Rogue stockbrokers, not the electronic trading system, are to blame for the financial crisis facing Nyaga Stockbrokers and other ills afflicting the Kenyan stock market.CLICK TO READ MORE.......
Friday, March 28, 2008
Kenya's Largest IPO opens amid protests over Rogue Stockbrokers
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
Here is a chance to participate in a global writing competition
Click Here to participate in an international writing competition to stand a chance for your work to be published alongside some of the best journalism in the UK plus computing equipment worth $1500. ENTER HERE
Monday, March 17, 2008
Rush to sell Safaricom raises moral questions
With all indications showing that a large number of small investors are likely to be locked out of the forthcoming Safaricom sale, the spotlight must turn to Finance minister Amos Kimunya over his timing of this offer that is billed as East Africa’s biggest.....CLICK HERE for the rest of the story
Friday, February 15, 2008
Post Election Kenya: No Need to Re-Invent the Wheel
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Thursday, January 31, 2008
Kenya up in smoke as Britain, USA, EU, UN, AU and EAC watch from a distance
Koffi Annan's Peace Mission doomed to fail as Another Kenyan Oposition MP killed in cold blood
Another opposition (ODM) MP has been killed in Kenya, as violence continues over last month's disputed election. David Kimutai Too was shot dead Thursday and his body taken to Moi Teaching and Referal Hospital. The man was shot dead in the western town of.....READ MORE
Kenya's Collapse
It's been a month since.......READ MORE
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
The Situation in Kenya is So Sad (Warning: Contains Very Disturbing Pictures)
There is a very grave situation in Kenya at the moment that calls for international support to end violence that has rocked the country over the past one month. Just Yesterday, a Kenyan Lawmaker was killed fuelling READ MORE
Monday, January 28, 2008
Freedom in the World 2008: Global Freedom in Retreat (Kenya among the Worst Perfomers)
Tuesday, November 06, 2007
Happy Birthday Africa Ready for Business!
I just noticed that this blog has now passed the one year mark.
It is my hope that you have enjoyed this 1st year of blogging on Africa Ready for Business. What we have tried to do here is to illustrate how Africa's free market economies have been on the rebound and are providing the means for their respective groups of citizens to empower themselves to achieve their needs and wants. I hope that this is what we have done.
As for how blogging has the last year of my life...The differences between the "before " and "after" for me have been quite stark. Prior to blogging my personal mission was the same as it is today but my daily activities were, for the most part, out of line with my goals. Where the change is even more evident is in my rolodex. If you had seen it a year ago it would have looked like the rolodex of someone who was all over the board, so to speak. But today there is a more of a specific type of a profile within my contact list-there are more professionals on the other end who are already doing business in or within the African continent or they might like to, than not. This means a lot to me. For that I have you, the reader, to thank-thank you!
My dream for this blog has been to make it a platform for multiple bloggers( a group blog) to be able to post stories on entrepreneurship in Africa. We managed to find a stellar writer in Branded, however, overall we haven't fared well in this category. But maybe in the big scheme of things it's ok-because within a few days I will be unveiling such a platform and it will be published on a different system alltogether. So, we would like your opinions on what you'd like to see more of this year from this blog. Please let us know what you might like more of in the upcoming year. In summary the year has been great-thank you all!
Of course, I love your comments. But, if you can't comment at this particular time- but would like to let us know that you were here; please sign and View my guestbook
Friday, October 19, 2007
Is the Kenyan Finance Minister in the middle of a Dirty Economic Game????
Tuesday, October 16, 2007
5th Carnival of African Enterprising [part 2]
In the last part of The Carnival of African Enterprising we present more views from bloggers about Africa in the 21st Century.
Speaking on “AfricanPath”, Jeffery Kimathi marketing manager of “an African fashion” company based in New York-USA, advices Africans to follow his business model that allows customers to subtly and stylishly speak messages that showcase the vibrancy and diversity of the African continent. Kimathi believes that Africa has the capacity to solve its own problems because no one understands the continent better than Africa itself. It’s all about passion and hard work; there is no elevator to success and Africa has to take the stairway just like everyone else. He advises Africans to strive to earn respect for their resourcefulness, ideas, and creativity. According to him Africa should endeavor to contribute to the modern world culture. “This is why Italian handcrafted garments go for thousands of dollars each and yet similar quality handcrafted African goods usually go for much less,” he says
“Joshua Wanyama” believes that any business is only as valid as its value in the eyes of a consumer. This also holds true for African businesses. He advises Africa to aim at creating a prominent global brand by strategically building a position within the mind of the consumer (world) and steadily defending that position. If a company offers Internet connectivity in Cairo, Egypt it can do the same in Bujumbura, Burundi as long as a market exists. For it to develop a strong position within the marketplace, it has to develop a strong brand. The name this company occupies in the Egyptian marketplace has to be the same as the one occupied in a Burundian’s mind or a Togolese for that matter. Branding then presents a strong foundation on which Africa can build its market share in a vibrant global economy. “Wanyama” believes that a Pan-African company will also need to have a home country, for example, Coca Cola (an American soft drink company) is a global brand with 80% of its annual sales coming from foreign markets, it will be ill advised to disown its American heritage.
