Investment News Kenya

Kalonzo Musyoka’s Philosophy Stands Between Him and Kenya’s Presidency

2012-02-19T19:01:30Z

kalonzo musyoka - kenya vice president

Striding both roads like the proverbial hyena may have succeeded for Kalonzo Musyoka during the controversial 2007 elections. He strategized to benefit by passing in the middle of the two main contestants, current President Mwai Kibaki and current Prime Minister Raila Odinga. He succeeded in becoming the Vice President to Mr. Kibaki.

But that strategy has cost the trust, not only of Kenyans at large, it has cost him the trust of the Akamba community on whom he depends. Few Kambas are convinced that Kalonzo is presidential material – or that presents the best image of the community.

God Father Factor

First Kalonzo got into politics when all you needed was a god father – whom he easily found by a lucky coincidence or craft design – within his back yard. That method of entering into parliament often dulls the mind and inflates the ego. Like King Kamaliza is the play King Kamaliza, the attitude becomes that of “I am so special my birth was heralded by miracles like that of Jesus. On the day I was born, divine smoke flew out of my mothers hut, a sign that a leader was born!”

Appointee Mentality

Second you mistake appointment with acquisition. Being a cabinet minister is an appointment. Its an acquisition to build your own business enterprise. Writing a book is an acquisition. Running a marathon is an acquisition. Only acquisition count counts as a measure of ones intellectual or physical endowment. Any unschooled person appointed as a cabinet minister can sit on the chair. That difference is hardly discernible to appointees. And that often leads to much to their disappointment.

Youth Mentality and Presidency

Third Kalonzo was praised as a youth in parliament. Maybe, it was a useful quality that time, but now it obviously isn’t. In his Akamba community – an in deed, in the whole of the world – youth are not appointed to high leadership positions. In Ukambani, they would be the warriors in the traditional society whose values we still hold. Today they are the “kivivya Nyama” – the boys valued more their swift legwork and therefore are appropriately given the work of roasting meat for their seniors.

Knowledge of Culture

Finally –and that only means my space for this column this finished –Kalonzo, by remaining a youth with typical Kamba boy mentality, has not learned the culture, sayings and wisdom of the Akamba, in particular, and Kenyans in general. Compare him with Raila Odinga who has mastered not only the Luo culture but the Kenyan culture as a whole. Everywhere he goes he will find a song or a saying that belongs to our common heritage as Kenya and aptly summarizes his thoughts. That has endeared him enormously to all of us – and especially the media who play a key role in molding opinions.

The Wisdom of ODM: “Traditionally, a Family of an Incompetent Child Adopts the Neighbor’s”

2012-02-17T09:38:03Z

On Sunday of February 12, 2012, I stopped at a shoeshine boy’s at Machakos town were the so-called G-7 alliance of Eldoret North MP William Ruto, Vice President Kalonzo Musyoka, Deputy Prime Minister Uhuru Kenyatta and several others were camped in a rally to push their presidential campaign. The town was abuzz with stories of how much cash people were being given to attend the rally.

Kalonzo Musyoka in the middle with Uhuru Kenyatta (left )and Willam Ruto (right)

Woman’s Story

A middle aged woman came to repair a broken shoe. “I am tired. I want to go back home to Matuu,” she told all who wanted to listen. And there were many of us listening. According to her, she and her bus-load of friends had been given Shs300 each for fare to come to Machakos with a promise of getting much more on arrival.

“We came at night. We have not had food, not even breakfast. So when I heard there was some money being given out, I scrambled to get some. It was a Shs 100 per person. I made quick calculation, and decided I better save it to add to what I have and go home. My shoe got broken as we struggled for the money!”

School Buses Galore

Around the venue, many school buses, presumably hired to ferry people from around Machakos County and further afield were paraded.

On the road to Nairobi, the town’s crowd of motorcycles and bicycle were racing towards Nairobi, their lights on and horns blaring. “This is what we call the misuse of youth and motorcycles,” a youth standing next said.

