Captains of Industry peek into 2019

The year 2018 has presented a bag of mixed fortunes for local captains of industry. Many of them are however forecasting a year of good tidings in the new year and have shared their views as below:

Anastasia Nyalita, Chairperson, Kenya Association of Pharmaceutical Industry(KAPI)  

The year 2018 has been a remarkable one for the local pharmaceutical industry as we have managed to be more involved in revolutionary conversations ranging from laws regarding parallel imports, to regulation of the industry all tied to the government’s goal of ensuring access to affordable healthcare to all citizens. As we usher in 2019, we at KAPI remain committed to continue being the voice of the industry and to advance our conversations on key pharma issues with the relevant stakeholders. This will include the government, as we seek to explore partnerships that further our agenda for a well harmonized and regulated industry. This agenda dovetails with the overall Big Four Pillar on health and universal health coverage.

Phyllis Wakiaga, Chief Executive Officer, Kenya Association of Manufacturers (KAM)  

2018 has been a good year for the manufacturing sector, despite a few hiccups, we have ended the year on a strong note. The declaration of manufacturing as a top priority investment area for the country to drive economic growth has seen manufacturers and the government engage more towards this goal. The year 2019 promises to be a strong year for the sector, specifically if predictable and stable business environment can be guaranteed in policy formulation and implementation. The SME support accorded by Government will play a major role in strengthening the manufacturing sector’s contribution in 2019. Additionally, we’ll continue to engage the government on the main cross-cutting challenges affecting the growth of the sector, possible solutions and sector-specific interventions to unlock growth potential.

Dan Githua, Group CEO Tusker Mattresses  

The year 2018 has seen the rebirth of the local retail sector, as a major shift in customer and supplier confidence has been experienced. The local players have asserted themselves in this competitive space. It is good to see home-grown retailers adopting global benchmarks and maintaining the edge against the multinational players who have recently entered this market. For Tuskys, the year 2018 has been a truly defining one for us, and we have had to make adjustments and investments that are aligned to the needs of our customers to ensure that we bring value to them with every purchase made. As retail sector players, we have to take up the challenge to continually innovate in order to give our customers services that suit their ever evolving preferences. Looking into 2019, I am optimistic that the sector will continue improving in performance, and if this year’s uptake of the various campaigns launched is anything to go by it will only get better. We are looking forward to doing great things in 2019 as we continue to pursue a corporate strategy guided by a clear vision to be the leading regional retailer and perhaps even make our debut at the Nairobi Securities Exchange. As we have continued to grow and spread our tentacles to various other parts of Kenya and Uganda, so have we continued to expand our desire for a better future for the company which consequently drives us to give the best customer experience to all our customers.

Ronald Ndegwa, Managing Director, Savannah Cement

The year 2018 has been a relatively difficult year for the local building and construction industry. The impact of the credit rates capping has affected projects that are reliant on credit resources from local financiers. Consequently, the consumption of cement products has been slower this year compared to the previous years. For example, according to the September edition of the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics Leading Economic Indicators report, Consumption of cement dropped from 466,909 MT in August 2018 to 456,473 MT in September 2018. Save for the month of March when consumption rallied to 482,910MT against a production of 476,730MT, the other months have registered slower consumption than production capacities. Looking ahead, we are forecasting a vibrant 2019 as the underlying factors begin to correct. We have seen many projects begin to access funding and financing in the last quarter. This, provides a subtle indication that many major projects will soon be back on track. All indicators also point to faster growth from the retail market which has been the volume driver in 2018. The retail market largely caters for dwelling unit developments’; mostly by individual builders. This segment has been enjoying steady growth and we expect almost a volume doubling in the new year. The Affordable Housing Programme (AHP) project under the Government’s Big Four agenda with plans to deliver more than 500,000 affordable homes in the next five years is also expected to create demand for cement products. Spearheaded by the State Department for Housing and Urban Development, this is a very noble project geared at ensuring that the low and middle income households have access to decent and affordable housing units. At Savannah Cement, we have enhanced our delivery capacity at the factory level and forged partnerships with delivery partners such as Alliance Concrete to provide ready mix concrete in Nairobi and its environs. Projects such as the Affordable Housing Programme will require a supply of consistent quality bulk cement at the project sites and we are well positioned to deliver against the project delivery needs as we have done with the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) Project.

Margaret Mbaka, Managing Director, Janus Continental Group (JCG)

At Janus Continental Group, 2019 holds promise for budding partnerships across various sectors of the economy and a favourable environment for expansion in the countries we operate in including Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Mozambique and Zambia. We have aligned our delivery capacity to serve players undertaking Big Four power projects by offering total energy project solutions and will continue to amplify this line of service towards the achievement of the national agenda. In our commitment towards global best practices and market trends, it will be a year of increased investment and infrastructure towards sustainable business initiatives for shared prosperity across our business, our people and the communities we operate. We are also keen to increase our efforts towards supporting the Technical and Vocational Education and Training Authority (TVETA) through partnerships with training institutions that integrate the youth empowerment agenda into our business as a key pillar of talent development and capacity building. Focusing on skills on welding, masonry, plant operation and related engineering artisans for economic growth.

RPatrick Tumbo, Group Chief Executive Officer, Sanlam Kenya

2018 has been a challenging year for the industry, however, we have remained steadfast to ensure we deliver on our promise to our stakeholders and finish strong. Against the backdrop of tightened regulator policy and turbulent investment returns, the insurance industry remained on course to accelerate economic growth in general business segments. As Sanlam Kenya, our centennial celebration this year served as an opportunity to reflect on milestones we have achieved thus far, challenges we faced and opportunities to grow the business.  We have set ourselves apart as a leading non-banking financial services company and set off on a new strategic path in an effort to fulfil our promise of supporting people live their best possible lives. Looking ahead to 2019, Sanlam Kenya is hoping to reap benefits arising from recent business interventions geared at fine-tuning our general and life insurance business operations. Strengthening our distribution network and paying special attention to growing our relationship with our partners has been the focus for 2018, and this will continue into the future. We are confident that leveraging on advanced technological innovations and data analytics to understand our continuously evolving customer needs, will help us to offer an even broader range of services as well as exceptional customer experience that will see our market share grow even more.

Carole Kariuki, Chief Executive Officer, Kenya Private Sector Alliance (KEPSA)

When we kicked off the year in 2018, our focus was to ensure recovery of the economy to the level it was in 2016 i.e. 5.9% growth or higher, and by 2nd quarter of 2018, the growth rate had improved to 6.3%, compared to 4.7% in Quarter 2 of 2017. Through our partnership with all arms of government, development partners and other stakeholders, we have continued to work on targeted policy and business regulatory reforms that have improved Kenya’s ranking in the Ease of Doing Business 2019 report to position 61 globally and the third best in Africa. The improvement in the ranking will ensure a stable, secure and enabling business environment where all businesses large and small, domestic and foreign can start, grow and thrive. As we usher in 2019, we aspire to leverage on the momentum gained so far, work in partnership with all stakeholders and focus on the country’s ambitious development strategies e.g. the Big-4 Agenda to stimulate further growth and development. 2019 is our ‘Simba Era’ period, a moment for us to look ahead and plan for the next 15 years as well as deliver on the Vision 2030 development goals and turn Kenya into a rapidly industrial, medium income economy that delivers a high quality of life for all its citizens.’

Read more at CapitalFM:: Captains of Industry peek into 2019 https://www.capitalfm.co.ke/eblog/?p=7717

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