economically 24 Kilometres from Embu town, you arrive at Gikuuri village. The home of Catherine Wanja.

Self Help Group. “I came to learn about the lending models of the institution and saw it as an opportunity to grow my agribusiness ventures.” She joined the group in 2013 hoping to save some money in order to get a loan.

She started off with a loan of Ksh.20, 000 which she used to lease a piece of land. In it, she planted maize, harvested and sold at a profit.

After repaying the loan fully, Wanja qualified for a second loan of Kshs. 50,000 which she supplemented and built a few rental rooms on a plot of land she had bought earlier.

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anja practices agribusiness. She says she has done for many years.

In her farm, she plants maize and bananas, besides rearing cattle and goats. Initially however, she did farming at a micro level principally due to lack of knowledge and finances. “I have however always desired to expand my ventures,” she reveals.

The agribusiness entrepreneur is a beneficiary of BIMAS. As she narrates the story

of her financial emancipation, she radiates a feeling of empowerment. Her pride and confidence are rare attributes of women living in rural areas.

BIMAS plays a pivotal role in empowering women in order to enhance their socioeconomic status. Without a doubt, majority of the institution’s customers are women who receive financial services that are aimed at liberating them economically.

Wanja learnt about BIMAS through Wendo

Currently, she is servicing her third loan of Ksh.60, 000. She used part of the money to buy a high breed calf, with the hope of increasing her dairy production. The rest was invested in production of a play where she is featured educating the youths on the dangers of drug use. “It is very sad to see the young ones dropping out of school and turning into drug abuse,” she says.

The institution’s group lending model operates on a gradual loan increment. BIMAS provides basic financial education to all groups before advancing loans.

In order to enhance her business management skills, the mother of five went back to school and will be sitting for her Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) in 2017. “This is the only way I could get admission to college to enhance my skills.”

TransUnion Kenya: Trusted Provider of Information for Assessing and Managing Risks

“

Leading information and risk management provider banks on advanced analytics and specialised expertise to drive business growth

Imagine walking into a bank to apply for a mortgage and the bank runs a credit check to decide how much to charge you in interest on the mortgage note? A high credit score will mean paying much lower interest rate. This, of course will make the cost of the loan cheaper overall. On the flipside, it means that the bank has a thorough knowledge of the customer and the associated credit risk. While the former seems a long shot for Kenya, we are trying to change this narrative in a major way. This is because better credit risk management presents an opportunity for businesses to greatly improve overall performance and secure a competitive advantage.� opens up Rose Kinuthia, acting chief executive of TransUnion Kenya.

TransUnion is an international leader in information and risk management with operations in 32 countries and maintaining data on 500 million consumers and 4.2 million businesses. The global headquarters is based in Chicago USA. It has presence in ten African countries with two regional offices in South Africa and Kenya.

The Kenyan office oversees four other geographies in Sub-Saharan Africa which includes Malawi, Zambia, Bostwana and Rwanda. Edge Magazine sat with the youthful Ms. Kinuthia to discuss how the firm is shaping the financial and credit landscape in Kenya.

TransUnion Kenya acting chief executive officer, Ms. Rose Kinuthia.

Ms. Kinuthia At A Glance

She is a Pricing and Product Management expert with a decade-long wealth of experience in statistical analysis for both local and international leading companies. She has previously worked with Standard Chartered Bank and Chase Bank where she was credited for revamping the retail banking system from a low of 45,000 to 200,000 customer base in a record time. She was feted at Top 40 under 40 women in Kenya 2015 by the Business

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Cover Story

Daily Africa because of her innovative business leadership skills.

Meaningful resources

“We gather, analyse and deliver information for businesses and consumers. Our transformation from a credit reference bureau into a risk management and solutions company for the past few years saw us impact economies in a major way.

We saw the need to use information and data we have to create value. We now service a wider scope of the economy and help organizations to optimise their risk base solutions as well as help consumers to understand and manage their personal credit information,” observes Kinuthia.

Financial institutions and other innovative players have realised the potential of meaningful data to transform lending and the economy at large.

TransUnion Kenya helps these players make better decisions and reach their goals through provision of meaningful resources to make better decisions, work efficiently and expand opportunities. For instance, the company’s data resources on credit information enable lenders further their course and have a greater control over risk (reducing fraud, non-performing loans and ultimately increasing profitability.)

specialised expertise and advanced analytics. Our data is of high quality and more predictive when assessing risk,” shares Kinuthia.

This has seen the company work with banks, insurance companies, Sacco’s and peer lenders among others in the financial sector.

She adds that any lender who wants to start offering credit won’t start from a void any more. “TransUnion gives you complete picture of your prospects by accessing multiple data sources. Our tools help businesses and individuals turn insights into intelligent, targeted and actionable decisions.”

Here in Kenya, TransUnion is licensed and regulated by the Central Bank of Kenya. It is also audited by information technology forensics. As such, it has robust systems and procedures backed by a skilful team that further strengthens its operation in its line of business.

An act of parliament that was passed in 2013 has provided room for growth in the sector. Institutions that are regulated by CBK are now mandated to share both positive and negative information about clients. Since then, avers the executive, the market has changed in a major way. Data has improved in quality and quantity. “We had less than 2 million records in our system back then. We currently have in excess of 16 million records in our database which is good news for the economy.” She attributes this to increased innovation and borrowing, in particular micro lending.

Comprehensive solutions

“Kenya is still in early stages of having robust credit reporting systems, but we lead the way through our comprehensive wide-decisioning technologies,

Our tools help businesses and individuals turn insights into intelligent, targeted and actionable decisions

Banks and other lenders mostly rely on credit bureaus and scores based on a consumer’s income, credit line, loan repayment and other factors to make credit decisions.

TransUnion enables such credit providers to make fast and informed, reliable and objective lending decisions. “A credit report from us shows important information about a creditor’s history,” offers Ms. Kinuthia.

She continues, “However, there are scores of people whose information is not available or are new to credit and we only have header information (name and ID), means are new to credit and usually referred to as lacking ‘digital footprints’. They are encouraged to build up on their credit profile.”

Every active credit consumer has a credit report which is compiled by credit bureaus. A credit report shows a record of your credit history and a good credit history can

help you get credit when you need it. It also allows you to take advantage of a wide range of opportunities.

Ms. Kinuthia plays down the misconception about CRB listing being for wrong reasons.

For instance when you apply for a credit at any bank, retail store or other lenders, they will ask CRBs for your credit report. They then use the information to make fast and reliable decisions based on the report. It enables creditors to approve loans faster.

Hence, the more you borrow wisely and pay promptly, the more attractive you become as a loan customer.

The dynamic credit landscape and evolving business needs has seen TransUnion develop other specialised solutions for businesses. Its comprehensive marketing services enables organizations to choose the right market segments to apply key parameters as well as identify prospects most likely to respond to their offers. “With our advanced analytics and specialised expertise, we help clients make the right decisions for their unique business objectives. We can advise which medium to choose and will more likely respond to your ad. Thereby you can streamline your processes, optimise resources and reduce on operational costs.”

It also offers powerful anti-fraud models and advanced decisions that can help businesses prevent fraud as well as protect customers from fraud. Ms. Kinuthia says that there is increased growth in mobile and micro lending which is exciting and scary as well. As such, verifying customer identities to ensure businesses deal with authentic customers who comply with the regulation is paramount.

In Kenya, risk management is still in its nascent stages as lenders only monitor clients at application stages. “In order to understand customers and their behaviour, clients ought to leverage on our ongoing monitoring solutions to anticipate changes in credit performance and consumer behaviours. We have robust platforms and advanced analytics to manage risks across different platforms and portfolios,” she advises.

come through in case of changes to your credit report.

Ms. Kinuthia says that credit score is an important factor for the growth of any economy. “As an industry we need to start doing risk-based pricing and rewards for customers. When this is encouraged, we will find more customers who are better payers which makes the economy financially stable. In developed economies, people are encouraged to shop with their credit scores for better terms.”