Enticing the Youth

“They have been paid – Shs500. That’s more than they get on a dry day like today. In addition they have free petrol worth Shs500. That will keep them for more than a week driving around, doing business!” another youth offered.

“The G7 have money. Uhuru is the richest man in Kenya!”

“That is why everyone is fight to attend the rally,”

A youthful woman happily walked along the road donning an ODM cap (ODM is the name of the main rival party led by Prime Minister Raila Odinga which the G-7 alliance is united to beat in the next general elections). Suddenly, from nowhere, another woman emerged, snatched the cap off the youthful woman’s head and scornfully threw it on the road declaring, “I am Wiper to my bone marrow!” (Wiper is the new name for Kalonzo Musyoka’s breakaway branch of the ODM that used to be known as ODM Kenya).

Everyone turned towards the Wiper woman, declaring in unison, “I am ODM to my bone marrow! It is the right of everyone to belong to whichever party they want to belong!”

“And where the cap they want!” added a shaggy looking man.

“No way!” snarled the Wiper woman. “I can’t stand an ODM cap! I am Wiper to my marrow!”

“She wasn’t given any money at the ODM rally!” the shaggy man volunteered, swearing that he and the woman were sitting next to the ODM man who was dishing out the money at an ODM meeting at the same venue a week ago. “I saw her walk out empty handed.”

Wisdom of ODM

The ODM rally was low-key. But it had left behind a couple of epigrammatic statements that were hilariously repeated over and over in the town. According to those who attended, a speaker at the ODM – apparently a Luo – told the crowd – mainly composed of Kamba’s in whose land Machakos town lies – that he would not demand that the Kamba vote for Raila.

“Raila is not a Kamba (Raila is a Luo). You should vote for one of your own. But remember a family of an incompetent child traditionally that of a neighbor’s!”

The thunderous sound of an airplane nearly split everyone’s ears. The small crowd scampered to see who the money-bag arriving in style was. Perhaps he had in a bag of money to distribute.

“How much did you get?” a youth asked his colleagues.

“Aki, I got nothing!” another one said urgently.

“Me, I can’t say. It was Charlie who was near…..”

William Ruto in IDP Land Grab Lawsuit

2012-02-16T10:43:01Z

An internally displaced person (IDP) from Eldoret found that the 100 acre farm he had left behind as he fled to safety following the 2007 post election chaos, had been acquired by the Eldoret North MP William Ruto. And in a suit he filed to regain his land from the MP, the IDP Mr. Adrian Muteshi narrated how he bought and lost his property.

William Ruto

Mr Muteshi told the court he had twice to flee his farm and abandoned his farming business following tribal clashes after general elections in 1992 and 2007.

After the 2007 clashes, he returned to the farm to resume his farming only to be informed that Mr Ruto had taken over the land. His workers had also been kicked out of the farm.

Application

He told the court that in 1968, Mr. Muteshi said, he was looking for a piece of land to buy when he came across the farm located in Turbo in Uasin Gishu District. At that time the land in the Kaptabei Scheme, belonged to a white settler named Mr Edmund.

He went ahead and made an application to the then Lands Minister Jackson Harvester Angaine for approval to buy the land. The approval was given on October 3, 1968, after Mr. Muteshi had paid the amount required and additional money for development. He paid the loan for land t over 30 years after which he obtained the title deed, he said.

Ruto’s Defense

Mr. Ruto says he bought the land from a Ms Dorothy Jemutai Yator. And now he says he wants to return it to the rightful owner – Mr. Muteshi. Through his lawyer Katwa Kigen, the MP told the court he wanted “to weigh his options with the likelihood of surrendering the land then pursue the person who sold him the property.”

The court allowed the lawyers representing Mr Muteshi and the MP discuss the terms of settlement.

Political Campaigns in Kenya: Strategists and Consultants Now Get Ready to Make Money

2012-02-06T11:28:04Z

Political strategists and consultants are gearing up to make a killing during the campaigns for Kenya’s next general elections expected to be held anytime between August this year and March2013. Those who will work for aspiring presidential candidates – expected to be no fewer than 20 of them – will have huge funds to work with, and will, therefore, also be expected to paid more.

