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Kenya Top 100-Online Newspaper : Kenya’s Fastest Growing Mid-Sized Companies

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East Africa Kenya Top 100
East Africa Kenya Top 100

For the sixth year running, the Kenya Top 100 survey has once again given recognition to a section of the businesses that are behind the Kenyan economy’s phenomenal resilience. Just over two thirds of the 245 businesses that participated in the survey this year have been in business for 11 years or more with 17 per cent having been in business for more than 25 years.

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SPECIAL PULLOUT 26TH OCTOBER, 2015 Kenya’s fastest g≥owing Mid-Sized companies
II BUSINESS DAILY| Monday October 26, 2015 BY JOSPHAT MWAURA O n Friday 9 October 2015, we once again gathered for an evening of pomp and celebration of the 2015 Ken- ya Top100 mid-sized businesses. Since the inception of the Survey in2008,theGalaDinnerisdeliber- atelystyledasaglamorousformal event complete with black tie or culturalwear. The intention is to prepare the businesses being feted to be- gin to present themselves in the high level events that their suc- cess will bring them globally. We wanteveryoneofthesebusinessto readythemselvestostandonstage inLondon,Tokyo,Paris,NewYork andBeijingtoreceivetherecogni- tiontheydeserve. AndtheGaladinnerneverfails toexcite.Nearly1,000peoplegath- er for the evening and the excite- ment is almost palpable. Every singlebusinessrepresentedatthe dinnerisawinnernomatterwhat positiontheyendupbeingranked. It is for this reason that many of themcomewiththeiremployees, their relatives and business part- ners to receive their awards and baskinthemomentofglorywhen theyarecalledonstage. Itisespeciallygratifyingtosee the diversity of those present, of all ages, of all extractions and in- volved in a wide cross-section of businesses.Thisiswhatbusiness is about - hardwork and success beingcelebratedbyallofus,with- outconsiderationofwhateverelse separatesus. Selfnominating NowinitseighthyearinKenya,the Top100Surveyisavoluntary,self- nominatingprocessformid-sized businessesthathaveaturnoverof betweenSh70millionandSh1bil- lion.Eachbusinessmustpresent audited financial statements for thelastthreeyears. Itisfromthosefinancialstate- ments, audited by a professional accountantingoodstandingwith theInstituteofCertifiedPublicAc- countantsofKenya(ICPAK),that weextractvariousratiostoassess andrankgrowth,profitability,and anindicatorofliquidity.Theproc- essispredicatedontheconfidence that each participant has in the waytheyruntheiroperation,and the performance that they have delivered. Those who choose to partici- pate in the Top100 Survey, here in Kenya or in Uganda, Tanzania andRwanda,whethertheyendup beingrankedamongsttheTop100 for that year or not, are sending a strong message to the market that: “we know we are running our business right and that our performance is worthy of recog- nition and celebration.” Govern- anceandperformancegohandin hand in facilitating a business to transitionfromasmall owner- managed en- tity, to a national, regional, continental and ultimately global organisation. To facilitate the sharing of knowl- edge, the Top100 Sur- vey process includes a conference the day beforethegaladinner where all businesses that participated in the survey are invited to send their chief ex- ecutive and head of finance. The conference is a forum to present detailed survey findings, sharelessonsfromkeynotespeak- ers and other Top100 businesses, engage with policy makers and regulators, and create linkages between Top100 businesses to enable them to trade and share lessonsamongstthemselves. In this year’s conference, Mr. Ali Mufuruki, himself an accom- plishedentrepreneurandregion- al leader, generously shared his time and lessons with partici- pantsandemphasized the need to invest in human capital, both atanational/regional level, and in the indi- vidualbusinesses.He singledoutthisasthe limiting factor that separatedEastAfrica fromtheAsianTigers, andlimitsthegrowth of businesses and by extension employ- ment and economic transformation. He warned that, ifwedonotaddresstheissuesthat are causing unemployment and poverty, our region will not real- izetheenormouspotentialthatis attractingbusinessesfromevery- whereelseintheworld. We also had occasion to listen to lessons on growth and upscal- ing of mid-sized businesses from thosewhohavewalkedthatpath. And once again, the issues of the characterandskillsofyourteams cametothefore. Inadditiontoinvestinginsys- tems and leveraging technology, each business, and the business leader in particular, must invest theirtimeinbringingthequalityof peopleateverylevel,thattheycan trusttorunthebusinessasitifwas theirown-expansionandgrowth arelimitedbyfoundersholdingon to too many roles and not having faithintheirteams. Chooseyourpeoplewiselyand then delegate and trust them to perform. If you have put in place appropriategovernancesystems, thesewillenableyoutoholdthem toaccountandtoarrestanywick- ednessthatyoumayhavemissed outintheappointmentprocess. Vibrancy These mid-sized businesses bring energy, vibrancy and resil- iencetoanyeconomy.Theydeliver growth,wealth,employment,for- eignexchangeearnings,andabove all, national revenue in the taxes theypay. Everypolicymakerandregula- tormustmakeittheirbusinessto makeitpossibleforthesebusiness- estogrowmore,toearnmoreand to employ more people. We were pleasedtoheartheundertakings by the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA)tore-orienttheirapproach tothesebusinessestooneoffacili- tationratherthanunduescrutiny. TheKenyaPrivateSectorAlliance (KEPSA)hasalsoprioritizedinitia- tivestargetedatfacilitatingsmall andmid-sizedbusinesses.Wehave reasontolookforwardtonextyear and hope to recognize and cele- brateevenmorebusinesses. Grateful Iamdeeplygratefultoourpart- ners in this initiative, the Nation MediaGroup(NMG)throughthe BusinessDaily.Everyweek,wesee storiescarriedinthepaperabout individual Top100 businesses. There are so many stories to tell, so many lessons to pick that I am confident that there are more stories to be told through other channels. Through these stories, NMG can re-orient the national con- versation to focus on value crea- tion and not the endless political noisewehear.Ilookforwardtothe evolutionofthatspace. jmwaura@kpmg.co.ke Theviewsandopinionsare thoseoftheauthoranddonot necessarilyrepresenttheviews andopinionsofKPMG SPONSORS Invest in t≥usted teams to g≥ow MrJosphatMwauraistheSeniorPartnerandCEO,KPMGEastAfrica. We also had occasion to listen to lessons on g≥owth and upscaling of mid- sized businesses f≥om those who have walked that path. ChiefExecutiveOfficer JoeMuganda Editor-in-Chief TomMshindi ManagingEditor Ochieng’Rapuro SeniorGraphicDesigner Gennevieve Nahinga GraphicDesigner ChrispusBargorett PhotosSalatonNjau FOUNDERS
IIIMonday October 26, 2015 | BUSINESS DAILY BY JOE MUGANDA T he Top 100 Mid-Sized companies’ initiative has over the past 8 years, awardedandcelebratedenterprise through this survey that is a partnership between KPMG and the Nation Media Group. Over the years, the Top 100 Mid-Sized companies have enjoyed the benefits of association with the big corporations as crediblebusinesspartners. Manyofthepastwinnersofthissurvey havegainedinvaluabletractioninthemar- ketthathavenotonlyopenednewdoorsfor growthbutalsomadeiteasiertodealwith theauthoritiesandformpartnerships. Some have, for instance, had financial institutions approach them with offers of partnershipstheycouldnotimaginewere possible before their participation in the survey and their dealings with the tax au- thoritieshavebecomelesstedious. Thisyear,Top100Mid-Sizedcompanies reached out to entrepreneurs in Nakuru, Kisumu,Mombasa,ThikaandNairobi.The surveycontinuestogrowintheregionwith astrongpresenceinTanzania,Rwandaand Uganda. Mostimportant,therehasbeenarisein thenumberandqualityofentriesandeach competingenterprisehasdemonstrateda remarkable degree of excellence, innova- tionandsuccess. SMEs are andwillremainacriticalpart oftheEastAfricaneconomy.Theywillcon- tinuetomakeatremendouscontributionto industrialisationthroughinnovationand jobcreation.Thiscontributionissignificant to the overall performance of the Kenyan economy which stands among the fastest growingintheworld. As in many other places around the world, financing remains one of the big- gest challenges that the SMEs face. The operating environment is also stymied by difficult economic environment and a demandingconsumerallwhichrequirea sizeable amount of persistence, tact and constantinnovationtomanoeuvre. Some of the challenges are, however, within the grasp of the SMEs and can be dealt with internally. For example, hiring therightpersonforthejob,usingtechnol- ogy, opening up the business to dynamic businessplatformssuchasmobilemoney, useofresearchandensuringbusinesspres- enceisfeltincommunitiestheyserve. Top 100 Medium Sized companies’ su≥vey a c≥ucial benchma≥king tool Nation Media GroupCEOJoe Muganda. FILE The Nation Media Group’s support of the TOP100Mid-Sizedcompaniessurveyishinged on our belief in the important role it plays in helping SMEs to formalize their processes, pay taxes and create credible structures that enablethemtogrowtonextlevel. Itisabenchmarkingcompetitionthatevery entrepreneurwithhereyesongrowthshould participatein. NationMediaGroupandKPMGcontinue tocelebratethesuccessofexceptionalmenand women,whohavetakentheriskofventuring into private business and have impacted not just their own lives but also the lives of those theyemployandofferopportunitytoprosper everyday. TheNationMediaGroupiscommittedto providing media platforms where entrepre- neurscangainbusinessinsights,growcapac- ity and leverage opportunities to grow from small to medium and ultimately become big multi-nationals. From our traditional to dig- ital platforms, we will continue to walk with youinyourjourneytogreatness. RILEY FALCON SECURITY JOINS THE LEAGUE OF TOP 100 MID - SIZED COMPANIES!! Riley Falcon Security Staff led by their Director, Tobias See ( seated) pose with their trophy after the firm emerged among the Top 100 Mid - Sized Companies at the Carnivore Restaurant Grounds in Nairobi on 9th October 2015. OUR HEAD OFFICE: RILEY HOUSE, TOM MBOYA ROAD, MILLIMANI, P. O. BOX 876 - 40123, KISUMU. TEL: 057 2021380, 2020363, 0722204876, 0733622211, 0703505787, 0703505475 Email: info@rileyfalcon.co.ke Website: www.rileyfalcon.co.ke Other Branch Offices: Nairobi, Mombasa, Nakuru, Eldoret, Siaya, Kisii, Embu.