SMS

21272

and follow instructions

Negative information

Despite operating successfully in this line of business, the industry also has a share of its challenges.

Accessing services

TransUnion services can be accessed through its dynamic mobile and web based platforms available around the clock. They can also be streamlined to clients’ internal processes.

Consumers can access credit report through TransUnion Nipashe. One can send SMS through its USSD code to 21272 and follow instructions. Subsequent alerts TransUnion headquarters are in Chicago, USA;

It operates in 32 countries globally, maintaining data on 500 million consumers and 4.2 million businesses;

She warns: “We are not in control of the data we receive. Nevertheless, we have checks and balances to make sure that the data meets the criteria it should. We also have no control over the quantity of information of the data we receive from clients.”

Road ahead

Thus far, the executive comments that the market is huge and that the company will continue focussing on specialised analytics to enable businesses to grow to the next level.

It is Africa’s longest operating credit bureau— and manages more data than any other risk information company in Africa; Having the largest African footprint makes it the ideal choice for investors looking to expand into the broader African market;

Knowing more about your credit report can help you make better decisions about your money, and expand your opportunities; A credit score provides an easy way for lenders to numerically judge your credit at a point in time. The better your history appears, the more attractive you become as a loan customer.

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Corporate Social Responsibility

Empowering Needy Students through Education Co-operative Bank Foundation empowers students from poor backgrounds through scholarships and mentorship programmes.

Words

Jenny nyawira

Co-operative Bank Group MD, Dr. Gideon Muriuki (center), presents a token of recognition to Daniel Otieno (left), second best overall student among the Co-op Foundation students, during the foundation’s university and vocational internship program induction. Looking on is Mrs. Rosemary Githaiga (right), the Bank’s Company Secretary.

E

ducation is the key to success, so says an old adage. As such, lack of access to quality education is a major impediment to realization of a better life which has continued to affect the economically poor.

Although efforts by the Kenyan government to promote access to education with free primary and subsidized secondary education is commendable, children from poor background have continued to miss

out quality education opportunities thus affecting their academics and ultimately their chances for a better livelihood.

Against this background, the establishment of the Co-operative Bank Foundation in 2007 was aimed at boosting access to education both at secondary and university levels among needy students. “The Co-operative Bank of Kenya, through the Foundation rolled out education programme to pay

school fees for needy but bright students in Kenya,” says Dora Waruiru, Head of the Foundation.

She adds: “We believe that education is a powerful catalyst that can positively change an individual, society, country and generations as a whole. Education not only empowers the mind but also gives one the key to unlock the golden opportunities in life.” Thus far, the Foundation runs an

annual programme that targets bright and needy student whose parents or guardian belong to a cooperative movement. The prorgamme has been extended across the country where all counties are fairly represented.

In 2011, the Foundation launched a university programme in order to assist needy students’ access quality higher education. “We recruit 4 students from every region which is purely based on merit,” she reveals.

In the same year, a vocational internship programme was rolled out. It is an arrangement where students are attached in different departments within the bank to espouse hand-on experience, skills and real life job situations. They are also taught professional ethos and the whole aspect of a career lifestyle.

Social good

The Cooperative Bank Foundation is the bank’s vehicle for corporate social responsibility (CSR). It was registered as a trust in recognition of the need to improve the existing CSR initiative by the bank. Dora offers that the bank manages its business processes but engages with its stakeholders in order to identify areas in which it can add value and that CSR is part of the bank’s strategic plan.

“Our role goes beyond profit-making to

include promoting long-term economic prosperity and quality of life for everyone in our communities. If our people prosper, we also proper as a bank,” she assures.

The Foundation is fully funded by the bank and has so far supported 3650 bright students in secondary schools across the country and an additional 140 students in various universities where 28 students graduated in May this year. The Co-operative Bank has allocated over Kshs. 600 million from the banks’ profits towards increasing access to good education for needy children since 2007.

The sponsorship includes fully paid secondary and university education, provision of basic necessities, monitoring performance, internships as well as career openings for beneficiaries.

Mentorship programme

Recently, the Foundation partnered with MoneyGram Foundation and held a mentorship programme that benefited 350 underprivileged high school students in seven regions across the country. The programme was expected to boost the students’ academic performance, help them make better career choices, and give them the skills to succeed in university and beyond.

During the workshop, students were also taught about general health and how to

• The Co-operative Bank Group (‘Coop Bank’) is incorporated in Kenya under the Company’s Act and is licensed to carry out the business of banking under the Banking Act and is regulated by the Central Bank of Kenya.

• Listed in 2008, it is now the largest Co-operative Bank in Africa.

have a positive attitude.

The mentorship programme, which was funded by MoneyGram Foundation through a grant of five million Kenya shillings, was facilitated by entrepreneurs, university students and social workers.

Students were encouraged to participate in community service.

Dora reveals that through the education programme, the Foundation reached remote areas such as North Eastern province and educated the girl child, who, in most circumstances, would have missed such opportunities due to prevalent gender disparities in the region.

Outlook

“In line with our strategic plan (20152019), we will be expanding to new thematic areas which include agriculture, health, environment, and education and financial literacy,” observes Dora. “We recognize that CSR is about increased economic, social and environmental value and that is why we are looking forward to impacting all these areas positively.” In order to achieve that, the Foundation is aggressively fundraising and it is also planning to partner with experts in the new thematic areas.

Furthermore, the foundation seeks to expand its programmes to reach out to more students.

• The Foundation is fully funded by the bank and has so far supported 4,200 bright students.

• Co-op Bank Foundation was established in 2007 to enhance the existing CSR initiatives by the bank.

• The Foundation has provided Scholarships for bright but needy students from all regions of Kenya.

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Creative Selling

Just Like The Scout, The Salesman Motto Must Be, Be Prepared - Always Words John Kageche

I

t was my first job. I must have been less than six months into it−selling life insurance. I had just landed my biggest prospect to date, and was scheduled to have an appointment with the Chief Engineer of a multinational firm. After giving a flawless presentation, we found a vacuum which my product could fill, and agreed that I submit a sample of the contract for his perusal before he makes a final decision. Boy, was I ready? I always kept a copy in my folder. I flashed it out immediately and gave it to him. He promised to revert in a week’s time. And that’s when it all went haywire.

You see, I had noticed ‘a gaping anomaly’ in the wording of a paragraph in the policy document (contract) which was unfair to the client. My copy of the contract even had this offending sentence underlined. And I had just submitted the same copy to the prospect. Long story short, I was fried. And the sale was, of course, lost.

I usually give this anecdote to my trainees as a demonstration that you can never be too prepared for a sale’s presentation.

The 5 Rs of Preparation

Over the years, as a firm, we have sieved

preparation into five componentsrepresentation, repertoire, research, rehearsal and repetition. We call them the 5Rs which are as follows.

To begin with, let’s look at representation. One day my wife was looking for a house help who would work for the day and leave. For that reason, she visited a house helps bureau. Among several candidates available, one stood out. My wife beckoned at her, and as she approached, my wife saw emblazoned right across her worn T-shirt the word ‘LOSER.’ The interview was over before it

started. To the prospective day back, the T-shirt was probably just another item of clothing she bought, possibly because it’s what she could afford. The word LOSER may not have meant anything to her. But therein lays the problem−she’s selling and so long as she’s doing so, how she represents herself (her presentation) will be judged by those she’s selling to, and not by her. First impressions may not be the last impression, but in presentations they tend to be. Looking presentable need not to be an expensive affair; you look sharper in an ironed second-hand shirt than you do a creased Giorgio Armani suit. And presentation is also reflective of the industry. Where pinstriped suits were what interviewees expected at one time, today a team building expert appearing in a track suit or a creative spotting dreadlocks and jeans will possibly have more representation sway than one, wearing a suit; likewise, how many artists auditioning for a talent show or agricultural officers selling chemicals to farmers would you take seriously if they arrived in a suit?