The heavy weights of last election President Mwai Kibaki (centre) and Prime Minister Raila Odinga (Right) with Koff Annan, fomer UN Secretary General

Billions of Shillings

Already most of those who have declared an interest in running for the presidency are said to have raised billions of shilling in readiness for the campaigns. Among the leading fund raisers so far, is former cabinet minister Mr. Raphael Tuju who is said to have raised some Shs3 billion. Tuju, a former radio journalist resigned his job as President Mwai Kibaki’s advisor to start an early campaign.

Others who have raised large sums of money already include soft spoken Member of Parliament for Gatanga constituency Mr. Peter Kenneth. He is said to have raised Sh2.5 billion. Former Vice President and Minister for Internal Security Prof George Saitoti is said to have raised more than Sh 2 billion.

Expected: More Billions

Experts however said these are small monies in comparison with what is expected to be spent. A comfortable minimum is expected to be Shs8 billion while the average is expected to be as high as Shs11 billion.

Although no indication has been given of the money the front-running, big money bags intent to spent, it will certainly be astronomical sums. Those expected to pour down money include Mr. Uhuru Kenyatta – the Deputy Prime Minister who was recently named the richest Kenyan by the American Forbes magazine, Mr. William Ruto, the Prime Minister Mr. Raila Odinga and possibly Vice President Kalonzo Musyoka. Mr. Musyoka is allegedly a man of modest means but can spring a surprise.

Mr. Odinga will need all the money he can master – and according to reports it’s way ahead of what most Kenyans assume – to fight the combined force of Mr. Kenyatta, Mr. Ruto and Mr. Musyoka and a host of others allied to them.

Strategists and Consultants

And therein lies the gain of political strategist and consultants. A host of them will be needed. They will include pollsters, media strategists and opposition researchers. Pollsters will be in high demand, particularly because of the increasing importance of opinion polls and the equally increasingly controversial results of the polls.

Media strategists will, too, be in great demand. They will produce campaign advertisements; coordinate advertising efforts and help candidates hone their message to voters. The media play an important role in shaping the image and message of political candidates.

And those consultants lucky to get into the circles can expected to make their pockets truly heavy with cash. But exactly how much can they possibly expect to make? Don’t miss to read in Part Two of this article

Trends in Book Trade in Kenya: An Analysis of the Men and Business that Control Book Publishing

2012-02-05T09:39:57Z

Changing the Kenya book publishing industry into multibillion shillings sector has required the entry into the industry of well-connected, multi-billion shillings investors. One of the most celebrated of these investors is Centum, a private investment company said to be the largest investor in East and Central Africa. Centum, once a government owned-investment company known as the Industrial and Commercial Development Corporation (ICDC) owns Longhorn Kenya which is set to become the first publishing firm to list its shares at the Nairobi Securities Exchange.

Book Industry in Kenya: Big money investors setting trend

Centum is the largest investor in Longhorn with a 35 per cent stake which it bought in 2008 for Sh241 million. Businessman and Tetu MP Francis Nyammo is the second largest shareholder with an 11 per cent stake while Mureka Investments controls 2.7 per cent of the firm’s shares. Other top shareholders include Kamami Investments with 2.1 per cent and Text Book Centre with two per cent.

The key investor in Centum is Mr. Chris Kirubi, recently named by the American business magazine Forbes, as the second richest Kenyan after Deputy Prime Minister Mr. Uhuru Kenyatta.

Other big-money investors include former Vice President Mr. Moody Awori of the Moran Publishers and former Assistant Minister in Kenya government and long serving chairman of Nation Newspapers Mr.A.A.A. Ekirapa of the East African Educational Publishers.

Publishing Strategies

A key characteristic of these new investors is the aversion to risk in publishing. They have therefore set their eyes on the large text book purchases from the Kenya Government and NGOs serving in Kenya and the surrounding countries.