IV BUSINESS DAILY| Monday October 26, 2015 BY MAURICE GACHUHI T heTop100Mid-SizedCompa- nies Survey is an initiative of KPMGKenyaandtheNation Media Group that seeks to identify Kenya’s fastest growing medium- sized companies in order to show- case business excellence and high- lightsomeofthecountry’smostsuc- cessfulentrepreneurship stories.Themaingoalof this initiative is to iden- tifynewrolemodelsand business heroes, recog- nise them and most im- portantly connect them topeers,keystakeholders and mentors within East Africa, as similar surveys arecarriedoutinUganda, TanzaniaandRwanda. Thesurveypresentsan opportunityforparticipat- ing companies to bench- mark themselves against their peers, contribute to thedevelopmentofindustrydatabases, andenjoyrecognitionastopperform- ersatbothnationalandindustrylevel, andasmembersofaprestigiousclubof ‘prosperity’creators.Thesurveytakesa self-nominatingaspectandhenceuni- versalcoverageisnotexpected. Everyyearweinteractwiththepar- ticipants and what has always stuck outistheenergy,enthusiasmandthe uniquewarstories.Entrantsinthesur- vey must have had revenues ranging fromSh70milliontoSh1billionforthe lastthreeyears,shouldnotbeabank, insurance company, Sacco, a legal or audit firm. For any past participants whoexceedthe1billionmark,theyau- tomaticallygraduatetotheesteemed eliteClub101. Participants are required to sub- mittenkeyratiosthroughaFinancial Questionnaire. Those with the best revenuegrowthrates,returntoshare- holders and liquidity rates will rank high as these are considered the key insights on the companies’ perform- ance. The ratios are also weighted to take into account revenue range and growth trends with key emphasis on thecurrentyear’sperform- ance. Keytonoteisthata companyperformingwell ontheseparametersfitsthe profileofthefastestgrow- ing mid-sized companies that are also financially stable.Some key findings thisyear; • Companiesinthecon- sumerandindustrial werebyfarthemost prevalent,withmanu- facturing,retail,trans- port,constructionand ICTaccountingforclose totwo-thirdsofthesample. •67%oftheparticipantswerein thegrowthphaseoftheircyclewith 26%fallinginthematurephase. 7%oftheparticipants,mostlyin thetourism,advertisingandcrea- tiveindustriesindicatedthatthey werere-emergingfromadecline. •Slightlyover40%ofthefirms surveyedhadoverKES300Min revenuesin2015.Likeinprior years,wenotedthatmostcompa- niestendedtostagnateattheKES 300Mlevelwiththechallengesof scalingupbeingthemainobstacle togrowth. Keyfindingsof Top100 mid-sizedfi≥ms’su≥vey 2015editionfindsthatcompetition,volatility ofshillingwerethetwomaingrowthobstacles •Amajorityoftheparticipants (80%)registeredarevenue growth.Mining,Gas(Down- stream),Infrastructure&Con- struction,TelecomsandFinance reportedadeclineinrevenues mainlyduetoreducedsales/lossof clients,securityconcerns,reduced production/closingofmajorout- letsandhighoperationalcosts. •Aggressivemarketing/goodmar- ketingstrategiesandincreased demandforproductsandservices werenotedaskeygrowthdrivers accountingfor75%ofthepartici- pants. •Competition(bothfairandun- fair)andthevolatilityofcurren- cieswerenotedasthetwomajor obstaclestocontinuinggrowthat 46%and34%respectively. •Onemployment,amajorityof theparticipantshadatleast15 employeesandinoverallhadin- creasedtheirworkforceby28% since2011.83%ofrespondents indicatedtheywerelikelyorvery likelytoincreasestaffinthenext The main goal of this initiative is to identify new ≥ole models and business he≥oes, ≥ecognise them and most impo≥tantly connect them to pee≥s, The2015legattractedmoreyoungerparticipants(1-5yrs)aswellas olderfirms(aged25+years)comparedtothe2014leg. AGE OF COMPANY Localownershipcharacterisesamajorityofthe participants. OWNERSHIP STRUCTURE SOURCES OF START-UP CAPITAL 4outof5founderssetuptheirbusinesseswithsomeoftheirownmoney. Manufacturing 15% Wholesale 12% Retail 11% Transport 9% Infrastructure/Construction 8% ICT 8% Tourism 4% Agriculture 4% Manufacturingcompaniesarebyfarthemost prevalentsectorinthesample. Manufacturing,Retail,Transport,Construction andICTaccountforclosetotwo-thirdsofthe sample. SECTOR DISTRIBUTION STAGE OF BUSINESS LIFE CYCLE
VMonday October 26, 2015 | BUSINESS DAILY KPMGEastAfricaCEOJosphatMwaura(left),DiamondTrustBankCEONasimDevji andNationMediaGroupCEOJoeMuganda duringtheKenyaTop100Mid-SizedCom- panies2015SurveyGaladinnerattheCarnivoreGroundsinNairobionOctober9. year.Aslightincreasefromthe2013/ 14results. •Roughly5inevery8(63percent) ofthesurveyedfirmshaveaninter- nationalfootprint,aslightdecline fromthe2013/14results.Theaspira- tiontoexpandintoEastAfricaroseby an8%marginbetween2013/14and 2014/15. •4outof5founderssetuptheirbusi- nesseswithsomeoftheirownmoney while1outof4coveredatleastsome ofthestart-upcostswithabankfacili- ty.Friendsandfamilyremainasignif- icantsourceofcapitalwithbusiness expansionsbeinglargelyfinanced bybankloans,followedbyfounder’s savings. Venturecapitalwassignificantly mentionedintheTelcoandFinancial Servicessectorswhereitwasranked 2ndor3rdsourceofcapital. •OnlistingattheNSE,wenotedin- creasedinterestwith30percentof theparticipantsindicatingwilling- nesstolistwithinthenext2-3years. Challengestolistingincludedthefear oflosingcontrolofbusiness,lackof knowledgeonlistingrequirements, therigorouslistingrequirementsand bureaucraciesthatgowithit. •4outof10respondentsexperienced challengesinworkingcapitalwith customerdelaysinsettlementoftheir billsbeingthemainobstacle. Overall, based on the survey, small and medium-sized companies’ current outlooktowardsperformanceofecono- my is moderate, with 45 per cent of the respondentsstatingthattheeconomyis “substantially” or “moderately better” than6monthsago. Theoutlooktowardsindividualindus- try’sperformanceismorepositive,with 61 per cent declaring the current status tobe“substantially”or“moderatelybet- ter”. Interestingly, future outlook (next sixmonths)ismorepositivewith79per centexpectinganimprovementintheir ownindustries. Itakethisopportunitythankallpar- ticipants and look forward to the next year’ssurvey. MrGachuhiis a senior manager with KPMGKenya’sauditpractice mgachuhi@kpmg.co.ke. COMPANY CLUB 101 BROLLO KENYA LTD CANON CHEMICALS LIMITED ELDOHOSP PHARMACEUTICALSLTD KENYA BUILDERS & CONCRETE CO LTD MEGA PACK K LTD SIGMA SUPPLIES LTD TRUFOODS LIMITED VEHICLE AND EQUIPMENT LEASING LTD INDUSTRY CHAMPIONS Retail ALLWIN PACKAGING INTL. LTD Wholesale IZMIR ENTERPRISES LTD Infrastructure/Construction KISIMA ELECTRO MECHANICALS LTD Transport LOGISTIC SOLUTIONS LTD ICT SOFTWARE TECHNOLOGIES LTD Manufacturing WARREN CONCRETE LTD Financial Services WAUMINI INSURANCE BROKERS LTD 100 ROY TRANSMOTORS LIMITED 99 DE RUITER EA LIMITED 98 KISIMA DRILLING (EA) LTD 97 IRON ART LIMITED 96 SYNERGY GASES (K) LTD 95 GACHICHIO INSURANCE BROKERS LTD 94 PALMHOUSE DAIRIES LTD 93 EMOMENTUM INTERACTIVE SYSTEMS LTD 92 IDEAL MANUFACTURING CO. LTD. 91 BELL ATLANTIC COMMUNICATIONS LTD 90 AVTECH SYSTEMS LIMITED 89 RELIABLE CONCRETE WORKS 88 DEEPA INDUSTRIES LIMITED 87 SOLOH WORLDWIDE INTER-ENTTERPRISES LTD 86 FARMPARTS LIMITED 85 NAIROBI ENTERPRISES LTD 84 SPECIALISED HARDWARE LIMITED 83 NEWLINE LIMITED 82 CUBE MOVERS LIMITED 81 KENBRO INDUSTRIES LTD 80 NATIONWIDE ELECTRICAL LTD 79 OIL SEALS AND BEARINGS CENTRE LTD 78 STATPRINT LIMITED 77 BAGDA’S AUTO SPARES LTD 76 TYPOTECH IMAGING SYSTEMS 75 HYDRO WATER WELL (K) LTD 74 EUROCON TILES PRODUCTS LTD 73 KENYA BUS SERVICE MANAGEMENT 72 ORBIT ENGINEERING LTD 71 EDUCATE YOURSELF LTD 70 EXECUTIVE HEALTHCARE SOLUTIONS LTD 69 MASTER FABRICATORS LTD 68 FURNITURERAMA LTD 67 SMART BRANDS LIMITED 66 COMPULYNX LTD 65 KENCONT LOGISTICS SERVICES LIMITED 64 KANDIA FRESH PRODUCE SUPPLIERS LIMITED 63 DUNE PACKAGING LIMITED 62 DEVSONS INDUSTRIES LTD 61 NAPRO INDUTRIES LTD 60 NDUGU TRANSPORT CO. LTD 59 TOTAL SOLUTIONS LTD 58 HOSPITALITY SYSTEMS CONSULTANTS 57 GENERAL AUTOMOBILE CORPORATION LTD 56 SILVERBIRD TRAVEL PLUS LTD 55 CIRCUIT BUSINESS SYSTEMS LTD 54 WOTECH KENYA LTD 53 RILEY FALCON SECURITY 52 AIRTOUCH COOLING SYSTEMS LTD 51 SOLLATEK ELECTRONICS (K) LTD 50 TRIDENT PLUMBERS LTD 49 HOMESCOPE PROPERTIES LTD 48 ARK CONSTRUCTION LIMITED 47 ZEN GARDEN LTD 46 PRAFULCHANDRA & BROTHERS LTD 45 MIC GLOBAL RISKS INSURANCE BROKERS LTD 44 IMPAX BUSINESS SOLUTIONS 43 RILEY SERVICES LIMITED 42 EXPRESS COMPANY LTD 41 EXON INVESTMENTS LIMITED 40 ASTRAL INDUSTRIES LTD 39 MANDHIR CONSTRUCTION LTD 38 BLUEKEY SOFTWARE SOLUTIONS (K) LTD 37 SPENOMATIC LTD 36 SPECIALIZED ALUMINIUM RENOVATORS LTD 35 BTB INSURANCE BROKERS LTD 34 KISIMA ELECTRO MECHANICALS LTD 33 MPPS (1998) LTD 32 GENERAL CARGO SERVICES LTD 31 RAVENZO TRADING LIMITED 30 JO WORLD AGENCIES LIMITED 29 UNITED EAST AFRICA WAREHOUSES LTD 28 NORTH STAR COOLING SYSTEMS LTD 27 SUPREME PHARMACY LIMITED 26 HAJAR SERVICES LTD 25 LOGISTIC SOLUTIONS LTD 24 MACHINES TECHNOLOGIES (2006) LTD 23 POWERPOINT SYSTEMS EA LTD 22 NOVEL TECHNOLOGIES EA LTD 21 COAST INDUSTRIAL & SAFETY SUPPLIES LTD 20 SHEFFIELD STEEL SYSTEMS LIMITED 19 D&G INSURANCE BROKERS LTD 18 ALLWIN PACKAGING INTL. LTD 17 RUSHAB PETROLEUM LTD 16 TROPIKAL BRANDS A LTD 15 PINNACLE (K) TRAVELS & SAFARIS LTD 14 WAUMINI INSURANCE BROKERS LTD 13 DATAGUARD DISTRIBUTORS LTD 12 AMEX AUTO & INDUSTRIAL HARDWARE LTD 11 WELL TOLD STORY LTD 10 HIPORA BUSINESS SOLUTIONS 9 SOFTWARE TECHNOLOGIES LTD 8 SUPERBROOM SERVICES LTD 7 LEAN ENERGY SOLUTIONS LTD 6 SUPERIOR HOMES KENYA LTD 5 BONFIRE ADVENTURES LIMITED 4 WARREN CONCRETE LTD 3 IZMIR ENTERPRISES LTD 2 PROFESSIONAL CLEAN CARE LTD 1 PHARMAKEN LIMITED 2015 WINNERS
VI BUSINESS DAILY| Monday October 26, 2015 1 PHARMAKEN INDUSTRY PHARMACEUTICALS S amier Muravvej made up his mind to get into business even beforehegraduatedfromdental schoolintheyear2002. Heteamedupwithhiscollegemate and friend, Leonard Njeru, to found Pharmaken Ltd, a Mombasa-based companytodistributemedicaldrugs. Dr Muravvej, an alumnus of the University of Nairobi, says he always wantedtobe‘independent’andquickly movedintobusinessaftercompleting hismandatoryinternshipandgovern- mentservice. “Ineverwantedtobeemployed.I’ve alwayswantedtorunabusiness,”says the dentist, who is also chairman and CEOatPharmaken. Initsfirstyearofoperationin2006, Pharmaken made $3,000 in sales. “It wasquitedisheartening,”hesaid. Dr Muravvej kept his eyes on the prize, and last year he saw sales hit $5 million. It is this phenomenal growth that saw Pharmaken emerge the overall winner in this year’s Top 100 survey – a study that grades Kenya’s fastest growingmid-sizedcompanies. The pharmaceutical distributing businesswasalsorankedinlastyear’s survey. An initiative of Nation Media Group’s Business Daily and audit- ing and consulting firm KPMG, the initiativetracksSMEswithanannual turnover of between Sh70 million to Sh1billion. Dr Muravvej has expanded the list of goods he supplies beyond drugs to includemedicalanddentalequipment aswellasnon-pharmaceuticalproducts suchasgloves,syringes. The two dentists partnered with another investor and started Phar- maken with a capital of Sh5 million. Theyraisedathirdofthecashandbor- rowed the remainder from banks, Dr Muravvejsaid. Atinception,thebusinesswassell- ing only four products. Pharmaken’s portfolio currently stands at 18 mer- chandises. Dr Muravvej, 37, grew up in Mom- basa and attended Aga Khan Acade- my for both his primary and second- arystudies. He also