Representation does not stop with how you look on the outside. It actually starts with how you carry yourself inside. Your significant other may have forced you into that impeccable suit but it is useless when you wear it with a loser’s outlook.

The second R is repertoire. Usually,

every firm has its own sales repertoire, called sales kit. These are tools of trade necessary to make the presentation and close the sale. Your job as a sales person is to strategically place items in the kit. For this to happen, the kit must be regularly reviewed−otherwise the salesperson finds himself presenting a flawed policy document and getting fried for it. The novice salesperson starts off with the complete kit, then proceeds to shed off bits in it as he gains “experience”- and then wonders why he has hit a plateau. Perhaps a more common case is the salesperson who never seems to have the most basic of items-a pen. And then there’s the salesperson who progressively converts the kit into a personal storage and one day he opens the kit to expose to the prospect his chewing gum, cigarettes, and coins.

The third R is Research. Google has

brought information to our fingertips.

Yet, I still find sales people gushing all the

things the prospect’s website says they do not condone. And the only reason that such salespeople do this is simply because it worked on a previous sales call and so should work now-a prospect is prospect after all. Research allows you to ask the upwardly mobile senior level manager how the price penetration strategy is carrying on; the doting supervisor how her son who recently topped the region in Maths is fairing; and so on. In many ways, a sales call is equivalent to a social date; what worked for Jean will not necessarily work for Joan and Joan will be more endeared to you when you say things that she can resonate with and certainly not what she knows, worked for your ex, Jean. The importance of research cannot be gainsaid.

When a salesperson points out something you hold dear, you are more likely to strike a rapport with him faster than if he’d neglected that bit. However, there’s a thin line between interest and stalking.

For example, even if the salesperson knows, through research, that the board is unhappy with the CEO, or that the prospect beats his wife, this is not information he goes sharing with him. It follows therefore that depending on what the salesperson is selling, the board being unhappy with the CEO and the man beating his wife may be information that could certainly be shared if the salesperson in question is a recruitment agency or the wife’s lawyer.

Rehearse. The fourth R. Whether on your fifth day in sales, or your fifth year, practice. Practice makes perfect is not a cliché, it’s a fact. A negative attitude, laziness to set appointments, spending less face-to-face and more monitor-to-face time is practicing bad habits. Bad habits are so much easier to develop. Good habits require discipline.

Practice the presentation to your mirror, colleague, supervisor. If you must use PowerPoint, keenly go through it every time before you see a new prospect to ensure remnants of the past prospect are absent. Embarrassing does not begin to describe making a presentation to Edge Magazine, with images and taglines of a competitor magazine showing in your proposal or PowerPoint. Perhaps this is the most difficult of the 5Rs. And the reason this is, is because of that misguiding word called experience. Unfortunately, for many salespeople, experience isn’t

always progressive commensurate to their duration in the profession. No; it’s worse. Instead, of having a continuous growth experience for over a period, say, ten years, most of them will have one year’s experience ten times. The learning curve plateaus after a time and the only dynamic remaining is time. And so they start winging their presentations. And in the initial stages they do succeed; and sadly this success emboldens them to believe that ‘they still got it’. I say sadly, because, this initial success is merely possible because of the momentum of past presentations; and, just like releasing the accelerator of a speeding car doesn’t stop the car immediately but over time, likewise, the success will gradually slow down to a stop-and, you make a blatantly embarrassing error and you get fried.

When the salesperson says he doesn’t need to rehearse the presentation because, ‘I’m used to this’ he’s no better than the driver who insists he’s used to driving without a seatbelt. One wonders what exactly he is used to: perhaps being plunged right through the windscreen when an accident happens.

The fifth R is of course a repetition

of the first four and is meant to reiterate the importance of preparation. There are those who say that if you do something for 10,000 hours you become an expert in it. Then there are those who claim that to drop an undesired habit you must take up the competing preferred one, for 21days continuously for it to stick. I say, the things that make your preparation effective as a salesperson are a continual appreciation of your outer and inner representation; an unabated review of the contents of your sales kit to ensure they are up to par; a never-ending appetite for research into the world of your prospects; an unquenchable thirst for rehearsing your presentations and a ravenous capacity to repeat the cycle. The 5 R’s apply to anyone really because we are always selling−ideas to our spouses; asking for increments from our bosses; asking for a date. As a professional salesperson though, be steadfast in the scout’s motto: be prepared−always!

Kageche is Lead Facilitator Lend Me Your Ears Email:lendmeyourears@ consultant.com; www.lendmeyourears.co.ke

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Customer Service

Are some customers more important than others?

Words

Caroline Gathuru

The VIP Customer Dilemma

Y

ou are standing in the queue at a bank waiting for your turn to get to the teller. There’s nothing more frustrating than being there, watching the queue slowly inch forward. The bank has decided that as waiting-time entertainment, they will put up on the screen a continuous loop of infomercials, tooting their horn and showcasing what they are best at, awards they have won, and a series of products they hope will entice you. You just wish they would have more queues open to ensure faster service and to love their customers enough to ensure their journey is painless. This queuing is for sure a pain.

Then a customer walks in and the bank staff seem to all have a choreographed response to his presence. He is escorted to the front of the queue you are in and his transaction is processed in record speed.

He leaves with a smiling ‘relationship manager’ escorting him to the door. You are left with a bad taste in your mouth.

You wonder what is so special about this

customer, and George Orwell’s famous book Animal Farm jumps to mind, with specific reference to his assertion therein that “All animals are created equal, but some animals are more equal than others.”

The million dollar question that plagues both customers and organizations alike is if customers are indeed the most important asset to the business, then are some customers more important than others?

Favourite customers

Well – all business have their favourite customers and that is just a fact of life. The

reasons for these customers making it to the ‘favourites list’ could legitimately be one of many, including that: the customer could be loyal− started with the business right from its initial stages and has stayed right through; the customer could be a high value customer whose continued investment in the business as a customer is of significant value; the customer may be one of popular fame, possibly a celebrity or leader who brings repute and attention to the business; the customer may be a brand ambassador who creates awareness and sends through referrals consistently; or the customer is one of those likable ones who

treatment is well in order. What creates disorder, imbalance and ill feeling from other customers is when they are getting less than stellar service, and are being sacrificed at the altar of glorifying ‘VIPs’.

Every customer deserves to be treated with courtesy, dignity and respect no matter who they are. This is the basic minimum.

Customer processes need to work for the customer to access goods and services with ease and efficiency. Customers need to feel that the brand cares about them and puts customers first. Where the service provided allows for personalization, then that should be at the forefront of operations. Customers need to feel like they are important, because they really are.

Social order

Once this basic minimum is in place then the incidents of bile rising on having a VIP handled differently will be significantly damped down. In totally reality, there is no way say Lupita Nyong’o, the award winning actress or say Bob Collymore, CEO of the world renowned telecommunications company will stand in line with the rest of the customers on a queue. Even the customers themselves expect otherwise.

lights up the room on walking in, knows all the staff by name and face and is just a delight to serve. These customers naturally get VIP treatment from the management and staff.

So the second question that arises from this situation is, if customers are indeed the most important asset to the business, then who is a VIP and shouldn’t all customers get VIP treatment?

Well – customers who are good for your business are most definitely the ones you need to retain and granting them VIP

Social order dictates that VIPs get VIP treatment and that’s how it works.

What follows in the natural order is for customers to appreciate the VIP, in some cases want to be associated with their presence and either get evidence of the same or talk about it in their networks both physical and online. No hard feelings get generated. Disgruntlement comes in when the regulars feel shortchanged and then start to take cognizance of the stark difference between the treatment they are getting vis a vis the VIP. It therefore behooves brands to recognize the folly of this and endeavor to close this divide.