It is the same aversion to risk that apparently informs their choice of companies to enter the market. None of them is a fresh start-up. And none of them is a take-over of a local publisher. All of them are formerly branches of multinational publishers.

Longhorn was formally a branch of the Longmans while Moran Publishers were formally McMillan Publishers both of Britain. Kenya’s leading publisher, East African Educational Publishers was formally Heinemann, the UK group best known for its pioneering African creative writing series, African Writers Series (AWS). Before it sold out, Heinemann was almost synonymous with African creative writing. Nearly all important African writers, including Kenya’s James Ngugi (now Ngugi wa Thiong’o) were “discovered” by Heinemann. And for their effort, the publisher benefitted from an increased visibility and by having most of their books selected as school and university text-books in literature in almost all African countries and beyond.

Background

In 1966, the national Council of Christian Churches of Kenya (NCCK) in its pioneering book, Who Controls Industry in Kenya, predicted the upsurge of the publishing industry with the growth of literacy and greater educational opportunities.

At that time there were some 60 publishers in Kenya, most of them representatives of British publishers including Thomas Nelson, Heinemann Educational Books, Oxford University Press and Longmans.

It was because of this foreign dominance that the government started the Jomo Kenyatta Foundation, a non-profit organization concerned with publishing of course books developed at the Ministry of Education’s Curriculum Development and Research Centre (now Kenya Institute of Education). Hopefully book prices would climb down, Kenyan thought then, although that has not happened. Instead, the Foundation has become blatantly commercial even abdicated all other philanthropic missions for which it was set up.

Colonial Publishing

The colonial government set up the East African Literature Bureau in 1948 mainly to encourage the production of cheap books, African writing, cultural preservation and promotion of reading. The bureau, which now exists as the Kenya Literature Bureau, has essentially maintained its focus.

East Africa Publishing House

The East African Publishing House, made a pompous entry into the field in 1965 with original, local creative writing that made immediate, significant impact. Owned by the Kenya Government and the Commonwealth Foundation and led by an idealistic former colonial District Officer Mr. John Nottingham, the EAPH is generally credited for the era of cultural growth of the late 1960s and early 1970s for which the late Jomo Kenyatta government is praised.

Within a few short years – in fact by 1966 – the EAPH had already published a long list of 170 books “ranging from fiction, through primary and secondary textbooks to university monographs,” according to the NCCK report. In deed, it went ahead to acquire 60 per cent of the shares of Kenya’s leading bookseller, Text Book Centre (TBC). TBC is best known for pioneering complex shopping centres known as Shopping Malls, with the construction of its Sarit Centre in Westland in Nairobi.

With these developments and the increasing involvement of the government and NGOs in the purchase of school textbooks, we can only expect that more and more big money investors will invest in the industry.

Massive Investment Opportunities in Kenya’s Education Sector Could Open up Immediately

2012-02-02T15:01:20Z

Massive investment opportunities could open up in Kenya’s education sector if a plan to change the school system by next year is accepted by the cabinet and passed by parliament. The government will cumulatively spend Sh1.4 trillion between 2012 and 2015 to implement the new education system.

Prof.James Ole Kiyiapi. He mooted the new education system

And for the transition, the government will require Sh360 billion in the 2012/13 financial year to provide the infrastructure, including construction of classrooms, workshops and buying new textbooks as well as hiring new teachers. Additional 21,728 secondary schools and 30,637 for primary schools will be needed.

The New System

In the proposed education system, Kenya will have four different types of secondary schools offering student opportunities to specialize in general, technical, talent and vocational education.

The system proposes will follow a 2-6-3-3-3 pattern instead of the current 8-4-4 system.

Learning will be free from early childhood to senior secondary school level and collectively, this well be considered basic education. The new system will focus on child development, skills and competencies.

Secondary School Categories

Technical schools will be reintroduced with vocational and talent schools being entirely fresh innovations in the Kenya education sector. Talent schools will offer courses in performing and creative arts such as music, drama and games besides the common courses.

Vocational secondary schools will focus on artisan and trade courses in addition to the common academic subjects.