operates his own clinic - Smile Dental Centre – situated at Mombasa’sCityMall. After graduating from School of Dental Sciences, the dentist did his internship at Kenyatta National Hos- pital and later went to Coast General Hospital for his mandatory two-year governmentservice. Pharmaken has a workforce of 52 employees. The key challenges in the pharma- ceuticalbusinessaretheslowclearance of goods at the port of Mombasa and highregulatoryfees. “It takes up to two weeks to clear our pharmaceutical products at the port, despite having all documents,” lamentedDrMuravvej. Furthermore, the Pharmacy and Poisons Board charges a registration fee of $2,000 per product, before any drugisallowedintotheKenyanmarket, thedentistdecried. DrMuravvejreckonsthatthedelays attheportandthefeechargedbyPPB increasesthecostofdoingbusiness. Pharmaken LimitedchairmanSamierMuravvej(seated)receivesatrophyfromNationMediaGroupCEOJoeMuganda afterhis companywasdeclaredoverallwinnerduringtheKenyaTop100Mid-SizedCompanies2015Survey. Dentists who cut thei≥ teeth in d≥ugs ma≥ket Riley Services Ltd staff led by their CEO and Group Chairman, Julius Abiero (seated) pose with their trophy after the firm emerged amongst the Top 100 Mid - Size Companies at the Carnivore Restaurant Grounds in Nairobi on 9th October 2015. Actively contributing to the growth of Africa !! Power Plants & Steam Turbines Boilers & Thermic Fluid Heaters Vapour Absorption Systems Water & Effluent Treatment Plants Remote Monitoring Solutions ..and our contribution has not gone unnoticed.. Spenomatic (K) Limited, P.O. Box : 39935-00623, Parklands, Nairobi. Tel: +254-736-447775, +254-715-447611. Email: info@spenomatic.net • By making it self reliant in power using renewable energy sources • By reducing its energy cost and thus operational cost • By using waste heat to provide process & comfort cooling • By providing cost effective solutions for process, drinking and wastewater • By increasing operational efficiency of utilities by Chemicals • By developing Agro-based industries & providing packaging solutions • By providing flexibility to operate remotely by using state-of-the-art remote monitoring systems Dairies, Food Processing & Packaging Machines
VIIMonday October 26, 2015 | BUSINESS DAILY
VIII BUSINESS DAILY| Monday October 26, 2015 OfficialsfromProfessionalCleanCareLimited receivetheirtrophyfromDiamondTrustBankCEO NasimDevji (right)afterthecompanyemerged second intheKenyaTop100Mid-SizedCompanies 2015Survey. PROFESSIONALCLEANCARELIMITED 2 PROFESSIONAL CLEAN CARE LIMITED INDUSTRY SERVICES Kick high when pitching fo≥ ventu≥e capitalists S omewhereinthatslushpileofpitches onmydeskisanoriginalideaanda bioofanundiscoveredleader.Andhe orsheisreadytolighttheworldonfire.But myfear,onesharedbymanyventurecapi- talists(VCs),isthatImaymissanamazing pitch.Thepileisjusttoohigh. How then do you get your idea into a VC’s hands? What should your pitch look and feel like? Here are a few pointers to getnoticed: 1 .Beauthentic. One of my contacts had her interestpiquedwhenanex- convict had an idea to replace pricey jail pay phone systems. The VC funded the project, because she was looking for entrepreneurswhohadexperi- encedtheproblemtheywanted tosolve.Iftheformerinmatehad hidhisbackground,hisproposal mighthavegoneunfunded. 2 .Bepersonable. Whileetiquettecallsfora professionaldistancefrom business contacts, I have had success building close friend- shipswiththestartupteamsin which my firm invests. I send handwritten notes to cheer up stressed out founders. Morethanhalfofmycallswith founders end without talking abouttheirbusiness,focusing rather on how they’re doing personally. 3 . Be humble. Don’t pretend to knowitall. There are key things you need to know about your busi- ness,thesizeofapotentialmar- ket and how you plan to reach thatmarket.ButIadmirethein- dividualwholeavesegobehind and shows common sense. Be clear about why you have a greatideaandalsoaboutwhat itisthatyoudon’tknow.Some- times,thebestansweris,“Idon’t know.Letmegetbacktoyou.”It creates an excuse to follow up andinstillsconfidencethatthe otherresponsesyougavewere accurate. 4 .Becreative. Astartup’sfoundingteam sent out a hip hop video, rappingtheirpitch.Thisworked forthem.Tthefounders,skilled rappers,putatonofproduction valueandheartintotheirpitch and got tons of press. We re- sponded in kind and also got attention. Caveatentrepreneur:Suchbold- nessisrisky--bigtime.Instead of an investment from the VC, youcouldendupwitharestrain- ing order from a judge. Comic efforts,inparticular,aretough topulloff,askanycomic. 5 .Don’tbungletheask. Yours should be crisp and memorable. Where does the investor fit in the bigger picture? It’s critical to explain why you’re soliciting a partic- ular investor. Are they adding specific value beyond money? If so, show your excitement about the prospect of working withthem. Remember,thereisalotofcapi- taloutthere,buttherearealot of startups, too -- it’s a melee. Forstreet-fightingtactics,two- finger pushups and life advice ingeneral,IalwaysgotoBruce Lee: “Always be yourself, ex- press yourself, have faith in yourself,donotgooutandlook forasuccessfulpersonalityand
IXMonday October 26, 2015 | BUSINESS DAILY
X BUSINESS DAILY| Monday October 26, 2015 3 IZMIR ENTERPRISES INDUSTRY SECURITY PROTECTION PRODUCTS AND SERVICES O verthepastfewyears,IzmirEn- terprisesLimitedhasgrownto becomeacompanyofsufficient scaletoprovidesolutionsforthedefence industryinKenya. It all started as a hobby for Sahir Mughal,andhisco-CEO,AsiyaMughal, whoisalsohisaunt,intheearly2000s. The company deals in security pro- tectionproductsandservicesthatcover up to 50 brands for clientele including governmentsandNGOsacrosstheGreat Lakesregion. “We offer personalised services de- livering products to meet the clients’ requirements,”saidMrSahir. His drive in setting up Izmir Enter- prisesgrewfromthepassionthathehad developed from his interest in defence activities across the world, which saw himseekinformationandlinksintothe industry. This also led to his introduc- tiontothe Department of Defence, the governmentagencythathandlesissues relating to defence and security. And that was Izmir Enterprise’s stepping stonethatsawitintroducedtotheKen- yanmarket. Ithasnotbeensmoothsailing,how- ever, with the company facing many challenges, chief among them difficul- ties in accessing financing. Normally, Mr Sahir said, it takes several months fortheproducttomovefromanorderto actualproductionanddeliverytoclient, toeventualpayments,whichhasaffected thefinancialstatusofthecompany. TheothermajorchallengethatIzmir Enterpriseshasfacedhasbeenthehuge investmentintimeandresourcestotrain andprovideskillstostaff.W ith every new technology that be- comes available, the firm has had to conduct fresh rounds of training to both the new and existing staff. In ad- dition to that, when they were starting out Izmir enterprise, Mr Sahir and his partner faced hurdles in explaining to clientstheirproductportfolio. He adds: “Our market was not just simple.Inordertogetallourclientsand meettheirneeds,wehadtoexplaintoall ofthemmostofourproductsandsolu- tions,includingavailablenewtechnology andhowtheyimpacttheproduct”. Despiteallthesechallenges,thepas- sion that they had in what they do has beenmotivatedandinspiredbytheevolv- ingtechnologythathaschangedtheway theworldworks. Looking back, Mr Sahir says that in ordertosucceedinthemarketyouhave tobalanceyourself,doyourprojections, plan yourself, have a proper vision and focus,understandyourfinancialstatus, embracethelatesttechnologyandwork hard.Neverfearcompetition,insteadem- braceitinapositivewayasamotivation tobethebestinyoursector. Besidesthecorebusiness,IzmirEn- terprisesisalsoinvolvedinanumberof projects in the communities in which theyoperate. Hepartnerswithfiveother charityorganisationsintheseactivities, including providing support to home- lesschildren “Weareeducatingandinspiringthe youth living in poverty and the under- privileged.AttheCoast,weworkwithup- comingorganizationsthatempowerand supportthepoor.Weworkwithwomen inprovidingeducationopportunitiesand helpingthemgotothenextlevelinlife. IzmirEnterprisesLimitedofficialsposewiththeirtrophyafterthecompanyemergedthird inthesurvey. Small fi≥m that takes on tough secu≥ity jobs 4 WARREN CONCRETE INDUSTRY CONSTRUCTION & ENGINEERING O verthepast26years,Warren Concrete(K)Ltdhasemerged asaleadingindustryplayerin concrete and manufacturing. What started as a small family business with just two machines, 25 people andcapitalofSh7.5m,hasnowgrown into a regional company with an an- nual turnover of Sh400 – 460m and over150employees. Warren, which has a wide range ofproducts,includingconcretepipes and roofing tiles, was originally a de- partmentinthelargerWarrenKenya, whichmainlydealtinconcretepipes, fabricated steel structures, and steel tanks. “Warren Concrete business was boughtbymygrandfather,MrDevshi Dhanji Patel, and has been passed down through the family lineage to the third generation, now being run bythegrandsons,”saidDineshPremji Patel, the CEO of Warren Concrete Ltd. “We have now managed to build thebusinesstobecomeacompanyof itsown.” Quality and efficiency hasbeenattheheartof thistransition,seeing thecompanycontin- uouslyrevampitself overtheyears. “The early 90’s witnessed the com- pany open up a branch in Uganda, Stone Concrete Ltd,withasimilarbusinessstructure asWarrenConcrete(K),”saidDinesh. Thecompanyfocusesonquarryingand manufactureofprecastproducts. A major priority in the expansion hasbeenimplementingthelatesttech- nologiesandutilizingthemostmedo- ersandeffectivemachinery. “Good and efficient equipmentisofsuchhigh importancetothecom- pany,hencewe useEu- ropeansolidmachiner- ies, coming from Den- mark and Germany,” said Mr Dinesh. “This hasseenusmovefromjust twomachinesatthebeginning to30now,ensuringthedeliveryofqual- ityservicesandproducts.” The exponential growth that the company has experienced over the yearshasnot,however,comewithout itsfairshareofchallenges. “Duplicationoflicensesinthegov- ernment departments and acquiring skilled labour are problems we con- stantly encounter,” said Mr Dinesh. This,coupledwiththetransportation hurdlesthatthecompanymeetsevery day,greatlyaffectthebusiness. But“weareonlymoreinspiredby beingpartoftheTop100SmallMedium Enterprises(SMS)forthesecondtime running,inadditiontobeingthebest manufacturing company in Kenya,” saidMrDinesh. The company is now the leading suppliersofconcretetilesinKenya,in addition to being the second to Bam- buriCementKenyainthemanufacture of building blocks. Warren Concrete nowsupplies70percentofcontractors inNairobi,andiscurrentlyworkingon more innovative ways and looking at variousoptionsofbringingnewprod- uctsintothemarket. For companies looking to follow intheirfootsteps,Dineshemphasizes thattheoneimportantfactorisquality. “Believeintheuniquenessandquality of your product without compromis- ingonthepriceoftheproducts,despite whatyourcompetitionmaybeselling thesameproductfor,”saidMrDinesh. “Afterall,yougetwhatyoupayfor.” Equipment make≥ ≥ides on booming const≥uctiontog≥ow OfficialsandstafffromWarrenConcreteLimitedcelebrate afterthefirmwasdeclaredindustrychampioninthemanufacturing categoryandfourthoverallduringtheKenyaTop100Mid-SizedCompanies2015Survey.