According to “Benin Mwangi” Africans should re-orient their thinking, step out of the past and see markets as what they are - big and underserved. Benin proposes a public-private approach as one way to take Africa into the 21st Century. If an African government intends to invest in wiring classrooms and has both the scale and technical savvy to pull it off, that’s great. However, if the private sector has the muscle to do it much better, then the government should support the sector by allowing such investments but still play its role as a facilitator.
“David” advises African businesses to adopt better business strategies so as to attract more investors. He reckons that Africa should carefully strengthen all aspects of business that investors look for to ensure that the opportunities Africa present achieve results. For a successful business, he advises Africans to put more strength in what investors look for when evaluating opportunities which include; the people who manage the company, concept value, price of the deal, deal structure and the exit strategy.
Thursday, October 11, 2007
The Carnival of African Enterprising [Part 1]
This is the first part of the 5th Carnival of African Enterprising presenting views of bloggers based on the theme Positioning Africa in the 21st Century. This edition was first published in The African Executive on 10th October 2007. The second part will be presented on the 17th of October 2007.
According to Timothy Kioko, Positioning is the aggregate perception that people (target market) have of a particular continent (product) in relation to competitors in the same category. A country like India is positioned as a business outsourcing hub; China on the other hand, is growing super fast as a major force in the international trade arena and is in the process of positioning itself as a major trading partner in Africa. Saying that Africa is already positioned as the highest recipient of foreign aid, he advises the continent to re-position itself as a business hub by embracing democracy, efficiency, respect of property rights and encourage innovation. Africa should not sleep as the other regions take over the world!
Kenyanomics holds that adopting sound economic policies that encourage economic freedom will lead to economic prosperity. He adds that obsession with poverty eradication is a major threat to economic freedom in developing nations as it increases central planning and crowds out individual effort. Kimani argues that the United Nations' Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) only serve to widen avenues of corruption and increased budget imbalances, both of which have crippled Third World economies for decades.
Randy Nichols believes that developing a market based education system that encourages careers in business will boost the continent in its bid to position itself as a source of international labor. Experiential knowledge gained from such labor exports will form an integral part in Africa’s development. He advises Africa to embrace any opportunity to get training in fields that will see its marketability soar to greater heights.
According to Gustav S going to university does not mean that one is highly educated. Many Africans believe that the only way to achieve goals in life is to go to school, learn a profession and then get employment. Becoming a professional, going to the University or taking required steps to land your desired job are important but it is just the beginning of one’s way to success. He urges Africans to develop Discipline, Self Control, Consistency, Perseverance and Faith in order to move forward as a continent.
Finally, G. Kofi Annan says that the continent needs to develop its own film and broadcasting industries with focus on local content. By producing local themed movies in the “right way” we can better present African in the international media. In his opinion, one of the ways that will change the process of making African films for Western audiences is to tie the African film industry to the strong African-American film community. While the film industry at large struggles to make a return on the production costs, with blockbusters not making the numbers they used to, the African-American film community has a great opportunity to align with the African film community and continue to grow professionally and financially. But creativity and authenticity is the real key.
Monday, October 01, 2007
Nana Kwodo Amoa I (August 5, 1947-September 29, 2007)
Dr. Charles S. Brown
Dr. Charles S. Brown grew up at a pivotal time for Black America. As a young student at Morehouse College he was able to witness and be a part of America's civil rights movement. After reading books written by Dr. W.E.B. Dubois and Kwame Nkrumah Dr. Brown began to become exposed to a wider perspective. Afterwards, he gradually gained an appreciation for African history. Over time this appreciation would continue to grow and less than ten years after obtaining his PhD in physics he began to research ancient African civilizations. His study was so intense that over a three year time span, he became an authority on the subject.