Some of the core subjects are citizenship education, entrepreneurship, environmental studies, information technology and languages.

Funding

Under the new system, all teachers will be trained. University lecturers will be required to go for training on teaching techniques to equip them with the right skills.

Funding for primary and secondary schools will also be structured. For primary schools, the capitation grant for a child will increase from the current Sh1, 020 a year to Sh5,189. Pre-school education will be funded for the first time at the rate of Sh2,292 a child a year.

Secondary school level, a minimum fee of Sh14,614 is proposed for day schools, up from the current Sh10,265.

Kenya’s 8-4-4 system of education adopted by retired President Daniel arap Moi was been heavily criticized for being too examination oriented. Late last year, several students and teachers committed killed themselves after getting poor results in the competitive Standard Eight examinations.

How President Mwai Kibaki has Bungled the ICC Cases of Uhuru, Muthaura

2012-01-26T10:37:54Z

Kenyans have complained about President Mwai Kibaki’s inability to listen and take account of the public sentiment. To President Kibaki and his supporters, this frowning on Kenyans may appear as strength of character. But now it is threatening the careers (and lives) of his closes allies – Deputy Prime Minister Uhuru Kenyatta and the Head of Public Service Francis Muthaura. And even worse, it is threatening suck Mr. Kibaki himself into the fire.

Kenya's President Mwai Kibaki

First it was the selection of members of the Electoral Commission of Kenya prior to the 2007 elections. He decided to ignore the complaints that were raised after his unilateral appointments. And the commissioners went ahead to mess up the elections. The “results” were announced at a secret place with only the government-owned Kenya Broadcasting Corporations TV cameras as witnesses. Seconds after– literally – Kenyans were stunned to see Mr. Kibaki being sworn in as the President – at night!

This is how Mr. Samuel Kivuitu, the then chairman of the elections supervisory body describes the incident:

“After announcing the results a fellow appeared before me and requested me to hand over to him the president’s certificate. I told him that that is only done to the winner personally and directly.

“The fellow then informed me that Hon. Kibaki was waiting to be sworn as the President and the Chief Justice was present, duly robed, for the assignment. He requested me to take the certificate there. I had no business retaining the certificate. It was not mine. The law says it be given at the place the President is to be sworn. I obeyed the law and took it there. “

Violence, Death and Silence

Again there were complaints – loud and violent. People were killed, maimed and others displaced. The country was on fire. And President Kibaki stayed put – or so it appeared (the actual situation being the subject of the International Criminal Court at The Hague, as explained below).

International Community

When things become impossible to ignore because the international community (represented by Dr. Kofi Annan, former UN Secretary General) joined in the outcry, Mr. Kibaki reluctantly agreed to the current government framework in which he shares power with the opposition leader, Prime Minister Raila Odinga.

Frustrating Investigations

But on the issue of investigating criminal responsibility for the violence that followed the bungled elections, Mr. Kibaki has remained adamant – trying as much as he can to frustrate the effort. First he refused to set a credible court to try those who might be responsible even when the International Criminal Court, which had come in at the popular invitation of Kenya citizens, gave him time to do so.

Then there were efforts to be defiant, inviting into Kenya, people like the North Sudan President al Bashir who is wanted by the ICC for crimes against humanity in Darfur. After that Mr. Kibaki tried to use the Africa Union to discredit the ICC claiming it was targeting African heads of state. Finally, he tried to appeal to world leaders, sending his Vice President Kalonzo Musyoka all over the world using enormous resources when millions of Kenyans were starving.

Failure and No Stopping

Naturally, all these efforts failed. But the failure didn’t stop Mr. Kibaki. Instead – and again against a near universal public outcry – he used enormous public funds to employ the most expensive international attorneys to stop the ICC case. And when that failed, he still went ahead to retain the expensive lawyers to defend Uhuru and Muthaura at The Hague court.

Now the ICC has ruled that Uhuru, Muthaura , together with Eldoret North member of parliament Mr. William Ruto and a Kass FM radio journalist Mr. Joshua arap Sang have a case to answer on crimes against humanity at the Hague court.