XIMonday October 26, 2015 | BUSINESS DAILY 5 BONFIRE ADVENTURES INDUSTRY TOURS & TRAVEL BY LYNETTE IGADWA S imonKabumetthewom- anwhowouldbehiswife at a Lukenya excursion and after interacting with her realisedtheybothhadaburn- ingpassionfortravel. Theideaofrunningatours, travelandeventscompanywas conceivednexttoabonfiredur- ingoneoftheexcursionswith SarahattheMaasaiMaraGame Reserve, giving birth to Bon- fire Adventures and Events Limited. Thatwasin2008,asKenya wasgrapplingwiththeeffects of post-election violence that significant reduced tourist numbers. Tourcompaniesthatrelied heavilyonforeigntouristswere hithardest,makingthecouple spot a gap in catering for the domesticmiddleclass. “Hotels across the country had lowered their accommo- dationratesmakingitpossible formorelocalstosampletheir services,”saysMrKabu,anEco- nomicsandStatisticsgraduate ofEgertonUniversity. The journey started with the couple inviting friends to accompanythemtotheirwild tours and excursions around ataffordablerates. Withtime,friendsentrust- edalltheirtravelplanningand organizing to the couple who were keen to change percep- tions that only foreign tour- ists could sample the coun- try’sbeauty. Without wasting time, the Kabus planted their seed of sh20,000 into a business ven- turethatstartedwithoutanof- ficeorabankaccount. More established tour companies were at the time focusing on corporate clients and tried to shrug off Bonfire Adventuresbaby-stepsbutthat didnotdampenitsspirit. Acknowledging that they lacked experience in the tour andtravelbusiness,thecouple embarkedonadoortodoorre- search so they could give cli- ents what they had sampled firsthand. “We learnt fast tricks of the business, enabling us to handle clients from different social backgrounds includ- ing celebrities,” says Mr Kabu who had worked as a tout on route44. Todaywithover60employ- ees, the company does hotel bookings,airticketing,airport transfers,excursionsandany- thing travel for its customers spreadacrosstheworld. It has over 100 travel pack- ages to destinations across the globe for newly-weds, an- niversaries, birthdays and re- tirements. Integrityandhardworkare some of the values that have seen the business venture growintoamulti-millionshil- ling company that has waded through the murky waters whenever western govern- ments issue travel advisories by focusing on the domestic market. With five branches in Nairobi and one in Nakuru, the company is set for bigger things including becoming the biggest tour company in Southern, Eastern and Cen- tralAfrica. “We have grown to be the biggest promoter of domestic tourism in Kenya,” says Mr Kabu, who worked for Unga Limited prior to venturing intothetourbusiness. Social media has played a keyroleinmakingthecompany one of the most popular tour andtravelfirmsinthecountry. Customers post photos taken during travel on the company Facebook page making the business get referrals and re- peatclients. MrKabu viewsbusinessas acallingwhichrequiresoneto be proactive, consistent, hon- estandpatient.“Integritywill enable you get repeat clients and referrals while patience will chase away the spirit of expecting results overnight,” hesays. Officialsandstafffrom BonfireAdventures Limitedreceivetheir trophyfromNation MediaGroupadvertising directorMichaelNgugi (3rdleft)afterthefirm wasrankedfifthinthe KenyaTop100Mid-Sized Companies2015Survey. Tou≥ ope≥ato≥ thatg≥ewoutof love fo≥ t≥avel 2015 2014 2013
XII BUSINESS DAILY| Monday October 26, 2015 6 SUPERIOR HOMES INDUSTRY REAL ESTATE BY GEORGE OMONDI I fsmartinvestmentsfollowhighre- turns,thentheAthiRiver–basedreal estatefirm,SuperiorKenya,hasbeen quitediligent.Inacrowdedresidential housingmarket,ithasmanagedtokeep a consistent growth record by putting moneyinlocationswiththehighestre- turnspotential. When Machakos County opened its vast land resources for investments a few months ago, it took up the offer andlaunchedaflagship700-unithous- ingprojectinacountyonceregardedas Kenya’salternativecapitalcity. The firm which, was registered in 2004 with initial capital of just Sh500 millionistodayundertakingtheMacha- kosprojectvaluedatSh15billion,hardly eight years since it began construction in2007. Uponcompletion,Greenparkwillalso have a shopping area, two schools and asundownerclubhouseonits163-acre pieceofland.“IcansaySuperiorHomes hasgrownfromhumblebeginningstobe recognisedwithintherealestatesector whereitemploysover200peopledirect- ly and another 800 indirectly,” says the firm’sdirectorIanHenderson.“Wepride ourselvesinnurturingtalentamongour employees,givingthemopportunityto transferskillsandemployothers.” Thefirmseesmoreroomforgrowth via innovation. It made an early name in the residential housing segment by introducingthetry-before-you-buycon- cept,allowingpotentialhomeownersto enjoythecomfortofthepropertybefore makingapurchasedecision. That concept, which literally trans- latesto “test-driving”thehouse,itssur- rounding and neighbourhood before committingmoneyintheproperty,has impressedthefirm’sclients,saysmarket- ingmanagerAngelicaWambui. “Ithas giventhemconfidenceinthe companyandtheworkwearedoing.We havenothingtohide,”shesays. Recently,thefirmalsointroducedBuy OverLongTerm(BOLT)concept,where a client can pay for a house within one to three years. This financing method, MsWambuisaid,istargetedatbusiness peopleordiasporaclientswhooptnotto goformortgages. Likeallotherstart-ups,thefirm’spast isauthoredbysetbacks.MrHenderson recallsthechallengestheshefacedwhen hefirstapproachedfinancierstobuyinto the Greenpark project. “We had to rely oncapitalfromanotherbusinessinthe UK.”Hesaid. Healsorecallsthatthegatedconcept wasalsoahardsell.“Ittooktimebefore clientsfullyunderstoodtheconceptand welcomedtheidea.” SuperiorHomesseesitselfreplicating theGreenparkmodelinothercountiesin thenextfiveto10years.Atthemoment, thefirmsaysithasanumberofdevelop- mentinthepipelinebutcan’tgopublic about them yet as they are still in early stagesofnegotiations. Ithashoweverconfirmeditsplanto construct holiday lodges around Lake Elementaita of Nakuru County. The 50 “leisurelodges”beconstructedona12- acreparceloflandwillbecompletedin OctobernextyearatcostofuptoSh200 million.Theprojecttargetsholidaymak- erstothenearbyNaivashaandNakuru towns. Thefirmalsoholdsdearitscorporate social responsibility (CSR) division. At the moment, its CSR project involves identifying public schools with chil- dren from the humble background. Once a school is selected, its students areprovidedwithmaterialandexperts to guide them through creating hand- madecards. Superior Home’s associate in UK (HCL), then help in finding market wherethecardsaresoldtofinanceschool projects.“Weseeourselvesgrowingthe CSRdivisiontogreaterheightsinthenext fiveyears”,saysMrHenderson. OfficialsfromSuperior Homes LimitedreceivetheirtrophyfromNationMediaGroupadvertisingdirectorMichaelNgugi(left)after thefirmwasranked sixthduringtheKenyaTop100Mid-SizedCompanies2015Survey. Realto≥’s supe≥io≥ homes win it top honou≥s in su≥vey 1ST NOV.215 @51 BUTERE ROAD INDUSTRIAL AREA MOBILE:732 333 334 NAIROBI. LOTS OF OFFERS AND GIVE AWAYS TΗIS FESTIVE SEASON… DONT BE LEFT OUT VISIT OUR KISUMU OR NAIROBI OUTLET FOR DETAILS. Dіrесt Imроrtеrѕ, Whоlеѕalеrѕ & Rеtaіlеrѕ оf Mоtоr Vіhісlе Sрarеѕ & Aссеѕѕоrіеѕ. Ηеad Offiсе: P.O. 44 - 41, Makaѕеmbо Rоad, Kіѕumu, Kеnуa Tеl: + 254 - 57 - 2238378 Naіrоbі Branсh: 51 Butеrе Rоad, Ind. Arеa Naіrоbі, Kеnуa Mоbіlе 732 333 334 Emaіl: іnfо@amехautоѕѕрarеѕ.соm Wеbѕіtе: www.amехautоѕѕрarеѕ.соm SΗOP ONLINE@ www.amехautоѕрarеѕ.соm NAIROBI BRANCΗ Direct Importers, Wholesalers & Retailers of Motor Vehicle Spares & Accessories 1ST NOV.215 @51 BUTERE ROAD INDUSTRIAL AREA MOBILE:732 333 334 NAIROBI. LOTS OF OFFERS AND GIVE AWAYS TΗIS FESTIVE SEASON… DONT BE LEFT OUT VISIT OUR KISUMU OR NAIROBI OUTLET FOR DETAILS. Dіrесt Imроrtеrѕ, Whоlеѕalеrѕ & Rеtaіlеrѕ оf Mоtоr Vіhісlе Sрarеѕ & Aссеѕѕоrіеѕ. Ηеad Offiсе: P.O. 44 - 41, Makaѕеmbо Rоad, Kіѕumu, Kеnуa Tеl: + 254 - 57 - 2238378 Naіrоbі Branсh: 51 Butеrе Rоad, Ind. Arеa Naіrоbі, Kеnуa Mоbіlе 732 333 334 Emaіl: іnfо@amехautоѕѕрarеѕ.соm Wеbѕіtе: www.amехautоѕѕрarеѕ.соm SΗOP ONLINE@ www.amехautоѕрarеѕ.соm NAIROBI BRANCΗ Head Office: P.O. Box 404-40100, Makasembo Road, Kisumu, Kenya Tel: 0722 793780/0733 333334 Nairobi Branch: P.O. Box 17880-00500 Nairobi, 51 Butere Road, Ind Area Nairobi, Kenya Mobile: 0732 333334, Email: info@amexautospares.com | Website: www.amexautospares.com 1ST NOV.215 @51 BUTERE ROAD INDUSTRIAL AREA MOBILE:732 333 334 NAIROBI. LOTS OF OFFERS AND GIVE AWAYS TΗIS FESTIVE SEASON… DONT BE LEFT OUT VISIT OUR KISUMU OR NAIROBI OUTLET FOR DETAILS. Dіrесt Imроrtеrѕ, Whоlеѕalеrѕ & Rеtaіlеrѕ оf Mоtоr Vіhісlе Sрarеѕ & Aссеѕѕоrіеѕ. Ηеad Offiсе: P.O. 44 - 41, Makaѕеmbо Rоad, Kіѕumu, Kеnуa Tеl: + 254 - 57 - 2238378 Naіrоbі Branсh: 51 Butеrе Rоad, Ind. 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XIIIMonday October 26, 2015 | BUSINESS DAILY MPPS Accessories, A Different Class The Top 100 Mid-sized Companies is an annual survey by the Nation Media Group’s Business Daily newspaper and professional services firm, KPMG. It informs the market of the fastest growing mid- sized companies to look out for. For MPPS Managing Director Zaheer Abbas Khimji, customer service is the most important value for his business. At 26, Zaheer, popular as Zak, is managing one of the biggest vehicle accessories firms in East Africa. “This recognition is the result of the team’s hard work and their strong adherence to quality PPS (1998) Ltd, a pioneer of car alarm systems in Kenya and now a leading vehicle accessories store in East Africa, has successfully leveraged its customer-centric culture to lift its fortunes further. This year, the firm has been ranked among the top 100 mid-sized companies in Kenya, taking position 33. M MPPS Workforce By MILLICENT MWOLOLO >>> mmwololo@ke.nationmedia.com Zak the servant leader For a first-time customer at the MPPS showroom on Mombasa Road, there is nothing to show that Zak is the Managing Director or the owner of the establishment. He passes as an employee, and that’s because despite managing assets worth millions, Zak is sober, cool and selfless. He exemplifies the ideals of a true servant leader. You will, for instance, never find him in a suit. He is usually dressed down in jeans and a company branded short-sleeved shirt. This, he argues, has helped him to remain humble and bond easily with the staff. “I dress simply and share meals with our employees. We are all equal as human beings,” he says. But perhaps Zak’s deep religious culture is what has shaped him to be the humble manager and custodian that he is today. He declares that his first pillar in life is his trust in God and principles of virtue such as equality, fairness, kindness and tolerance. These, he explains, guide his daily interaction with his employees, customers and the wider public. “The first thing is treating people fairly,” he says. Every month, the company has a staff meeting where all the employees are free to speak out their mind. In addition, Zak maintains an open door policy where employees can walk into his office anytime. “I take everybody’s opinion as I know people see things and think differently,” he says. Zak has also empowered managers and employees to make decisions and implement them. This makes them feel valued. MPPS also provides incentives for staff to work even harder. “The more profits we make, we give higher salaries,” says Zak. MPPS is quietly engaged in corporate social