What would also rescue the situation quite some is to ensure that the extra special service meted out on VIPs should not be on full display. Brands should avoid making it too obvious that they have some super ‘special’ customers who are handled differently from others.

Handle your customers with love and they’ll judge your brand as a caring one This treatment needs to be as discrete as possible. This could be as simple as having the VIP notify the brand about their intended visit and then usher them to an office from where their service can be rendered. Use of technology to have VIP customers identified and marked out in advance would help isolate them from curious eyes. The use of discretion is highly recommended and top customers may then be lavished upon.

Customers are really simple people.

All they want is to feel important and feel appreciated and cared for. That is achievable for all customers. Offering personalized services to the extent to which this is personally possible will have customer feel royal, even without the need to press on as with your VIPs. Irrespective of the customer’s status, handling their matters with efficiency, as well as delighting them by exceeding their expectations, will work each time, every time. Unwavering attention is the answer to the VIP customer service dilemma.

Handle your customers with love and they’ll judge your brand as a caring one.

When the VIP does come in (because this won’t be an everyday affair), they’ll even indulge you because they know, no matter what – you care!

Caroline Gathuru is an accomplished brand specialist, marketing strategist and founder of LifeSkills Consulting.

She is an ardent customer service practitioner with over 15 years experience.

Email: cgathuru@life-skills.co.ke

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Branding

Good manners are said to be ageless, classless and priceless.

Words

Derek Bbanga

How Civil Is Your Brand In Business?

R

ecently, I visited a well known electronics store in town to buy a computer part. For those not in the know, this store stocks numerous electronics, computer parts, gadgets, phones etc. The set up is such that you have the shop assistants attending to the customers in a rather chaotic and noisy fashion all over the floor whilst in strategic corners around the shop the “owners� sit on chairs behind counters keeping a mindful eye on proceedings.

Whilst I was there, one of the owners was on his cell phone walking up and down whilst screaming all manner of obscenities at the unfortunate person on the other end of the line. Never mind the store was full of customers – this man was either oblivious to the fact or he wanted to make a point to everyone that he was not to be messed around with. You could cut the tension in the air with a knife, it was so palpable. Customers were practically cowering and my jaw was literally on the floor as this guy

Good manners are said to be ageless, classless and priceless

result, customer service and productivity are suffering. It goes without saying that good manners in the workplace need to come from the top. When the tone is set from the top down, civility becomes part of the company culture.

Leave alone the effect on customers (I for one will never shop there again) but studies show that a large percentage of all employees choose to leave rather than put up with this kind of uncivil behaviour – a clear impact to how efficiently a business runs.

Does civility matter in business and is it even necessary at all? Good manners are said to be ageless, classless and priceless. If we can raise people’s level of behaviour by increasing their awareness of others as well as giving confidence and self esteem, we may lessen hostility and aggression, and who knows - the world might become a slightly happier place. Good manners never go out of style and are crucial in business. Research has shown your technical ability and academic qualifications account for as little as 15 per cent of getting a job and progressing within an organisation, and as much as 85 per cent really boils down to your people skills and how you navigate office politics. At the crux of this is how you relate to other people are you the congenial office colleague or the co-worker from hell.

Good manners

Civility underpins all good business relationships and it does not take any more effort to be nice than it does to be rude and it is one of the things in life that is still free. If we all followed the guidelines of good manners and mutual respect, we would treat each other more kindly, behave more honestly and enjoy greater professional success.

People with good manners treat others cordially, think of others before themselves and have respect for each other.

People buy from people and so better manners mean better business. Having good manners is an essential business tool and it is vital to take a survey at your place of work on whether lack of civility is harming your business or the cost of overall performance. Bad manners can cost businesses by contributing to loss of revenue and increased customer loss and decreased employee morale. was ranting and raving loudly in language that would make a soldier blush. I asked the sales person helping me if this was normal and he muttered under his breath that it happened practically every day.

Personal branding

When looking at the ABC’s of personal branding - appearance, behaviour and communication, behaviour is the glue that holds the staff of an organisation together. Those of us who speak, write and coach others on personal branding have declared rudeness to be rampant for some time and have seen the toll it has taken especially in the office. Bullying, profanity and insensitivity are making work lives unpleasant and as a

One of the leading companies in the area of business etiquette, The Emily Post Institute, did a workplace study on manners and the results were as follows:

Of the 775 persons who had an uncivil act committed against them, 28 per cent lost work time by avoiding the instigator. A further 53 percent lost work time through stressing over the event. 22 percent experienced decreased work effort and 12 per cent actually quit their job. You do the math in terms of the negative business impact incivility may be having at your workplace.

For more on how soft skills can impact business get in touch with @derekbbanga

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Human Capital

Recruiting top talent is not a walk in the park, and neither is retaining these employees Words

Perminus Wainaina

5 Steps To Recruiting The Best Candidate

W

hen it comes to an organization’s recruitment process, the greatest desire of an employer is to have the best candidate. Employers will want nothing more than to find the right employee who will blend easily, and start creating impact as soon as they are settled in. But recruiting the best employee is not usually an easy task.

The recruitment process involves crafting an advertisement, going through a load of job applications, conducting interviews and selecting the best candidate; all of which take up valuable time and money.

If you go wrong at any stage of recruiting, then you risk making a bad hire, which leads to losses in time and revenue. But if done right and you end up recruiting the right candidate, then your business gets to enjoy the benefits of a good investment.

So, how do you recruit the best candidate?

To ensure you end up with the best hire,

the trick is to have a laid out plan for every opening. Here is a 5-step guide towards recruiting the best candidate in any vacancy at your organization.

1. Craft a winning job description

When faced with the need to hire a new employee, you may be quick to come up with a job description.

A hasty description is the first step towards recruiting the wrong person. Take time to think through the position in question; what skills do you want the job holder to

have? What educational qualifications fit the position? How about their personality – is an extroverted person the better fit or would you rather an introvert? What about the experience – is the industry background relevant?

Answering these questions will help you come up with the ideal description that will help wade off unqualified candidates, leaving you with a specific talent pool.

2. Come up with a job advertisement and post on the right platform After creating your winning description, the next step is creating the actual

advert and choosing the platform to post on. Now, if you are working with a recruitment firm, you need not worry much about this step as the recruiters will do it for you. But if you are recruiting in-house, as an employer you must be very particular on what you include in the ad and where you post it; the two will determine the type of applicants you get.

While posting on various platforms may attract more applicants in less time, it will probably give you the wrong talent pool.

The platform you choose should depend on the type of position you are trying to fill.

On the other hand, a good advert should include a summary of your company and position in question, key skills required, qualifications in terms of both education and professional experience and information on how to apply. This gives you a guide to eliminate unqualified candidates.

3. Create a ‘cheat sheet’ for your ideal employee

Once you have your ad up and running, the next step is to come up with a profile for the ideal employee, or what we call a recruitment ‘cheat sheet’. From your current employees, chances are you already know who performs best, who the average one is and who has their clock ticking.

Since your aim is to recruit the best candidate, focusing on the skills, character and motivation of your best performing employees will help you narrow down the best applicants. Think about it; if your best performing employees are happy, then recruiting new personnel with similar skills can guarantee you similar performance.

Based on what keeps your best employees motivated, create a cheat sheet of the ideal employee for the position. Use the cheat sheet to sort out through the applications.

This will help you select candidates who will easily blend into your company culture.

4. Use a proven assessment tool in the recruiting process

The CV and Cover letter are not usually enough to tell who the best candidate for the position is and that is why we have job interviews and psychometric tests. In an interview, you are able to interact with candidates and pick out the better communicator, the self-driven, the confident and even the fake. But even a well-crafted set of interview questions and an intimidating interview panel may not differentiate between the best candidate and one who excels at job interviews because they prepared well.

In order to recruit the best candidate, include psychometric tests in your interview process.