But Mr. Kibaki has yet to run short of options. He has now instructed the newly appointed Attorney General Prof. Githu Muigai to study the ICC judgment and advice him on the next course of action – which advice, every Kenyan already knows – to appeal against the judgment. Mr. Kibaki apparently hopes that Prof. Muigai has influence he can use to turn the tables for Uhuru and Muthaura. And if such influence is missing, Mr. Kibaki perhaps expects Prof. Muigai write an internationally credible “academic treatise” to make null and void the powers of the ICC. Unfortunately for Mr. kibaki, Prof. Muigai has no magic- and no knowledge or skill – that can bring the desired results.

End Result

What Mr. kibaki’s efforts have done so far, is to “pin” down Mr. Uhur and Mr. Muthaura as guilty as charged by the ICC. Continuing the efforts can only worsen their cases – and eventually, perhaps, suck Mr. Kibaki himself, into the case.

And that will be thanks to his disdain of popular opinion of the people of Kenya, currently reflected in his continuing to keep Mr. Uhuru and Mr. Muthaura in their jobs in the public service contrary to the Constitution of Kenya.

Brand Kenya Gets Down to Business for London Summer Olympics

2012-01-24T13:27:29Z

Creating a brand out of Kenya is not an easy thing. And that is why Brand Kenya – the state corporation charged with the task – is asking Kenyans to cough up Shs 4.6 billion (about $5.5 million) to promote an image of the country as an ideal business destination at London Summer Olympic games 2012.

Kenya Treasury Permanent Secretary J.Kinyua and Brand Kenya CEO Mary Kimonye

Kenya House

The new image will be marketed under a theme “Kenya House” in which Kenya’s sporting prowess will be used to attract investors.

“We want to market Kenya not as a sporting nation, but an investment destination. We are seeking funds from the private sector through a partnership that will enable us sponsor a number of events in the Kenya House,” says the Brand Kenya Chief Executive Officer Mary Kimonye.

The games will be held in London from July 27 to August 12, followed by the 2012 Paralympics Games from August 29 to September 9 and Brand Kenya looking to raise all the money from companies in the private sector.

Kenya’s competitive Advantage

According to Brand Kenya, the country’s competitive advantage to attract business consists of its superior infrastructure, capacity for innovation, quality of education, sophistication of financial markets and exotic natural resources.

In view of this, the Kenya House showcase “ trade activities including tourism, culture, our exports such as tea and coffee, food, music, Kenya’s potential investment opportunities in sectors such as energy, housing, among others.”

Collaboration

Institutions such as the Export Promotion Council, Export Processing Zones, Kenya Investment Authority and Kenya Tourism Board are already working Brand Kenya to identify potential investment opportunities.

Out of Focus

Late last year, Brand Kenya unveiled a six-month Sh76 million countrywide campaign to raise awareness on the need for national cohesion. The communication campaign was to be publicized through various local media channels, including the social media.

The rationale, according to Kimonye , was that there was need for national cohesion, pride and patriotism among Kenyans. “How can we convince tourists, investors and our neighbors that Kenya is a great place to be if we as citizens do not embrace each other and work together to build the nation?”

The campaign under the title “Nitakuwepo” would urge Kenyans to be there for their country while reiterating the fact that every their action contributes to building the Kenyan brand.

The budget of Sh76 million had been down-sized from the “Initially our budget was Sh300 million.”

While emphasizing that the idea behind Brand Kenya is good, critics have observed that the people charged with its implementation need to have the “ability to come up with a sound strategy.”

Will Franciszek Stefczyk Be The First Saint From the Savings and Credit Cooperative Societies Movement?

2012-01-23T08:23:25Z

In a move that could further raise the profile savings and credit societies and encourage the spirit of public good in the cooperative movement worldwide, Polish savings and credit cooperative societies are seeking sainthood for the pioneer of the movement in Poland.