responsibility activities in various parts of the country. Zak and his family are soon coming up with a foundation purely dedicated for education and health for the less fortunate. Late Zulfikar Η. Khimji Founder TOP 100 MID SIZED COMPANIES 2015 Repositioning MPPS The last six years have been a great journey for Zak, who took over the management of the company that is known as Mombasa Penny Profit Store, hence the acronym MPPS, after the passing on of his father, Zulfikar H. Khimji in 2004. From 2010, young Zak had to strategize how to reposition the company back to where it had been for many years under his father’s leadership. “MPPS always had a reputation for quality, but when dad passed away, that reputation went down,” he explains. “When I took over, we had to win back that reputation, and the best way to do this was through customer satisfaction,” he adds. Today, Zak is more than satisfied that the company is back to where his late father wanted it to be. Having been exposed to business leadership in his upbringing, Zak has found it easy to manoeuvre and cope with challenges that came with running a company at a young age. His late father would take him along to business and community meetings. MPPS has upgraded all its operational systems and doubled its list of suppliers, enabling it to offer a wider range of products and services to customers. “Unfortunately, we reduced our staff by half, but at the same time increased our turnover by 75 per cent,” Zak says. He quickly points out that the leaner number of staff at the moment has not only meant happier employees, but also a very productive workforce. MPPS’ core business remains vehicle security. Other products and services offered include pressurized exterior and interior washing machines, mechanical and electrical services, accident repair, Bluetooth car kits, stereo systems and a variety of car care products, seat and car covers, floor mats, roof racks, air intake systems and many more that improve both durability and outlook of vehicles. The company also stocks and provides tracking and recovery services, gear/door/wheel locks, front/rear bars, heat resistant/anti-shatter window tint that protect vehicles from damage and theft. Most of these products are imported from Germany, UK, India, Italy, Lithuania, Portugal, Taiwan, Thailand, China and the United States. From a struggling position in 2010, the company now prides itself as being able to supply accessories to more than 75 per cent of all the vehicle models in Kenya. Zaheer Abbas Zulfikar Khimji Managing Director and excellent customer service, which has seen our business grow,” he says of the ranking. Continuous improvement of skills among staff and consistency in quality has over the years ensured that customers get unique, high quality products with a supreme class of service to back it. This has seen a very strong customer loyalty, which has propelled the company into growth. Repeat clients and referral business has worked well for MPPS. “Our customers have become our brand ambassadors,” Zak says, exuding confidence. The company’s showroom is based at Piranha Centre on Mombasa road. Continuous improvement of skills among staff and consistency in quality has over the years ensured that customers get unique, high quality products with a supreme class of service to back it.
XIV BUSINESS DAILY| Monday October 26, 2015 7 LEAN ENERGY SOLUTIONS INDUSTRY ENERGY BY ANNIE NJANJA D inesh Tembhekar opened the doors of Lean Energy Solu- tionsin2007,afterleavinghis well-paying job at the United Nations DevelopmentProgramme. In a span of eight years he has en- durednumerouschallenges,including anacutelackoffinancingashepushed thecompanyupthehilltostandamong themostprofitablesmallandmedium enterprises(SMEs)inKenya. His was a humble beginning. He started off in a tiny home office with a single employee and lack of ready capital to grow his business saw him puthishouseasasecurityaftertaking aloanfromthebank. NrTembhekar, whoisthefounder andmanagingdirectorLeanEnergySo- lutions,sayschangesareapartofrun- ningabusinessandanyentrepreneur should soldier on till his/her dreams cometrue.Ittookhimtwoyearstostart makingprofits. Thisyear,forthethirdtimeinarow, LeanEnergySolutionshasbeennomi- natedasoneoftheTop100fastestgrow- ingMid-sizedcompaniesinKenya. The Top 100 survey, which is the product of a partnership between ac- countingfirmKPMGandNationMedia Group,featurescompanieswithanan- nualturnoverofbetweenSh70million toSh1billion. In 2013, Lean Energy Solutions emergedtopintheTop100Small and Medium Sized enterprises list, a posi- tion Tembhekar said was as the result of its leadership in green technology thathasattractedmajorplayersinthe market. The company appeared in fifth and seventh place last and this year consecutively. AthispreviousjobTembhekarwas mostly involved in helping organiza- tions improve productivity, which is how he founded the business aiming to help companies to reduce their en- ergyconsumption. Lean Energy Solutions uses green energyproducedfrombriquettesmade from sugarcane dry waste to heat wa- ter in boilers and produce steam. The company installs the boilers in indus- tries, a way of bringing the cost of en- ergy down and stop the rising costs of fossilfuels. Thecompanyhasabriquettingma- chineinMuhoroni,whereitgetsitssup- plyofbiomassmaterialsthatarecom- pressedintobriquettes.Theleftoverba- gassefromMuhoroniSugarCompany iswhatthecompanyusestomakethe briquettes.Thesugarcompanywhich previously used furnace oil embraced the use briquette boilers courtesy of Tembhekar’sinnovativeness. Use of briquettes prevent carbon dioxide emissions which is a major contributor to climate change. It also reducestheoverrelianceontheimport- ed oil bringing the cost of production downandpromotesemployment. In a past interview with the Busi- nessDailyTembhekarsaidthatstatis- ticsshowthat“everytonneofbriquettes manufacturedbythecompanycreates a12daysofemploymentandsavesthe country $150 by reducing reliance on importedoil.” Steamcanusedtosterilizemedical equipment in pharmaceutical indus- tries, fixing dyes in textile industries andboilingsyrupforthemanufactur- ingofbeverages Industriesusingtheoptionspend25 percentlessoftheamounttheywould incurbyusingafurnaceoilordieselfuel toproducesteamenergy.Coca-cola,Sas- iniCoffee,SpinKnitandFlamingoTiles aresomeofthecompany’sclientelewho aremainlyfromthemanufacturingand processingsector. Lean Solutions Group signs an eight year agreement with its clients anddeploysitsworkerstoruntheboil- ers.Aftertheeightyearscompaniescan choose to renew the contract or pur- chasetheboilers. Thecompanyemploys200people, 15 of whom are engineers. It has also madeanentryintotheTanzanianmar- ket,andplansisthatitwillopenanof- ficeinUgandabin2018. Thecompanyhasbeenrecordinga growth rate of 30 to 50 per cent annu- allyinturnoverandprofits.Tembhekar attributesthesuccesstoqualityservice whichalsosupportsconservationofthe environment. LeanEnergySolutionsLimited managingdirectorDineshTembhekar(centre)andofficialsposewiththeirtrophyafterthefirm emergedseventhduringtheKenyaTop100Mid-SizedCompanies2015Survey. Fi≥m finds fo≥tune in clean ene≥gy solutions By EVANS ONGWAE eongwae@ke.nationmedia.com To consistently feature in the list of the Top 100 Mid-sized companies in Kenya, North Star Cooling Systems must be doing something right. NSCS was one of the winners during this year’s survey of mid-sized firms. This is a confirmation that the firm is excelling in its chosen field of supplying and installing HVAC systems. Any business should strive to add value to the economy and should live up to or exceed the expectations of the clients. Quality service delivery guarantees business continuity and NSCS has succeeded in delighting its customers. HVAC systems, which this firm specializes in, is important in the design of medium to large commercial or industrial, laboratories, cold rooms and office buildings. These are places where safe and healthy building conditions are regulated with respect to temperature and humidity, using fresh air from outdoors. Ventilation is used to remove unpleasant smells and excessive moisture, introduce outside air, keep interior building air circulating, and prevent stagnation of the interior air. Ventilation includes both the exchange of air to the outside as well as circulation of air within the building. It is one of the most important factors for maintaining acceptable indoor air quality in buildings. In modern buildings the design, installation, and control systems of these functions are integrated into one or more HVAC systems. For larger buildings, building service designers, mechanical engineers, or building services engineers analyze, design, and specify the HVAC systems. Specialty mechanical contractors then fabricate and commission the systems. North Star Cooling System’s unique competency and perhaps the biggest differentiator is that, they do not simply carry out the project as a typical contracting firm, where as they work closely with all the stake holders of the project and look at the entire system in a holistic manner keeping in-view of certain critical factors such as optimal design, efficiency, reliability, life cycle cost and after sale service, among others. This philosophy and approach earns the confidence of the firm’s esteemed clientele. NORTH STAR COOLING SYSTEMS LTD, P.O Box 5085-00506, Nairobi, Kenya Shiv Business Park, Unit No.4, Old Mombasa Road, Tel: - 2013142 Tel/fax: - 551398 Cell:0710-200400 / 0737-777600, E-Mail: - info@northstar.co.ke md@northstar.co.ke NORTH STAR COOLING SYSTEMS LTD Best in professional services
XVMonday October 26, 2015 | BUSINESS DAILY SuperbroomServicesLimitedofficialsposewith theirtrophyafterthefirmwasrankedeighthduring theKenyaTop100Mid-SizedCompanies2015 Survey. SUPERBROOMSERVICESLIMITED 8 SUPERBROOM INDUSTRY SERVICES Soyou’rethinkingaboutstartingabusi- ness? Terrific. About 543,000 small businesses are started each month in the United States ac- cording to data from DocStoc. However, for those thinking about starting one, it’s often the mental hurdles that prevent you from forgingahead. Unansweredquestionscangetintheway ofadvancement.AmIreadytostartabusi- ness?DoIhaveenoughsavingsandtime? Or,Ihaveseveralbusinessideas--whichone shouldIpursue? Startingabusinessisexciting,headystuff,and it’snotforeveryone.Here’ssomeguidanceto helpyoudetermineyourentrepreneurialtal- ents,whetheryou’rereadytojointheranksof smallbusinessownersandthenextsteps. WhyStartaBusiness? Forsome,entrepreneurshipisinspiredbythe need for autonomy, like in Jayson DeMers’ case. The founder and CEO of Audience- Bloom, a Seattle-based SEO agency, was 24 years old and working a full-time job at an online-marketing agency when he began a side business. “I questioned everything and feltuncomfortablebeingboundbysomeone else’s rules,” he says. “I wanted to be free to make my own decisions, take time off when I chose to (without asking) and not have to reporttoanyone.” Aftergatheringfreelanceclients,DeMers waseventuallyabletoquithisfull-timejob. Forothers,startingabusinesscomesfrom solvingaproblemintheirownlives,likeitdid with Sujan Patel, the vice president of mar- ketingatWhenIWork,anemployeesoftware schedulingcompany. Last year, Patel, 30 years old at the time, created two marketing tools to save himself timeandeffortinhisjob.Aftertellingfriends, who were also in the marketing field, about his tools, he discovered they were willing to payhimmoneyforaccesstothem. “That’s when I knew I had something people really wanted,” he says. “It was a bit ofanaccident.” He started two new businesses, ContentMarketer.io and Narrow.io, with the benefit of marketing his SaaS products toinanindustrywherehealreadyhadmore than10yearsofexperience. Some entrepreneurs go into business for thechallenge.MikeTempleman,CEOofFox- tail Marketing, a digital content marketing firm specializing in B2B SaaS, was at a full- timejobwherehe’dbeenpromotedandgiven araise--andhefoundhimselfrestless. He would work on side projects at night. Eventually,thoseprojectsbroughtinenough incometoallowhimtoleavehisfull-timejob andstarthisowncompanyattheageof30. Steps to sta≥ting a small business