The tests tell you about the character of a potential employee, their decision making process, teamwork abilities, assertiveness and even motivating factors. Matching the results to your earlier created cheat sheet will help you figure out the right candidate for the job.

5. Carry out a background check

At this point you probably have your best candidate or are torn between two, and may be from your cheat sheet, you even have a plan B. Doing a background check on the candidates before making a job offer comes a long way in eliminating or confirming any doubts you might have. It helps uncover any anomalies that were not picked up during the recruitment process, making your recruiting decision clearer.

Recruiting top talent is not a walk in the park, and neither is retaining these employees. But if you invest time and resources to recruit the best candidate from the very start, then you won’t have to worry about going through the recruitment process over and over.

Perminus Wainaina is the Managing Partner & Head of Recruitment at Corporate Staffing Services Ltd. Email. Perminus@corporatestaffing. co.ke.

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Leasing

Renting and leasing has been accepted and embraced by leading multinational corporations around the globe as a sound model for asset acquisition.

Words

Jared Oundo

Renting In Construction Industry Is The New Leasing

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uilding and construction industry in the region has progressively developed to new shifts, hi-tech enhancements, effortlessness acquisition and servicing of the construction machineries has significantly contributed to this evolution. The rapid development of real estate, infrastructure, irrigation and mining projects by National & County Governments, Development partners, construction companies and individuals is a clear manifestation of the development in this sector.

The current growth in the construction industry in Eastern and Central Africa has triggered the ever growing demand of construction and building paraphernalia.

But as demand surges, another challenge emerges; the financial muscle to buy equipment. Against this backdrop, most contractors have resorted to leasing or renting which they argue that is costeffective means of obtaining equipment.

Renting and leasing

Renting and leasing allows companies to use equipment for a specified period of time while making monthly or quarterly payments as the leaser takes care of maintenance, insurance and tracking. This helps them evade the unnecessary vast capital expenditure in buying the vehicles.

The difference between the two is time.

Leasing is basically the acquisition of

occupancy or use of property of another party in return for regular payments for at least one year.

On the other hand renting is obtaining temporary occupancy or use of (one’s own property or a service) in return for regular payments for a period less than 12 months.

Leasing and renting are increasingly gaining popularity. Various businesses are now realizing their numerous advantages as well as the potential benefits they could bring to their organizations. Leasing and outsourced fleet management have seen their uptake on the rise as client companies enjoy the off balance sheet asset management and the convenience associated with both. The main advantage of leasing is that companies are able to plan their finances more effectively as leasing requires only small payments over a long time, depending on the terms agreed on. Leasing also helps companies shun heavy loans in buying movable assets and others that want to keep their credit lines open to allow access of funds for other projects.

Renting and leasing have been accepted and embraced by leading multinational corporations around the globe as sound models for asset acquisition. These distinctive business models are convenient, cost-effective and hassle-free way of acquiring construction machineries. Their key benefit is that they reduce the cost

of construction as one does not need to purchase all required equipments.

Key industry players cite the flexible terms of obtaining a lease as one of the major benefits that makes it attractive compared to loans.

Renting is the new leasing in the construction industry in a bid to meet the growing demand and managing operational costs by passing on intermediate services of vehicle maintenance to rental firms like QuipBank Trust Limited. This aids construction companies to focus on their core business and hence become more productive.

This business strategy is mainly used by other market key players such as telecommunications, manufacturing, logistics, health sector and governments.

Renting relieves you the worry of lifespan and obsolescence.

Multiple Benefits

Through renting, contractors have the ability to use current technology since technology keeps upgrading. The contractors also have the option of returning “outdated” machinery and obtaining an advanced version of the same. With this, the contractors remain competitive for always employing latest technology.

In spite of lack of awareness about the gains of renting, the sector in Eastern and Central Africa is now on the growth trajectory underscored by the rising number of firms specializing in leasing. The recent move by the government to adopt and embrace leasing has given the industry a boost.

“Our value added services such as training operators on how to use machinery for safety reasons and maintenance has over the years continued attracting corporates to rent with us,” reveals Jenniffer Syombua, the Regional General Manager QuipBank Trust Limited, the renting market leader.

Asked about the future of the renting industry in the Region, QuipBank’s General Manager said, “We project that the sector will develop exponentially. Currently, mining, construction and building activities are thriving in Tanzania and Kenya where the need for renting is on high demand.”

She added that Quipbank has invested, “starters in construction industry which aren’t able to outright purchase the expensive construction machineries, can acquire affordable and appropriate earth moving equipment from a reliable renter.”

The Author, Jared Oundo is the Public Communications Officer at Vehicle and Equipment Leasing Limited (VAELL) Email:jared.oundo@vaell.com

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Insurance

Promoting Excellence In Insurance The Association of Kenya Insurers champions insurance disruption and innovation through its research and training initiatives

Millennial generation is driving this change. These individuals have grown up with new media such as YouTube, Google and social media accessible via mobile phones, tablets and computer. Thus, they have an entirely new framework for customer interaction. They now expect to buy what they want, when and where they want it at best prices. Insurers have little option but to leverage on these new forms of technology to enhance distribution of their products and services.

Edge Magazine caught up with Mr. Tom Gichuhi, chief executive of the Association of Kenya Insurers (AKI) to understand insurance disruption, what it means for the industry and how insurers can leverage on it to grow businesses.

AKI was officially registered in 1987 as an independent non profit making consultative and advisory body. Before

“

Mr. Tom Gichuhi, chief executive, Association of Kenya Insurers (AKI).

A

fter years of sluggish growth in IT innovation in the insurance industry, the momentum is now gradually shifting towards digital transformation.

Coming up with new products and repacking the existing product in an innovative way that attracts customers and meets their new emerging needs�

then, it existed in different capacities for close to two decades before its formation under an Act of parliament. Currently, the Association has 46 members.

What we do The association identifies the gaps in the industry through research. This helps to identify product availability for specific markets and how they fit customer’s needs. As such, its members (insurance companies) are able to analyse the research and develop relevant product and distribution mechanisms that would fit the market needs.

“The onset and development of technologies have led to the advancement of new platforms such as social media. The millenials forms the major bulk of social media consumers. It is therefore vital for insurance companies to leverage on new platforms like Facebook and Twitter to reach out to this generation,” observes Mr. Gichuhi.

AKI is also committed to increase awareness about insurance among the public through consumer education and campaigns on various communication platforms. This makes it easier for insurance companies to sell their product to an already informed market. The association further conducts training and seminars for different insurance classes with the aim of building capacity and skills in the industry.

The power of innovation Mr. Gichuhi avers that insurers and other players in the industry can no longer ‘sit idly’ and expect to grow. The advent of technology and innovation has created a new world of opportunity for insurers. The reality is that innovation in the industry can happen in two forms. “Coming up with new products and repacking the existing product in an innovative way that attracts customers and meets their new emerging needs.”

He however shares his optimism that the Kenyan industry has not yielded much in

view of this as subtle progress has been made. “Technology can struggle in some markets. For instance, farmers in arid and semi arid areas in Kenya have low literacy levels which can affect their accessibility of products. They may not understand new forms of technology. For them, they require traditional methods where agents walk up to them.”

Emerging trends As a result of the above transformation in the insurance industry, a couple of trends have been witnessed in the micro insurance, agriculture and livestock insurances. According to Mr. Gichuhi, micro-insurance has great potential but it has not picked the traction it should, so is agriculture and livestock.

Cyber liability insurance is another emerging area which has potential for growth. It describes liability exposures encountered when communicating or conducting business online-via the internet. Potential liabilities include internet, email and electronic transfers and payments. Online communication tools could result in claims alleging to breaches of data, defamation, and spread of computer viruses, privacy rights and copyright infringement among others.