For Dr. Brown, learning about ancient African civilizations meant more than just being able to quote a few abstract facts, he believed that if he could help African American youth become aware of their true heritage it would be easier for them to dream big. Integrating scientific finds on these ancient civilizations into mathematics or physics curricula for his university classes would later become one of Dr. Brown's most recognizable hallmarks.
But the event that would later shape his outlook on modern Africa continent took place when he attended the First Edward Bouchet International Conference on Physics and Technology on June 11, 1988 in Trieste, Italy. The Edward Bouchet Institute is today called the Edward Bouchet Abdus Salaam Institute. One of its aims is to foster scientific and technical collaborations between African and American scientists and engineers. Prof Charles S .Brown's first trip to the African continent occurred in 1990 when he attended the second Edward Bouchet Institute Conference in Ghana. It is through the Edward Bouchet Institute that Professor Brown met the internationally renowned Professor Francis K. Allotey. In the fall of 1991, Prof. F. K. A. Allotey of Ghana visited with Prof. Charles S. Brown, who at that time was the Chairman of the Physics Department at Clark Atlanta University (CAU). The collaboration between Prof. Allotey, Prof. A. E. Bak, and Prof. C. S. Brown resulted in two published papers.
Prof. Allotey, four years later arranged the visit of Prof. Charles S. Brown to Cape Coast, Ghana, where he worked as a Fulbright Visiting Scholar (December 1995 – May 1996) and an ICTP Visiting Scholar (June 1996 – December 1996). Prof. Brown helped to develop the University’s graduate curriculum, served as a research advisor for a physics doctoral candidate, and collaborated on a research paper with Prof. S. Y. Mensah, Chairman of the Physics Department and Vice Dean of the Faculty of Science at the University. The work that Prof. Brown did in Ghana did not go unnoticed; in fact it was instrumental in his enstoolment as a traditional ruler in the Assin Manso district of Ghana.
To elders and other traditional rulers in this district Prof. Brown was known as Nana Kwodo Amoah I. It is a role that he took very seriously, even until his passing.
I love you Dad. I know you are in a better place.
Sunday, September 16, 2007
Fashion Icon Gives Hip Hop an African Story!
Kenya Urban Fashion Icon Also Teaches…
courtesy of: Jamhuri Wear
Just a little over an hour ago, I was doing a periodic tour of my page on myspace and to my surprise after visiting a few of my friends spaces landed on the myspace profile of Jamhuri Wear. The reason for my amazement is that there have been so many times that I searched for hours to find an entrepreneur like Jeffrey Kimathi(one that the youth can easily identify with) to profile on The Benin Epilogue and then by total coincidence I bump into such a person on myspace… To me Jeffrey Kimathi is the perfect embodiment of the term “cheetah” that Dr. George Ayittey made popular in his book Africa Unchained.
courtesy of: WorldChanging
Here is an excerpt on Mr. Kimathi, it is written by one of Kimathi’s friends & colleagues who also happens to be the founder and editor of KBR1963:
courtesy of: KBR1963
For the few who don’t know about the Jeffery Kimathi story or just see Jamhuri today for what it is today. A lot of thought or growth has been put into the product since its inception. In that Kim actually interned for ECKO Clothing Company after moving from Dallas a while back. A lot of people thought he was crazy to work as an intern with no cash (am sure the same people are not really saying much today). After his internship which lasted about 5 months, he was hired to work with the marketing department which was working on launching G-Unit clothing for 50 and other related brands (I guess this is the part where I say the rest is history)
Today Kim is developing his own brand, his own vision, his own clothing line that are communicating the heart, mood, soul and identity of many Africans living in the Diaspora. The clothing line represents our culture in a dignified manner and not the other brands that represent borrowed ideologies that make us look fragmented. Clothes make up who we are, they say a lot about an individual before he opens up his mouth, this would explain why majority of the artists who are into changing humanity end up coming out with a clothing line or t-shirts that make a powerful statement.
I wear Jamhuri Wear because it represents a journey of a man I can relate to, it represents a country I have learnt to love dearly, and it represents the people that I care about the most. I wear Jamhuri wear not because of Kim but because I believe I am a King in my own right. “Made to fit Kings and Queens.” If you haven’t placed an order for an item yet, please do so and look at the attention to detail in the packaging, the delivery and the handling, its these small things that demonstrate greatness and attention to detail. It’s these little things that make me a King.