XVI BUSINESS DAILY| Monday October 26, 2015 9 SOFTWARE TECHNOLOGIES LTD INDUSTRY ICT S oftware Technologies Limited (STL)startedin1991withonly fiveemployees,andhasgrown to become one of Africa’s leading IT solutionsprovider,withover120em- ployeesaroundtheglobe. It emerged as the best ICT com- pany in the 2015 Top 100 mid-sized companies survey, an initiative of accounting firm KPMG and the Na- tion Media Group designed to iden- tify Kenya’s fastest growing medium sizedcompanies. Software Technologies first ap- pearedontheTop100mid-sizedcom- panies list in 2009 finishing at posi- tion97.In2013,thecompanywasonce againontheTop100listandfinished atposition78.Thefirmshowedcontin- uedgrowththisyearwhenitfinished atpositionnineandwasdeclaredthe ICTindustrychampion. Fromitsconception24yearsago, SoftwareTechnologiesaimedatcom- ingupwithuniqueservicesthatwould offersolutionstotheneedsofitsbusi- nessandindividualclients. It creates and comes up with its ownsoftware,whichhasovertheyears createdhighconfidencelevelsfromits customers,leadingtoasteadygrowth ofitscustomerbase. The company strives to bring in- novative products made by Africans to Africa. “We give our clients quality productsandservices. Our standards in the quality of products we offer our clients are international not local,” said Jyoti Mur- khejee CEO of Software Technologies. Whenitwasestablished,itwasthe onlycompanyinKenyathatdeveloped it’sownIPlocally,and,evennow,itis theonlycompanyinKenyathatoffers aboardmeetingsmanagementsystem called the e-Board. E-Board is a software that allows busi- nessestomakeuseofthe best corporate govern- ance practices and all aspects of boards, including recording board meetings, cre- ating agendas, and al- lowingdirectorstocarry out evaluations, as well as containingthedirectors’CV’s. Some of the companies that have benefitedfromthisinnovationareEq- uityBank,KenGen,CICGroupInsur- anceandtheKenyaCentralBank. Thecompany,whichhasapresence inTanzania,Uganda,Nigeria,Zambia, andtheMiddleEast,placesitsclients asthecentralpillarinallitdoes. Ithassetupanonlineremotesup- portsystemforallitslocalandinter- national clients, which guarantees maximum satisfaction and has led to the continued growth of its cus- tomerbase. It also continuously works on bringing technology like cloud com- puting to Africa, which has helped businessesruntheirITdepartments better and at a cheaper cost, as well as increasing the business solutions itofferstoitsclients. Overtheyears,STLhasexpanded fromIPservicesprovisiontoproviding servicessuchasconsultancy,support and training, web and e-commerce services,andapplicationmigration. Itremainsrelevanttoitsmarketby monitoringtheemergingclientneeds andcomingupwithnewinnovations toprovidethesolution,andbyavoid- ingtheredundancyofservicesoffered byitscompetitors. STLhasavisionofgrowingtobe- comeAfrica’sleadingglobalsoftware solutionscompany. -AFRICANLAUGHTER OfficialsandstafffromSoftwareTechnologiesLimitedwiththeirtrophiesafter thefirmwasdeclaredindustrychampion intheICTcategoryandninthoverall duringtheKenyaTop100Mid-SizedCompanies2015Survey. The IT fi≥m that delive≥ssolutions fo≥smallbusiness
XVIIMonday October 26, 2015 | BUSINESS DAILY 10 HIPORA BUSINESS SOLUTIONS INDUSTRY RETAIL LOGISTICS BY MUGAMBI MUTEGI H iporaBusinessSolutionsEast AfricaLimitedhaslatelybeen in the news for a number of reasons. Thelogisticsfirm,whichspecialises inverificationofsupermarketprocesses to reduce losses, was in July, hired by cash-strappedUchumiSupermarkets toauditthefinancialhealthoftheretail chaininthethreeEastAfricannations whereUchumihadapresence. UchumirecentlypulledoutofTan- zania and Uganda citing perpetual losses. It is, however, not clear if Hi- pora’s report had anything to do with thedecision. Two weeks ago, the firm was once again in the media. This time around Hipora,whoseannualrevenuestands atoverSh200million,hademergedfifth inthelatesteditionoftheTop100Mid- Sizedcompaniessurvey. “Theawardwasagreathonourfor us.Otherthanendorsingthecompany’s health and viability, it has made more peopleknowusandunderstandwhat we do,” said John Wanjohi, the firm’s financedirectorandco-owner. Hipora’s job can be boiled down to ensuring that whatever retailers buy from suppliers and what they sell to customersbalanceoff. In the event that these inventories do not reconcile, the six-year-old firm investigatesthecauseandadvisesthe supermarket’s management accord- ingly. Mr Wanjohi, who is one of the four equalshareholdersinHipora,initially worked as a finance manager at Sho- prite – a South African retail chain before moving to retailer’s Tanzania branch in 2008. He teamed up with a South African friend-turned business partner,MrTshepoMonnanyana,who at the time worked at a risk manage- mentfirminSouthAfrica. Thetwofiguredoutthatthereexist- edabigriskmanagementandlogistics gap in Kenya’s blossoming retail sec- tor, which lost Sh3 billion every year to shoplifting, pilferage and outright theft through well-coordinated rack- ets transporters, receiving and pack- agingteams. Armed with this insight, Wanjohi, Tshepoandtwootherpartners(aKenya andaSouthAfrican)decidedtosetup afirmtoofferarangeofinventoryand logisticsservicestoretailers. Hipora,whichisbasedatPanariSky Centre along Mombasa Road, started its business in 2009 when it wrote a proposal to Tuskys Supermarkets to employworkersfortheretailer. AftertheTuskysdeal,Hiporastarted marketingitselfasabrandandwithin threeyearsofoperation,ithadsecured moreclientsfromtheregion. “Tuskys offered us even the space to operate from. It was a good recep- tion given we hardly knew each other asclientandserviceprovider,”saidMr Wanjohi. Today, the list of Hipora’s clients in Kenya include Tuskys, Eastmatt, Nakumatt, Quickmart, Maathai and Eastmattsupermarkets.InUganda,it servesthelikesofUgandaBreweriesas wellasTuskysandNakumatt. Under the contract, no deliveries are paid to retail suppliers until Hi- pora confirms that the amount due corresponds with the quantity and qualitydelivered. Thecompanyalsoworkswithware- housesandinstitutionsthat buygoods in large quantities and receiving and dispatch sections that are prone to stocklosses. Hipora provides companies with loss control managers, stockroom controllers, front end checkers, floor- walkerswhocheckanomaliesthatmay occurinthesupermarkets. It recently introduced undercover agents who covertly provide informa- tiononanyunderhanddealingsatthe workstations.Thisintelligenceiscriti- cal to sealing any loopholes that may existintheorganization. Hiporaisnowtargetingcountygov- ernments, manufacturing plants and supermarketsuppliersallofwhomdeal inlargequantitiesofsuppliesandthere- foreneedtobeefuptheiraccountability intheirsupplyanddistribution. HiporaBusinessSolutionsEastAfricaLimiteddirectorJohnWanjohi(right)andofficials posewiththeirtrophyafterthefirm emergedtenthduringtheKenyaTop100Mid-Sized Companies2015Survey. Logisticscompanythathelps≥etaile≥scutlosses
XVIII BUSINESS DAILY| Monday October 26, 2015 11 WELL TOLD STORY INDUSTRY SOCIAL MEDIA RESEARCH F rom the ashes of political tur- moilthatfollowedKenya’s2007 generalelectionaroseabusiness ideathatusedstorytellingtoreachthe youth who were vulnerable to chaos andviolence. Two years later the originators of that idea registered Well Told Story Limited, a socially dedicated media research and production company based in Kenya and Tanzania, focus- ingonpositivetransformationofyoung peopleinAfrica. “Itbecamecleartousinthewakethe post-election turmoil that there was a need to give youth in Kenya access to goodideas,opportunitiesandinspira- tion so they could take action to im- provetheirlives,”RobBurnet,46,told theBusinessDailyinaninterview. Eight years later, Well Told Story – theenterprise--finished number11in theTop100mid-sizedcompanies’sur- veyanachievementthattestifiestothe rapidgrowthithasrealizedsinceitwas formallyregisteredsixyearsago. “We saw an opportunity in that space, for a socially motivated com- panythatcouldcreatevaluesharedby youth, corporations and by develop- mentagenciesallanxioustoreachthe youthdemographicsinpositiveways,” heexplained. WellToldStoryLimitedwasfounded by Mr Burnet who works along with a group of individuals and has incorpo- ratedotherpartnersinthebusiness. The company’s main business is telling the on-going story of DJB, the pirateradioDJattheheartofShujaaz –themulti-mediachannelonFMradio, social media, video, TV, film and the Shujaaz comic books that are distrib- utedintheSaturdayNation,apublica- tion ofNationMediaGroup andfrom M-Pesakioskseverymonth. Like most startups, Mr Burnet re- calls his first month of doing business ashardbutthathardenedhisgraspto pushonuntiltheend. He categorises his hardest part as getting to the launch of the platform with all the necessary partnerships in place. However, he says the easy part was connecting with young Kenyans who loved the Shujaaz media right fromtheoutset. Hisfirstclientswereandstillismo- bile services provider Safaricom and the Nation Media Group who distrib- uteShujaazcomicsincludingCocaCola thatdoesthesameinTanzania. “We still work with the United Kingdom government. Our base has broadened to include the Gates and Hewlett foundations, Unilever, Voda- com in Tanzania and others. And the audiencehasgrowntoo–Shujaaznow reaches69percentofKenyansaged15- 24,”saidMrBurnet. “Fromtheoutsetourmotivationwas to offer genuine, measurable value to Kenyanyouth.Maybewewerenaïvebut wefiguredthatourbusinesswouldbe sustainableandgrowifwedeliveredto young people first, our clients second and ourselves third. We still work to maintainthatorderofpriority.” Well Told Story Limited break- through came in the year 2012 when they won the first of our two Inter- national Emmy Awards for the way theytellstoriesacrossmultiplemedia platforms. He says knowing they are among the best in the world at what they do has been a boost to every part of their business. Currently,thecompanyhasaround 40staffinKenyaandTanzania,aswell as a lot of freelance creatives spread acrosstheregion. Well Told Story Limited said their business segment has not received much competition. “Almost everyone elseputsprofitoverpurpose.Westickto ourcore–weserveouraudiencefirst.” Hesaystheonlyfearsareaboutmoving asfastasourmarket. On expansion plans, the company plans to spread into further countries in Africa and is currently developing opportunities for strategic growth with focus to stay on under-served youngpeople. “We are working on a number of strongnewideasthataddvaluetoour existingbrands,”hesays. WellToldStoryLimitedofficialsposewiththeirtrophyafterthefirmwasranked11th duringtheKenyaTop100Mid-SizedCompanies2015Survey.LookingonisNSEchairman EddyNjoroge. A c≥eative sto≥y that tu≥ned into th≥iving business