Going forward Taking up on the potential in the industry, Mr. Gichuhi advises that consumer education need to be enhanced. In rural areas, most farmers have low literacy levels. Commercial farmers also need to be encouraged to take up covers for their investments. Agriculture is usually prone to natural disasters such as flood, drought and diseases. “For them, insurance is inevitable as the level of exposure is high.

For instance there are some cows that cost as much as half a million shillings. It would be a nightmare for a farmer to lose his precious cow to injury or disease.”

He also comments that insurance is about numbers. “If you have a few farmers taking up insurance you can never be in business.

You need a lot of farmers contributing

up to a kitty so that other farmers can be insured when in need.”

Insurance needs to be simple. Affordable and well structured to encourage its uptake, more so for micro-insurance.

“In Kenya most people cannot afford insurance. It is alleged to be overpriced. It needs to change. However, the government has come in to subsidise insurance to make it affordable to livestock farmers in Eastern and North Eastern Kenya.”

He also emphasises the huge potential of micro-insurance to impact Kenya’s economy. “There are a lot of people at the base of the pyramid who are exposed to all sorts of property and life risks. However, their ability to pay is wanting. We need to develop relevant products for these markets.”

AKI is set to implement a system that will centralise motor insurance data to facilitate the detection of fraudulent claims and assist in the management of motor certificates. It is also in the process of engaging in further consumer education and training to create more awareness.”We have previously been heavily engaged in consumer education and we want to follow up with more of this and with training and research to strengthen capacity. Our ultimate hope is that our members will take advantage of these initiatives and come up with relevant and affordable products as well as effective distribution methods,” he projects.

In its strategic plan, the association would wish to accomplish in the next five years, is the emphasises to grow the penetration of insurance from the current 3 percent to 6 per cent and premiums from Kshs 170 billion to Kshs 500 billion.

It also sees great potential in agriculture and livestock insurance because of its huge contribution to the country’s economy which stands at 25 per cent of the GDP and employing close to 80 per cent in rural Kenya, both directly and indirectly.

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Women Of Power

Restoring Hope to Cancer Patients Shaira Adamali quit her job at PriceWaterhouse-Coopers to start a resource centre that provides support services to cancer patients at no cost Words

Jenny Nyawira

T

welve years ago, Shaira Adamali was diagnosed with breast cancer. The experience, though painful, not only shaped her perception about cancer but also informed her decision to change lives of many Kenyans suffering from the ailment.

At that time, she was a lead executive at PriceWaterhouse-Coopers in charge of tax in Africa. Due to the poor state of medical facilities in the country, she was forced to fly to the United Kingdom to seek medical attention. Little did she know that was an opportunity that would help her make a difference back in the country. “I noticed the gap that exists between cancer care in Kenya and the UK,” observes Shaira.

“The treatment plan at St Luke’s Cancer Unit of the Royal Surrey County Hospital comprised surgery and chemotherapy,’’

“

Our aim is to take patients beyond medical treatment by offering them a holistic approach to coping with the challenges of cancer

she says. Shaira also visited the Fountain Centre. “The centre offered a platform where cancer patients could meet other patients and share their experiences, get complementary therapies, guidance and counseling, and other valuable information regarding the illness,” she says.

Establishment of Faraja Cancer Support Trust After successfully battling cancer, Shaira quit her job at PriceWaterhouse-Coopers and started a resource centre, Faraja Cancer Support Trust, where cancer patients can access support services at no cost.

Research reveals that complementing medical treatment with known therapies such as good nutrition, exercise, and counseling among others could enhance eventual prognosis, by improving patient’s wellbeing, their ability to adopt healthier lifestyles and cope with the arduous treatment which include surgery, chemotherapy, radiotherapy, homonotherapy. “Our aim is to take patients beyond medical treatment by offering them a holistic approach to coping with the challenges of cancer.”

Shaira notes that in addition to medical treatment, there are many issues surrounding the cancer journey that only people who have gone through the same can understand and help. At the time Faraja was started in 2010, cancer patients had no platform in which they could share experiences or receive useful information.

Today, the centre offers patients as well as their care givers a range of services including support groups, information, advice, counseling and complimentary therapies. Therapies include Reiki, Yoga, body talk, reflexology, massage, lymphatic drainage, nutritional therapy among

others. Lately, it has started providing medical treatment support considering the high costs involved. “It is unreasonable that most people have to wait before commencing treatment after diagnosis.

While the treatment itself is beyond what many can afford, we have done little in creating awareness and providing nationwide screening,” says Shaira. Indeed, even with the availability of enhanced facilities and high-level treatment in the country, it still leaves a lot to be desired.

To this end, Shaira is keen to see Faraja provide free cancer screening. In 2015, it held two screening events in Thika and Kisumu. This year, it has planned to hold six similar events. Three have already taken effect in Nakuru, Meru and Eldoret.

It projects to screen about 10,000 people.

“One of the major problems in Kenya is that to most people, cancer is detected when it is too late. We want to bridge this gap, and help patients with follow-ups and treatment,” offers Shaira.

Every month, the centre holds three support group meetings for breast, ovarian/cervical and prostate cancer.

Through such interactions, patients are able to share their experiences and get advice from professionals.

Furthermore, every Friday afternoon, Faraja team visits children suffering from cancer at the Kenyatta National Hospital.

So far, over 3000 patients have used Faraja’s services while 50 have received medical treatment support. “We are currently in the process of building a medical fund for cancer patients in order to increase the number of beneficiaries.”

Located at the Cancer Care Centre near MP Shah Hospital, Nairobi, Faraja is open to all cancer patients across the country. It

is run by three permanent employees and unpaid volunteers who include counselors, therapists among others. Most are cancer survivors, have had cancer patients, while others consider it paramount to offer their support. Susan Mukami for instance joined Faraja in 2014 as a volunteer after her mother was diagnosed with breast cancer.

She is involved in administrative work, speaking to patients and assisting during events. She says the experience has been humbling.

Fundraising Faraja is run on a charitable basis. It holds a couple of fundraising activities, one of them being the white water rafting challenge held in May every year. It attracts teams from individuals and corporates who fundraise to support the noble cause of the centre. Previous WWR activities have raised approximately Kshs. 3 to 4 million.

Another asset to Faraja is Kenya’s Biggest Coffee Morning, where people are requested to hold a coffee session at their office, school, home or online. It is held in October every year. The event is increasingly becoming important for Faraja as it not only raises vital funds, but also raises awareness.

Kenyans living abroad have also rendered their financial support. “There is a lot of good will considering that most people have been touched by cancer in one way or another – either through a relative, friend, or colleague,” observes Shaira.

Shaira invites individuals as well as corporates to participate in the fundraising activities in order to make Kenya a better place for those with cancer, an illness that no-one should have to face alone.

Going forward, Faraja plans to open a new facility in Eldoret, thanks to its partnership with the Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital.

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We visualise your story

Call us today, we would love to help Longonot Building, 3rd Floor, Apartment 2A, P. O. Box 74298-00200 Kijabe Street, Nairobi, Kenya.

Tel: (+254) 20-2088776 Cell:(+254) 724 113 683, (+254) 715 507 024 (+254) 720 219 613, (+254) 770 467 370 E-mail: info@edgemagazine.co.ke Website: www.edgemagazine.co.ke

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48

MicroEnsure

MicroEnsure’s Love For Low-Income Population The global MicroEnsure giant serves 20 million people in 15 countries across Africa, Asia and Caribbean with insurance, the majority of whom have never before been insured. Tughral Ali, Head of Africa, MicroEnsure unravels the firm’s love for low-income markets and what accounts for its continued rise in a dialogue with Edge magazine Words

Sylvester Okumu

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ounded in 2002 by Opportunity International and supported by a multi-million dollar grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation in 2007, MicroEnsure is the world’s first and largest organisation whose exclusive focus is to address the mass market’s need to mitigate risk.

MicroEnsure serves 20 million people in 15 countries around the world with insurance, the majority of whom have never before been insured.