Polish credit union leader who would be a saint

Simple Life

The pioneer, Franciszek Stefczyk was a teacher in a rural school in Polish. Despite his humble background, he started Poland’s first credit unions – known in Kenya as saccos – in the early 20th century, none of which survived World War II and the subsequent Soviet-dominated period.

According to records, Franciszek Stefczyk wanted to bring financial relief to the poor. He therefore created Stefczyk Fund, to weaken the usury of then existing financial institutions and to give the poor access to cheap, affordable credit. “He devoted his life to the poor and to God,” a Catholic priest who has done extensive research on the pioneer, wrote.

“This is proved by obituaries after his death and funeral, among the others. Telling about this event, I want to note that it would be good if Poland had a new Blessed man who is so particularly connected with the human poverty.”

Beatification

Beatification, which often takes years to be made, is based on specific criteria established by the Roman Catholic Church. In Kenya, we are only aware of it by the efforts of Kenyan Catholic Bishops to have late Cardinal Otunga who lived an austere life and led the Catholic Church in Kenya for many years. On retirement, he lived among the poor in a home for the aged in Nairobi.

Martyr

But the most famous of recent saints is Ugandan Saint Kizito (1872 – June 3, 1886). He was the youngest of Ugandan Christians murdered by the King Mwanga II of Buganda. He was burned alive in 1886 and was canonized on 18 October 1964 by Pope Paul VI. In total, King Mwanga killed 22 young men and boys who have all been canonized.

Poles pushing for the canonization of Franciszek Stefczyk have described him as a man who “had an eminent personality, setting the example for Poles. He was a man who, through his personal example, showed how the Gospel can be put into practice.”

High Profit Investment Opportunities in the Book Publishing Industry in Kenya

2012-01-22T08:00:50Z

Long seen as the least attractive industry to invest in, the book industry in Kenya is now looking up and has so far grown to become Shs 12 billion industry, thanks to the government’s free primary education, subsidized secondary education and donor funding to the education sector. The government is now the single largest buyer of books – mainly school text books.

Children in a school in Kenya

A few years ago, it was difficult to sell more than a handful of book – including text books. The maximum number of copy sales for a well-selling book per year was only 3,000 copies. And even with the entry of Europe-based marketing organizations such as Africa Book Collective, the situation didn’t change much.

Dramatic Growth

Today however, there has been dramatic growth. According to industry sources an ordinary text book will sell more than 200,000 copies while story books that are not school text books will sell more than 20,000 copies. Since most of the school text books cost an average of Shs400 (as compared to Shs40 when the industry was down), it is obvious that publishers are frolicking in great wealth.

Regional Market

What’s more, the market is growing and will remain in the growth mode for a long time. Consider for example that nearly 60 per cent of Kenya’s population of some 40 million is youth and the average population growth rate is 3 per cent, and you will be looking at a very high growth rate industry.

And it’s not just Kenya. Publishers are looking at markets in surrounding countries such as the South Sudan which only recently became and independent state after breaking away from North Sudan and changing its official language and writing from Arabic to English with Kiswahili playing a main role.

Rwanda too, is another example of the regional market. Recently it changed it official language from French to English to benefit from trade with the neighboring, economically powerful, former British colonies of Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania. Again Kiswahili, the national and official language of the Eastern Africa countries, is now playing a key role.

In deed, 60 per cent of all textbooks sold by the Kenyan companies go to this wider eastern Africa market, bought either by the governments of NGOs.

Example of Loghorn Kenya

A good example of the potential for the widened market industry is Longhorn Kenya. Its revenues more than doubled to Sh1.1 billion for the year ended June 2011 from Sh527 million in 2010, much of it coming from sales of textbooks. Net profits soared to Sh146 million last year, about six times more than the Sh22 million it made in the 2010 financial year. Total assets of the company stood at Sh706 million last year.

McMillan Publishers, now Moran Publishers, is another Kenyan publishing company that has also reported high profits – Sh200 million.

Longhorn Kenya is set to list its shares at the Nairobi Securities Exchange later this year, making it the first firm in the book publishing industry to go public.