Ok, so that says a little bit about the visionary behind Jamhuri Wear. But there is more, Jeffrey is also a blogger. And with what must be a non-stop, no sleep, 24-7 type schedule he still makes time to write quite a number of superb posts. He then ties some of the posts into any one of his many unique product offerings. Below is a post where he talks about a very special city in Senegal called Touba.
courtesy of: Wikipedia
Touba is the home of an astonishing group of people called the Mourides; they are renowned for their entrepreneurial prowess. This is something that they display not only in Senegal, but perhaps to an even greater extent outside of Senegal. It is Emeka Okafor who first introduced me to the Mourides. But anyhow here is an excerpt from the grandmaster of urban African Fashion:
Their “you can and should do for yourself” work ethic was inherited from Bamba himself; Mourides have developed their own financial and spiritual independence. They are not dependant upon donations from Saudi Arabia or other wealthy Islamic societies.
Touba - Now is the second largest city in Senegal- is an autonomous municipality. Touba does not pay taxes or answers to the federal government. There is no smoking or drinking allowed, nor do residents pay water bills. Women participate in the public life: many with their own businesses. The brutally strict interpretation of Islamic law (Sharia) that some societies have adopted is nowhere in sight. More on this great icon
In closing, let me say that this post was aimed at the current hip hop generation. If anyone reading this post feels that you fit this definition, then this is for you. Reach for the stars. At one time Kimathi did the type of work that he does today as an intern (read-he did it for free), but all that time he kept his eyes on the prize and look where he is today, this reminds me a lot of something that I read in Robert Kiyosaki’s book, Rich Dad Poor Dad. So Kim teaches us that if we can make the sacrifices early and stay the course, then we can achieve in business to infinity!
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Thursday, September 13, 2007
Submit your articles for The 5th Carnival of African Enterprising to be hosted in the African Executive Magazine in October
The 5th Carnival of African Enterprising will be hosted by “Branded in his blog Business in Focus” and in the prestigious “African Executive Magazine”. This edition will also be featured in the annual Africa Resource Bank meeting where Branded will present all views expressed by The Carnival participants.
The Carnival Topic "Positioning Africa in the 21st Century" is sponsored by The “Africa Resource Bank Meeting” which will be held in Tanzania from the 11th to 14th November 2007.
(All interested bloggers who may wish to attend The “Africa Resource Bank Meeting” meeting in Tanzania are welcome to register “HERE”.
The objective of the Carnival theme is to Explore the reason behind the success of the West and Emerging Eastern Economies and how they can be applied in Africa.
All intrested Bloggers are requested to submit their content/Articles along any of the following topics or any other topic that you may find relevant to Africa in the 21st Century:
1. Effects of colonization on Africa's Economic Development
2. Who invented Africa and how can Africans gain from it?
3. The role of Aid and the future of Africa
4. Migration and the brain drain debate
5. Global warming and the future of trade in Africa.
6. Business and Entrepreneureship culture - Lessons from the East
7. Leveraging on China's thirst for raw materials to develop Africa
8. Economic Intergration in Africa
9. Tax harmonization in Africa
10. Alcohol policies in Africa
11. Reviewing the education system to meet the needs of Africa
12. Promoting the African Voice.
LET YOUR VOICE BE HEARD!!!!!!
Submit your articles today.
Tuesday, September 11, 2007
“Cold Blooded Execution” of 13 Kenyans by Tanzanian Government puts the proposed East African Federation to Test.
All Mystery surrounding the killings in the northern Tanzanian town of Moshi, put to test the fate of the proposed East African Federation. What the Tanzanian police called....“Click HERE to read the rest of the post”and other posts about the East African Federation
Friday, August 24, 2007
Tanzania diminishes chances of regional integration
To my dismay, the same structural failings and issues that necessitated the first collapse still exist. During the first collapse it was easy to blame ideological differences between Tanzania and the rest of the East African Community since the latter was socialist while the former shared capitalistic ideologies. This aside, the real reasons as time came to reveal was the fear that Kenya dominated the rest of the community.
Following the collapse of the EAC and prior to the recent haphazard re-integration, arose the Common Markets for East and Southern Africa (COMESA ) the only remaining workable regional organisation that Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania had in common. This was until Tanzania opted out again to join South African Development Cooperation (SADC) , allying itself to what is clearly a grouping for Southern African countries.......................(please read the rest of the post at http://businessinfocus.blogspot.com)
Saturday, August 11, 2007
My Favorite Interview
Recently I did an interview with an entrepreneur from Cameroon with a law practice. In fact he is the same gentleman that I mentioned in an earlier post-here.
One thing that I really enjoyed about this interview is that we did it on the phone, so it felt like a more natural flow than the email interviews. I am now going to have to do one by web chat-that is the only thing besides phone (skype included) or in person interviews that might be more convenient or fluid to post.