In 2014 alone it added 8 million new customers in Africa through an innovative product development and distribution approach.

Give some insights into MicroEnsure Africa’s history and current mandates?

We understand that people face persistent risk in their day-to-day lives and generally those who have access to insurance tend to be middle and upper income consumers, who face the least risk of all.

It’s true that our customers do not wake up in the morning wanting to purchase insurance, but they do wake up worrying about the risks they face on a daily basis; and what the impact would be on their families should bad things happen.

We concentrate specifically on developing innovative products aimed at low and middle-income individuals covering a range of risks related to life, health, agriculture, assets, accidents and political violence.

Cheque handing

What are some of the leading products and services you offer?

MicroEnsure operates as the lead partner on microinsurance projects. Whilst we neither sell the product nor bear the incountry risk, we are often responsible for delivering nearly every other element of the project.

Our experience has taught us that microinsurance requires an integrated approach. Our customer care staff must be

world class; however, we must proactively manage risk in order to mitigate fraud and other threats to the success of the project.

Similarly, we must minimize complex terms, conditions and exclusions, but simultaneously work with our partners to expand our reach in order to ensure that our simplicity is supported by scale. There are many such equilibria in microinsurance, which require the use of a knowledgeable service provider to ensure alignment between project elements.

Service Type Project management

Details • Business case and partnership structure • Project planning and execution • Market research • Value chain facilitation: Insurance and reinsurance arrangement • Regulatory liaison • Legal, commercial and service level agreement content Service type Product and process design

Details • Pricing and actuarial assessment • In-demand product features • Appropriate benefit levels • Minimal terms & conditions • Brand-appropriate marketing content • Robust training content Service Type Operational execution

Details • Front-end client management platform • Customer care • Claims management • Policy administration Service Type Monitoring and evaluation

Details • Key performance Indicator (KPI) management • Business growth retention • Customer perception • Financial reporting and premium reconciliation • Claims status and payment performance • Risk management What’s your target market? Why? We offer a range of products that are easy to use, from hospital cash products that provide cover at any hospital for any medical reason, to property insurance products that protect against any natural or manmade disaster, to life insurance that covers any one at any age, without all the

terms and conditions that typically lead people to mistrust insurance companies.

Our target market are those mass-market individuals who wouldn’t normally have access to, or be able to afford vital insurance products.

Tell us about your competitive edge?

MicroEnsure is the world’s first and largest microinsurance specialist with more than 20 million customers in 15 countries.

The company creates insurance solutions for the economically active poor who live on USD4 per day or less, providing a safety net for economic setbacks. MicroEnsure targets low-income populations in Africa, Asia, and the Caribbean with its largest presence in Africa.

What are some of the key benefits that clients get from their association with you?

It’s all covered in our competitive edge; we offer affordable, trustworthy and real insurance products to the mass market. Often our products have minimal exclusions, and often we need little in terms of documentation from customers. We are also proactive in our claims management; we will contact and work with the customer to make sure that the claims process is as easy and straightforward as it can be for them.

Which mechanisms have you put in place to ensure you remain competitive in the market?

Innovative and financially sustainable business models are needed to provide micro insurance to the poor. Mainstream

insurance companies have not succeeded in penetrating this market as they face high costs in administering low-value policies and often lack the poor’s trust. We have put in place mechanisms to cover all of this which means that we will constantly be providing innovative solutions at scale.

Have you faced challenges? Any possible interventions?

Not really apart from those around how we get our products to market and to scale quickly.

Based on your experience within this micro insurance space, what are the emerging trends?

The estimated USD 40 billion market in micro insurance premiums has been largely untapped. Currently, penetration of microinsurance is roughly 2-3 per cent or around USD 0.8-USD 1.2 billion in premiums. Africa, for example, has one of the lowest insurance penetration rates in the world. In 2014, total premiums in Africa were less than 2 per cent of world market share.

Innovative and financially sustainable business models are needed to provide micro insurance to the poor.

What would you say is the role of micro insurance in the future of African economy?

The role of microinsurance now and in the future is quite simply to be able to empower individuals who really feel the pain when something unfortunate happens. Microinsurance should act as a safety net that stops them from falling into poverty when bad things happen.

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Arts & Industry

Mutua Matheka And The Love For Photography

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hat does it take to be a success in the art industry? Is photography interesting when one has an eye for details or sees things in a way that others don’t? Or is it because Mutua Matheka is the real deal in town?

Mutua Matheka is a renowned Kenyan photographer. His photography portfolio of Nairobi’s urban landscape extends beyond mere aesthetics to a realistic depiction of the city. He sat down with Edge Magazine to discuss how he wants to shape and affect our own sense of life through photography.

Our conversation dwelt mostly on the nitty-gritty of his life as a photographer.

Below is a transcript of it, edited for length and clarity.

Tell us about yourself and what you do?

I’m an individual who takes photographs of real life things for fun.

What does it take to become a professional photographer?

A professional photographer is someone who earns a living through the craft and does it to perfection. For him to succeed, he has to operate like any other business venture−be functional.

Highlight some of your successes Changing people’s mindset about life, urbanity and geography through photography. Higher understanding of who we are and where we live is crucial for me because, more often, foreign media has painted a bleak picture of Africa.

Tell us about your background Before photography, I was a trainee architect.

Your photographs are unique and stand out from the rest. What’s your secret?

I focus on architecture. My works are futuristic. 100 years from now, I want people to still relate with my work.

What motivates you?

If people know you, they can change based on how you influence them. I want people to engage with my work in a positive and intellectual way.

Who is your role model?

I am product of my environment as I have received a lot of support from the people I have grown up with. However, there are people whom I can point out that have been influential in my career development.

The likes of Amunga, the director of Kwani Trust, Jim Chuchu a photographer and Jeremy Cowart whose approach to photography is immense and motivating.

He’s made a difference to many people’s lives.

What mantra do you live by?

Being the best I can ever be.

How is your day like?

I don’t have a structured routine but I wake up at 11 am and sleep as late as 4 am in the morning. But all this can change depending on client meetings and work schedule.

Besides work, I mostly spend time with my kids and family.

What do you do for fun?

Hanging out and playing with my two kids.

I also love camping, biking, hiking and road trips while documenting the adventures on camera.

What is the best photograph you’ve ever captured?

I love nearly all my pieces.

If we were to define you with regard to your profession, what photograph or picture would you be?

Architectural photograph What are your future plans?

I want to write books about photography and travel to major towns in Africa documenting and holding photograph exhibitions.

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BOOK REVIEW BOOK: WHAT GREAT BRANDS DO AUTHOR: DENISE LEE YOHN REVIEWER: ORONI TENDERA What is branding? Is it limited by the definition- a unique design, sign, symbol, words, or a combination of these, employed in creating an image that identifies a product and differentiates it from its competitors? Do great brands all have something in common? What makes one brand thrive, while others survive and others die? What Great Brands Do, authored by Denis Lee Yohn provides answers to these questions. Denise Lee Yohn is a leading authority and sought-after speaker on building and positioning exceptional brands.

According to the author, a brand is more than a company’s image. “Your brand is what your company does and how you do it. The brand is the central organizing and operating idea of the business. The brand informs every decision that moulds the operations, culture and customer experiences.” Yohn recommends brands to be used “as management tools to fuel, align and guide every person in the organization and every task they undertake.” She further adds, “Companies must operationalize the brand. This is what Yohn calls, “brand as business.”

The book further elucidates 7 brand-building principles that separate the best from the rest. They include: Great Brands Start Inside. For Yohn, creating a brand-building culture is the first step in putting the brand at the heart of the company’s strategy and operations. Every stakeholder must embrace the notion that everything they do needs to align with and express the brand.

Great Brands Avoid Selling Products. Companies must not depend solely on products, even great products with superior attributes. They must find ways to connect emotionally with customers.