XIXMonday October 26, 2015 | BUSINESS DAILY 12 AMEX INDUSTRY AUTO/HARDWARE SUPPLIES A mexAutoandIndustrialHard- ware Limited started out in 1988 as a small retail shop in Kisumu, with a staff of four. With an “in-depth” knowledge of vehiclespareparts,ithasgrowntoday tobelistedamongtheTop100compa- nies in the region. Foracompanytoberecognizedin thecompetition,theymustbewilling to submit audited results for the past threeyears,andhaveanannualturno- ver of between Sh70 million and Sh1 billion, something they boast of. The company’s Director, Devesh Patel,saysthat,theystartedbyslowly increasingtheirturnoverandcreating a bigger customer base. In 2010, they had saved enough to buythembiggerpremisesforthecom- pany’s expansion, he says. “Withanewchangeofenvironment andafreshteamof24peoplein2013, westarteddoingwholesalebusinessas achangeofstrategytoslowlyincreas- ingoursaleswithverylowmargins.We haveempoweredourstaffandcreated agoodworkingcultureinthecompany, which is crucial for growth,” said Mr Patel adding that his father, Manhar- bhai Patel, was the founder. “Our yearly turnover has grown steadily in the last three years”. Thecompanydealswitharangeof vehicle spare parts. From suspension arms, body parts, side mirrors, headlamps to service parts. MrPatelsaystheyrecentlylaunched ane-commercewebsiteallowingcus- tomerstosecurelypayforgoodsusing a variety of options including mobile money, Master Card and Visa Credit cards. “Innovation is the way to go in businessandwehavecreatedanauto parts e-commerce website to make things easier for our clients and we alsoprovidefreedeliveryonallonline ordersthroughoutKenya.Wealsofully computerised our operations so it is easy to monitor inventory, ordering, sales,” he said. Headdedthattheyhavealsopart- nered with Jumia to sell their auto parts on their online platform. Their target market include retail shops, garages, insurance companies, fleet owners and individuals. Thedirectorstatesthattheyimport theirhardwaredirectlyfromtheirfac- tories in Asia. Theywillsoonbeopeninganoutlet onButereRoadinNairobi’sIndustrial AreastartingNovembertobetterserve ourNairobiclientsandtheircounter- partsinthesurroundingenvirons,says Mr Patel. They also serve Uganda and Tan- zania markets. “We have managed to keep and growourclientelethroughtheunbeat- ablepricesontopbrandswhilebreak- ingeven.Wewillbecreatingafurther 30jobsinourNairobiofficein2016as we look to expand our customer base to Central Africa,” he said. MrPatelquicklyaddsthatthecom- pany made notable strides from be- ing position 62 in last year’s Top 100 companies’ survey conducted by the BusinessDailyandKPMGtonumber 12 this year. “The experience is amazing. This big leap (being ahead of 50 compa- nies compared to last year) has re- ally empowered our staff and we are all looking forward to increasing our productivity and clinch position one come next year,” said Mr Patel. -AFRICAN LAUGHTER AmexAutoandIndustrial HardwareLimitedofficials celebrateafterthe firmwasranked inposition12 duringtheKenyaTop100 Mid-SizedCompanies2015Survey. Moto≥ spa≥e pa≥ts fi≥m ≥evs to ≥ecognition THANK YOU FOR MAKING US NO 2 COMPANY IN KENYA IN THE TOP 100 MID-SIZED COMPANIES 2015/16 We thank our dedicated staff and customers for having trust and confidence in us. Professional Clean Care Ltd is a leading company in Commercial Cleaning Services with over 28 years in providing outsourced cleaning services to a wide variety of clients who need to focus and concentrate in their core business. We have hundreds of satisfied customers occupying millions of square feet of office space who can testify that, when it comes to value, quality and responsiveness, Professional Clean Care Ltd is number one. We thank God that we were for a third time recognized by KPMG Kenya/Nation Media Group as the No.2 overall winners out of 100 Top SME’s Companies. We were awarded the prestigious award on 9th October 2015. We wish to mention that we were the first cleaning company to attain ISO 9001: 2008 Certificate in 2011. The company’s success is due to my hands on leadership skills and good organizational structure and confidence in my staff. The company has since opened branches in Nairobi, Mombasa, Nakuru, Kisumu, Nyeri, Thika, Marsabit, Eldoret. We crossed over to Kampala and Somalia and very soon venturing to Rwanda. Visit us at Brunei House,1st Floor Witu Road-(off Lusaka Road) Cell:0725685492/0772145050 Mrs. Betty Wanyoike CEO of Professional Clean Care limited receive their trophy from DiamondTrust Bank CEO Nasim Devji (left) after the company emerged number two during the Kenya Top 100 Mid- Sized Companies 2015 Survey Gala dinner at the Carnivore Grounds in Nairobi on October 9, 2015. Looking on (left) is KPMG CEO Josphat Mwaura. THANK YOU For Quality Cleaning in Hospitals, Offices, Houses & Commercial Properties
XX BUSINESS DAILY| Monday October 26, 2015 INDUSTRY ICT 13 DATAGUARD DISTRIBUTORS LTD A s computer viruses and mal- warecontinuetomultiplyincy- berspace, James Kinyua saw an opportunitytokeepdigitalgadgetssafe andmakemoneyintheprocess. Sixyearsago,DataguardDistributors wassetupasalinkbetweenproducersof anti-virussoftwareandindividualcom- puterusersandbusinesses. Essentially, the company is a major distributor of products to sub-dealers likeshopownersandnetworkingcom- panieswhosellthemtoindividualcon- sumers, SME enterprises and govern- mentagencies. Dataguard has since grown in leaps andboundstopostimpressivenumbers that have put it firmly in the league of Kenya’s fastest growing Medium-sized companies. ThoughMrKinyua,whoisthecompa- ny’schiefexecutive,wasaboutthecom- pany’s finances – Dataguard definitely runs an annual turnover in excess of Sh70million.“Lastyearweenteredthe Top 100 competition and were at posi- tion126.Itsayssomethingthatthisyear weareat13.” AmongtheclientsithasservedareSa- faricom,KenyaRevenueAuthority,KCB, National Hospital Insurance Fund and BankofKigali. When a company approaches them forsolutions,Dataguardwillexecutethe job through one of their sub-dealers as they do not deal directly with the cli- ent.Thecompanydistributesproducts fromthreeforeigncompanies.Theseare Kasperskyanti-virussolutionswhichwas theirfirstproduct;Bitdefenderanother anti-virus software and ICT hardware fromanAmericancompanyNetgear. “It’sbeenachallenginggrowth.There was a time a lot of people couldn’t even pronounce Kaspersky but now it has a marketshareofover50percentinKen- ya,”MrKinyuasaid. Under the Netgear brand, they dis- tribute switches, wireless connection products, routers and gateways and storagesolutionsamongothers. MrKinyuasaidthattheyplantoadd moreproductstoitsstablebutthisisonly done after a careful review of the mar- ket.Hehoweveraddsthatthenumberof productstheyhandlewouldbecappedat seven. “We have in the past introduced someproductsbutrealisethattheyhave not performed so well so we dropped them,”hesaid. As technology continues to develop new services and gadgets like cloud computing, smartphones and tablets, the need for connectivity devices and anti-virus protection has offered Data- guard an even bigger opportunity for growth. Thecompanyhasspreaditswingsin theeasternAfricaregionandnowserv- icesits40sub-dealersinKenya,Uganda, Rwanda,BurundiandTanzania. The nature of their operations as more of a logistics operator has meant that they have managed to keep a lean staffof15. Mr Kinyua said that they face stiff competitionespeciallyfromonlinesales of the products they sell as well as indi- viduals who fly out of the country and acquiretheitemsthere. Ente≥p≥ise makes its ma≥k keeping digitalgadgetssafe Dataguard DistributorsLimitedofficialsposewithNSEchairmanEddyNjoroge (secondright)afterthefirm wasrankedinposition13duringtheKenyaTop100 Mid-SizedCompanies2015Survey. INDUSTRY INSURANCE 14 WAUMINI INSURANCE BROKERS LTD W hat started out as an insurance agency af- filiated to the Catholic Churchanditsrelatedinstitutions hasgrownintoanawardwinning enterprise in the financial servic- esindustry,asWauminiInsurance BrokersLimitedemergedthebest in the Financial Services category during the 2015 top 100 survey of the fastest growing mid-sized companies in the country. “As a team we felthumbledbythe recognition, which wasasresultofrigour- ous research. The award has injected fresh motivation and will go a long way in helping ourportfoliogrow,”saidthemanag- ingdirector,NancyMuriuki. Thisyear,theinsurancebroker- agesecuredposition14,upfrompo- sition59,in2014,followingtheTop 100survey,whichisrunbythe Na- tionMediaGroup’sBusinessDaily andauditfirmKPMG.Thisisanin- dicationofgrowthandthegrowing confidencepeoplehavetowardsits products,saidMuiruki. WauminiInsuranceBrokerage Ltdhasnowbeenlistedforsixyears runningasoneoftheTop100mid- sized companies in Kenya. Other recognitions include the special commendation award in leader- ship and management from the Association of Insurance Brokers ofinFebruary2010andthecoveted awardforexcellenceintrainingand professionalismandprofessional- ismdevelopmentfromthesameas- sociation,AIBK,inMarch2012. Wauminihasinsuredmorethan 10,000organisationsinKenyaand offersabroadrangeofservicesin- cludinginsurancebrokerage,gen- eralinsurance,motorvehicleinsur- ance,pensionschemeadministra- tion,grouplifeassurance, riskmanagementand medicalinsurance. It was incor- porated to fill the insurance needs of the Catholic Church and its re- lated institutions in 1997. However, it has grownitsmarkettoinclude non-Catholicsandwasupgradedto an insurance broker in 2005. The company started with an annual premium of Sh 2m and only three employeesin1997,buttodayit’s22 permanentstaffhandleSh500min premiums. Muriuki said that one of the biggest challenges has been the competition for talent, and the growing numbers of companies intheinsuranceindustry. “One of our biggest challenge inthisindustryisthecompetition fortalent.Inthepreviousyear,we trained seven people, and four of themweretakenupbyotherinsur- ancecompanies.” “There is still a slow uptake of insurance products in Kenya, whichhasalsoaffectedthegrowth ofmanyinsurancefirms,aswellas stiffcompletionfromotherfinan- cialinstitutions,suchasbanks,that previouslydidnotofferinsurance services,”shesaid. However,Waumini,whichstart- edoffwithabranchinNairobi,has sinceaddedanotherthreebranches in Kisumu, Nyeri, and recently in Nakuru. “We have plans to be in every part of the country and so in the nextthreeyears,weintendtohave openotherbranchesinMombasa, MachakosandEldoret.Wealsoplan toengagemoreyouthsinsellingin- surancethuscreatingemployment and increasing the penetration of insurance,whichisstillextremely lowat3percent,”shesaid. Muriuki reiterated that Wau- mini stands out among its peers for its deep-rooted values of trust, professionalism, team work, self- lessness, integrity, innovation, respect, loyalty, and community citizenship. “Being a faith-based organiza- tion,weensurethatweupholdthe higheststandardsofintegrityand professionalism. We also conduct continuouseducationtoourclients oninsurance,”shesaid. -AFRICANLAUGHTER Faithanddiligenced≥ives insu≥e≥ to Hall of Fame OfficialsfromWauminiInsuranceBrokersarecongratulatedbyKPMGEastAfricaCEOJosphatMwaura(right)andNation MediaGroupCEOJoeMuganda(left)after thefirmwasdeclaredindustrychampioninthefinancialservicescategory duringtheKenyaTop100Mid-SizedCompanies2015Survey. FILE