Here is an excerpt of the interview with Mr. Tiku, by the way:
African Path: So Mr. Tiku, why is this topic of immigration something that looms so heavily in the minds of our nation's (The USA) African immigrants and why should attention be given to this topic?Before I close, let me say that Mr. Tiku is an attorney, but he is also an entrepreneur who employs three and also had a similar practice in Cameroon, which also provided jobs. Anyway, I hope that after reading the full article that will have been further enlightened.
Mr. Tiku: Well Benin, right now 2 out of 5 immigrants in the US either have a problem with their visa status or know someone who does.
Wow, Mr. Tiku, those numbers seem to convey that this issue is very serious. Now does this mean that immigrants from Africa are in the same predicament as those from Latin America or is there a difference?
Latin American countries in South, Central America, and Mexico are in a slightly different position, because they can easily get into the United States through Mexico which shares the largest boarder with the United States. This unique situation explains the reason why by far the greatest numbers of immigrants both legal and undocumented are from that area. On the other hand, when we talk about African immigrants, because there is no shared or common border with the United States, almost all African immigrants that are in America were came here with some type of a visa. However, most often these visas expire thus making them illegal.
I see, Mr. Tiku and if I remember correctly there was a new law that the President, Mr. George W Bush tried to pass that could have resolved this problem. But that law did not make it past U.S. Congress. Many folks from different parts of Africa have asked me whether I thought such a law, if passed, would benefit immigrants from Africa or if it would be more targeted to the immigrants from Latin America. What do you think about this Mr. Tiku?
If we go strictly by the numbers (the number of Hispanics in America), Hispanic immigrants stand to benefit a lot by this type of legislation. However, had the law passed it would have applied universally to all immigrants within the United States, so it would have helped immigrants of all national origins. Right now Congress is pre-occupied with the upcoming elections (that might be one reason that the bill failed to become a law). So although the bill failed, it is likely that after the 08' elections it might be presented to Congress again. Also, something I'd like to mention is that in US Politics this immigration topic has become large and at times very divisive with strong opinions on either side. The immigration issue has replaced affirmative action, Rowe Vs Wade, and abortion law as the new hot button issue.
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Saturday, August 04, 2007
IBM Thinks Africa
About three months ago I received a rather short and nondescript comment in my guest book. Now around the same time I had been receiving spam comments and the like, so I didn't pay the visitor's words much mind. About one or two weeks after that I received an email from someone who said they were from IBM-huh? And the email had something to do with Africa. Ok, that got my attention. So, I read the email again, just to make sure that it was real. Indeed it certainly appeared so. The letter conveyed that IBM was working on putting a small panel together-sort of like a think tank, consisting of about 30 people, and the focus of these "deep dive" sessions would be to brainstorm about economic progress on the African continent. They are calling this forum the IBM Global Innovation Outlook (GIO) and this series is titled IBM GIO Think Africa.
To make a long story short, I accepted the invitation and attended the event. What a treat it was to event to attend this event. One of the highlights for me was participating on a discussion about the impact that the continent's informal economies have had upon the lives of the participants of the event, as well as the overall impact upon the continent's economies. I also had a chance to sit down with an IBM vice-president to talk about the company's strategy on the continent. The post will be published on African Path this week. Perhaps even more major, though, were the one-on-one connections that I was able to make while there. There was a NEPAD official, several university professors, a Ghanaian King, several fortune 500 executives, two university students, and several others.
Here is a snippet from the GIO blog summarizing the event:
"Hubert Danso, vice chairman of the African Investment Advisory Group at NEPAD, spent years shopping positive business stories around to the international media types. He got nothing but lip service. So he finally decided that if he wanted the stories of Africa’s burgeoning economic prowess and entrepreneurial spirit to reach the world, he was going to have to tell those stories himself. Danso is now the managing editor of Africa Investor magazine. It’s as slick as anything you’d pick up on a New York newsstand, has top-notch research, and relentlessly covers business issues in and around the continent. If you want to get the other side of the business climate story in Africa, it’s a must-read.
Other deep dive participants have broached the idea of a news portal that focuses exclusively on positive stories coming out of Africa."
You may find out more about the IBM deep dives by visiting their blog here. Otherwise, be on the lookout to hear what an IBM Vice President has to say about doing business in Africa. Please stay tuned!
Of course, I love your comments. But, if you can't comment at this particular time- but would like to let us know that you were here; please sign and View my guestbook
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