Great Brands Ignore Trends. Trends are tempting but short-term. The best companies anticipate and even help to create broad and important cultural movements.

Great Brands Don’t Chase Customers. A brand that tries to please everyone inevitably loses its brand identity, according to Yohn. Focus on your best customers and the unique value you bring to them.

Great Brands Commit and Stay Committed. It is very tempting to veer from one’s brand identity in the pursuit of short-term growth and profits.

The goal is to gain your competitive edge through a brand platform from which you never compromise.

Great Brands Never Give Back. Yohn asserts that great brands don’t need to “give back” to society because they never “took” in the first place. “Great brands manage to use the power of their brands to inspire change and have an overall beneficial impact on society,” she writes.

Great Brands Sweat the Small Stuff. This principle forms the core methodology of the book and sets the pace of turning the theory of brand as business into real-world practice.

Unlike most branding books, What Great Brands Do goes beyond the ‘How is it applicable in practice?’ It is thoroughly practical about brands.

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54

Travel & Leisure

Nairobi National Museum sits on museum hill, approximately ten minutes drive from the city centre.

Travelers keen in learning Kenya’s diverse culture and rich history will find the museum resourceful. Here below is a list of 7 interesting places, among many others, to visit at the museum

Gems At The Nairobi National Museum

Botanical Garden

The garden is artistically laid out in thematic displays that integrate Kenya’s natural, historical and cultural heritage with plants and habitat displays. The demonstration garden contains indigenous medicinal plants that were collected throughout Kenya.

Currently, the garden is home to some 600 indigenous and 100 exotic plant species and cultivars growing in 11 of the proposed 16 thematic displays. Located in a tranquil environment, adjacent to the mighty Nairobi river, visitors will not only have a rare breathtaking moment to interact with nature , away from the hustles and bustles of the city, but also learn about various plants, their habitats as well as adaptations.

Nairobi Snake Park

Nairobi snake park exhibits live snakes; invertebrates like giant snails, baboon spider , Mombasa train millipede, crayfish, freshwater prawns and vertebrates like fish both marine and fresh water, amphibians, reptiles, birds and mammals. The park also offers services such as rescue and rehabilitation for reptiles (abandoned, confiscated, illegal collection), dissemination of information on aquarium fish and reptiles as well as specialized talks on the same.

To date, the Snake Park continues to assist Nairobi residents in rescuing their residential areas by removing spotted house snakes as well as providing advice on how to reduce possible snakebites within homesteads. Snake identification service is also provided.

Birds of East Africa Exhibit

East Africa is one of the world’s richest regions in terms of bird species diversity, with a record of over 1,300 species. Most of these are readily available in the exhibit−a display of regularly occurring species as well as endangered ones . Some of the 8 Kenyan endemics are exhibited too.

Visitors will have an easy time in the gallery since distinguishing characters of each species are enumerated on its accompanying label together with a brief description of geographical locations where the bird exists.

Early Human Fossils Discovered in Kenya

The fossil bones in this section are the single most important collection of early human fossils in the world, all of which have been discovered in Kenya. They provide vital information about our distant ancestors. For instance, how did they think? How similar are they to us? Why did one line develop into modern humans while others died out?

Mammals: The Race for Survival

In this gallery, visitors will find out why some mammals look similar but are unrelated and others look different but are related.

The most outstanding feature in this gallery is the gigantic skeleton of elephant Ahmed who lived in Marsabit in Northern Kenya. Ahmed was, and still is, famous because of his large and beautifully proportioned tusks. In 1960s, elephant poaching became rampant in Kenya. Concerns were raised about Ahmed being a possible target of poachers. In 1970, in order to protect him from poachers, the then President of Kenya, Mzee Jomo Kenyatta, placed the Elephant under his protection by presidential decree, an unparalleled occurrence in the history of the country and the only Elephant to be declared a living monument. The giant was watched over day and night by two hunters against poachers. In addition, Ahmed received protection from two bull elephants who remained by his side. To date, Ahmed is the only wild animal in Kenya to receive such protection.

In 1974, Ahmed died a natural death at the age of 55 years.

President Jomo Kenyatta decreed that his remains should be preserved for future generations to learn.

The discovery of each of these fossils was a major event which could make the reputation of scientists or overthrow existing ideas about the origins of man. Each one of these has been studied in minute detail for many years and has generated numerous scientific papers and articles in popular magazines, blogs and newspapers.

The Legacy of Joy Adamson Exhibition

This exhibition reflects on Joy Adamson’s contribution in the conservation of Kenya’s natural and cultural heritage. The exhibition chronicles the work that won Joy international acclaim as an illustrator, conservationist and author. This exhibition, showcasing copies of Joy Adamson’s water colour paintings, is a celebration, not only of the illustrator and conservationist herself but also of the diversity of Kenya’s culture and natural environment.

Joy was murdered in January 1980, possibly by poachers. Her body was discovered in Shaba national reserve by her assistant, Peter Morson. The remains of Joy were cremated and the ashes spread over the graves of her lion and cheetah.

Cycles of Life Gallery

Societies all over Africa mark stages of life differently. Although the ways in which such stages are marked differ, they form a cyclic rhythm that could generally be divided into childhood, youth, adulthood and ancestor stages. Each stage is marked with particular ceremonies and rituals.

Cycles of Life gallery offers insights−through paintings, photographs, cultural objects and video clips− into the ways in which various Kenyan communities marked each stage.

Bonus

◆ The museum is open daily from 8:30 am to 5:30 pm including weekends and public holidays ◆ The charges are: Ksh 300 for Kenyans, Ksh 600 for East Africans and Ksh 1500 for non-residents. ◆ There is a gift shop and a restaurant within the confines of the museum.

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Reviewer: Oroni Tendera Justin Timberlake has interrupted the music scene yet again. This time with a killer single, Can’t Stop the Feeling.

Released on May 6, 2016, Timberlake gave it his first televised performance during the interval act of the grand finale of Eurovision Song Contest 2016. Furthermore, the song has been topping the US Billboard Hot 100, since May 28, 2016.

Timberlake’s disco-funk-dance track “Can’t Stop the Feeling” has an impossible-not-to-smile-and-dancealong vibe. It’s all about having a good time and getting your dance on.

Boiled down to its primary essence, pop music is about making people feel pleasant. And this song is dedicated to capitalizing on that feeling. According to Justin, it feels awesome. There’s really not much more to this song, the story of a guy losing himself in good vibrations on the dance floor with friends, and a pretty young lady he’s fond of.

“I got this feeling inside my bones/It goes electric when I turn it on,” JT tells us at the outset. “I got that sunshine in my pocket/Got that good song in my feet/ … I can’t stop the feeling/So just dance, dance, dance/ … I fly so high, no ceiling, when I’m in my zone,” Chants Justin as he beckons the audience to join him on the dance floor leading into the chorus: ‘So just dance, dance, dance!’

Song Review

Song: Can’t Stop The Feeling Artiste: Justin Timberlake

As the music video moves forward, the lyrics too gets more poetic. “Under the lights, when everything goes,” he whispers, “Nowhere to hide when I’m getting you close.” That seductive teasing fuses with fantasy as he says to the young lady in his trademark tenor voice, “So just imagine, just imagine, just imagine.”

“Can’t Stop the Feeling” is already viral.

So contagious is the song, that I can hear you, dear reader, mumbling to yourself, “Can’t stop the Feeling.”

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Having the highest number of resident actuaries in both Kenya and Africa, we are proud to offer innovative solutions to our wide range of clients, including insurance companies, public and private pension schemes, medical schemes and gratuity arrangements. By combining our strong local presence with our global reach, we are able to offer exemplary actuarial services to our diverse client base.

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Trust all your actuarial needs to the experts at Alexander Forbes.

Telephone: +254 20 4969000 Website: www.aforbes.co.ke

2016/02/01 12:06 PM

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