XXIMonday October 26, 2015 | BUSINESS DAILY BROLLO KENYA LTD INDUSTRY CONSTRUCTION Manufacturesawiderangeofvalueaddedsteel andtubularproductsforthebuildingandcon- struction,manufacturing,automotiveandpack- agingindustries. CANON CHEMICALS LIMITED INDUSTRY MANUFACTURING Developsaportfolioofqualitybrandswhichare partofaneverydayaffordablelife:homecare (PetroleumJelly,Lotions)Ithas aproudheritage passionatelycommittedtoempowerandenrich people’slivesinAfricabydevelopingaportfolio ofqualitybrandswhicharepartofaneveryday affordablelife. KENYA BUILDERS & CONCRETE CO LTD INDUSTRY CONSTRUCTION ManufacturersofAggregatesandPrecastCon- creteProducts ELDOHOSP PHARMACEUTICALS LTD INDUSTRY PHARMACEUTICALS DistributorsofbrandslikeGlaxoSmithkline, Novartis,Sanofi,BayerE.ALimitedandPfizer amongstothers. MaindistributorsforTorrentandMicrolabs. ImportersofSurgicalsandalliedproducts. CLUB101 AKenyaBuildersandConcreteCompany Limitedofficial iscongratulated byKPMGEastAfrica CEOJosphatMwaura(left)andDiamondTrust BankCEONasimDevjiafterthecompanygraduated toClub101duringtheKenyaTop100Mid-SizedCompanies2015Survey. MEGA PACK K LTD INDUSTRY MANUFACTURING SIGMA SUPPLIES LTD INDUSTRY MANUFACTURING Oneofthecountry’slargestfullyintegratedpoul- trycompany. Mainproductsincludedressedchicken,cutups, dayoldchicks(broilersandlayers),tableeggs, hatchingeggs,poultryequipmentandanimal feed. TRUFOODS LIMITED INDUSTRY MANUFACTURING Oneoftheeadingproducersofhealthy,conven- ientfoodsforeveryeatingoccasion-Zesta,Ke- nylon.Homeiswhere“true”foodis.TruFoods ispassionateaboutservingupgoodfood.They understandthepoweroffoodtoconnectpeople, uniteculturesandenrichdailylife. VEHICLE AND EQUIPMENT LEASING LTD INDUSTRY LEASING VehicleandequipmentLeasingLimited(VAELL)isthe leadingindependentassetleasingcompanyinEastern andCentralAfrica.VAELLhaveestablishedthemselves astheforemostexpertsinassetand plantleasing acquisitionandmaintenanceprovidingservicesinan arrayofsectorsacrosstheeconomy.VAELLhavebe- comealeadingproviderofassetleasingacquisition solutionstogovernmentsintheregion. HEAD OFFICE: Astral Plaza, Old Mombasa Road, Kyangombe P.o Box 7335-00300 Nairobi, Kenya Tel:020-2081501,Email info@tridentplumbers.com Website:www.tridentplumbers.com • Plumbing & Drainage • Sanitaryware Installations • FireFighting Services • Automatic Irrigation Systems • Air Conditioning and Ventillation Systems • Compressed Air systems • Boiller Installations • LPG Gas and Petroleum Service Systems • Health Club Services • Solar Water Heating Systems • Water Storage Facilities • Water Distribution OUR EXPERTISE
XXII BUSINESS DAILY| Monday October 26, 2015 INDUSTRY TRAVEL 15 PINNACLE (K) TRAVELS & SAFARIS LTD INDUSTRY MANUFACTURING 16 TROPIKAL BRANDS A LTD Manufacturer of household, personal care, food and baby products and distributor of top quality multinational brands. INDUSTRY PETROLEUM 17 RUSHAB PETROLEUM LTD 18 ALLWIN PACKAGING INTL. LTD INDUSTRY INSURANCE 19 D&G INSURANCE BROKERS LTD 20 SHEFFIELD STEEL SYSTEMS LIMITED INDUSTRY MANUFACTURING 21 COAST INDUSTRIAL & SAFETY SUPPLIES LIMITED INDUSTRY MANUFACTURING 22 NOVEL TECHNOLOGIES EA LTD INDUSTRY ICT 23 POWERPOINT SYSTEMS EA LTD INDUSTRY ENERGY 24 MACHINES TECHNOLOGIES (2006) LTD INDUSTRY MANUFACTURING INDUSTRY SUPPLIES 18 ALLWIN PACKAGING INTL. LTD G reat customer service: this is the secret of success, ac- cordingtoAllwinPackaging InternationalLtd,whichinjustover 10yearshasgrownfromavirtually unknown company to become a leadingsupplierofpack- agingmachineswith a monthly turno- ver of Sh30m- Sh40million. AllwinPack- aging Interna- tional Ltd, which suppliespackaging machines&materials, coding and water purifica- tion machines to manufacturing industries, started as a humble business in 2004 to cater for a gap inthemarket. “With a capital of Sh650,000, I startedthebusinessin2004topro- videaffordablepackagingsolutions formanufacturingindustries,”said Saji Kuria Khose, Managing Direc- torofAllwinPackagingInternational Ltd.“Packagingisverysensitiveand peopleexpectveryhighquality.Wedo notjustsupplypackagingmachines toindustries,butalsomakeaneffort tofollowupiftheclientisexperienc- ing any problems. There are times when we have sent engineers to go toindustriesatnighttofixmachines just so that the packaged products comeoutwell,”saidKhose. It is not only Allwin’s great cus- tomerservicethatKhosetakespride in, but also that the company has grownwithoutanybankloans. “I have never taken any bank loans or overdrafts to in order to grow, because financing in this country is very expensive. I have, instead, chosen to grow in a slow and steady manner by re-investing backintothecompany,”saidKhose. This slow and steady growth hasseenthecompanynow achieve 38 employees and supply over 250 different packaging machines to various manufacturing indus- tries,includingthosein tea,sugar,cosmetics,and agro-chemicals. Allwin’sgrowthalsosawthem recentlyacquiretherightstobethe sole distributer of global leading packagingcompany,Ishida. “Aroundtwomonthsweago,we were given the go ahead to be the onlydistributerofIshida,whichisa JapanesecompanyinEastandCen- tralAfrica,”saidKhose. Passionate about seeing other start-ups grow, Allwin has kept its affordablepackagingmachines,de- spiteacquiringmoreexpensiveones over the past decade. It is also this passion that saw Khose help a stu- dentsetupastart-up,somethinghe termsashisgreatestachievement. “Auniversitystudentoncecame tomesayingthathewantedtostart supplyingpackagingmachineswith justastartingcapitalofSh10,000.He boughtamachineworthSh6,000,af- terwhichhecamebackforanother similarmachineafewmonthslater. Twoyearsdowntheline,thisstudent camebacktomeandboughtama- chineworthSh2m,”saidKhose. Three years ago’ Allwin Packag- ingInternationalLtdwasamongthe Business Daily Top 100 Companies andithasappearedinthelistthree times consecutively, another feath- erKhoseisproudtoaddtohiscap. “Ever since we were selected three years ago, people started taking us moreseriously,whichhasdonegreat forthebusiness,”saidKhose. The journey to the top has not been smooth sailing and Khose terms unfair competition as a ma- jor impediment. “There are people who use illegal routes of importing thesemachinesandthereforedonot paytaxes.Thisaffectsusbecausethey endupsellingthemachinescheaply whichishardtocompetewith,”said Khose.Healsoattributesthegrow- ing traffic congestion as another challengetothebusiness.“Inthe10 yearswehavebeeninthebusiness, ourproductivityhasbeenreducedby 10-20percentbecauseofthetraffic jams,”saidKhose. Buttosucceed,saidKhose,“one should know their product”, a plat- formfromwhichAllwin,itself,now hopestoexpandacrossAfrica. Packagingfi≥mth≥iveson excellentcustome≥se≥vice AllwinPackagingLimited officials receivetheirtrophyfromNationMediaGroupCEOJoe Muganda(centre)afterthe firmwasdeclaredindustrychampion intheretailcategory. Lookingon is KPMG EastAfricaCEOJosphat Mwaura. D&G InsuranceBrokersLimited officialsposewiththeirtrophyafterthefirmwas ranked 19th inthesurvey. D&GINSURANCEBROKERSLIMITED
XXIIIMonday October 26, 2015 | BUSINESS DAILY 25 LOGISTIC SOLUTIONS LTD INDUSTRY LOGISTICS L ogistic Solutions Limited is Mombasa based company that was founded in 2009 to handle emptycontainersonbehalfofshipping lines. The empty containers are ship- pingboxesthatcanbestuffedwithvari- ouscontents. “Last year, Kenya Ports Authority handledoverone millioncontainers.It isonlynaturalthatforeverycontainer that comes to Kenya or the region as importsmustleaveasloadedorempty export,” saidAbdikhaniAbbas,thechief executiveofLogisticSolutions. The company, which is renowned for its vast experience in the logistic service provision industry, credits its success to its high level of service and efficiency, which has been influenced by the huge investment the company hasmadeinbuyingequipment,suchas anemptycontainerambulance,reach stalker, and folk lifts, which make its workeasierandfaster. Logistic Solutions had its first list- ingontheTop100companiesthisyear, taking position 25. In addition, it has received awards from WEMA for best incustomerfocus;theKenyaNational Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KNCC)for employer;andKenyaPorts AuthorityAwards,forefficientdepot. The company’s success has been fueled by a strong team whose collec- tiveexperiencesspantheinlandtrans- portationbusiness,runninganempty containerdepot,andtheCFSoperations todevelopaflexiblefacilitythatcorre- lates with today’s dynamic container repositioningdemands. “Wehaveimplementedanin-house IT system, which we use to track the containers, and we have linked this system to the shipping lines and Ken- yaPortsAuthority,makingoperations smooth,”saidMrAbass Efficiency has also been increased byone-on-onerelationshipswithcus- tomers, an open door policy, and the 24 hour, seven days a week operating system. The company’s continued invest- ment in modern fleet facilities and commitment to deliver goods safely and on time, whatever the circum- stances, has ensured the individual needsofcustomersaremet. The company has also had its fair share of ups and downs, with the big- gestchallengebeingfinances.Inorder to have competent manpower and re- sourcesthecompanyhashadtodoalot ofstafftrainingandresourcemobiliza- tion,whicharebothexpensiveexercises toundertake. Poorinfrastructurehasalsoposeda challenge,withpoorroadscontributing to high wear and tear to the contain- ers, leading to an increase in mainte- nancecosts. Traffic snarl ups have also caused delaysincontainerrepatriation,which affects vessel loading. The other chal- lenge has been system breakdowns at Kenya Ports Authority and Kenya Revenue Authority. But despite the challenges, the company has grown and has discovered new avenues for earningfurtherrevenues.Newservices ithasaddedincluderepairingcontain- ers,andchemicalcleaningofcontain- ers,whichhasenabledittopreparethe containersforexport. Butthecompanyisnotimmuneto globaltrends.“Sincethedollarhasin- creased, we have noted a drop in con- tainer imports into the country. This will, in return, effect the volumes of empty containers that we will han- dle,”saidMr.Abass. But the great motivation the com- panyhasisthecreationofemployment opportunities,withnow160employees, whichisanachievementitisveryproud of.Asthecompanycontinuesgrowing by expanding its range of services, it anticipatesmorejobopportunitiesstill fortheyouth.Ithasalsosecuredakey contractwithoneoftheworld’smajor shippinglines. Beyond the normal operations of the company, it holds an a 10-day eye clinic project every year with doctors fromGermany,whocomeintodoeye tests and surgeries where necessary. The project targets 3,000 people a year and is conducted in the remote villagesinKenya. Logistic Solutions is also looking into expanding into Uganda and Tan- zaniawithinthenext10years. -AFRICANLAUGHTER LogisticsSolutionsLimitedofficialsposewiththeirtrophyafterthefirmwasranked 25thduringtheKenyaTop100Mid-SizedCompanies2015Survey. Containe≥ fi≥m usestechnologyto boost efficiency
XXIV BUSINESS DAILY| Monday October 26, 2015 34 KISIMA ELECTRO MECHANICALS LTD INDUSTRY MANUFACTURING K isimaElectroMechani- cals(KEML)wasfound- ed in 2010 to test bore hole pumping efficiency and achieve optimal water yields, across now 350 sites in Nairo- bi, Nakuru, Thika, Machakos, Kitale, Narok, Naivasha, Na- mangaandKajiado. Byblendinginnovationand technology,KEMLhasprovided low and middle income com- munities with practi- calwatersolutions, witheachproject uniquely ca- teredfor. Its achieve- mentshaverun hand in hand with remarkable growth. By 2011, the company was adding its secondtestpumpingmachine, andathirdoneby2012,asitalso moved into bore hole mainte- nance & rehabilitation work, thesupplyofpumpsandUPVC pipes, construction of water storagesystems,andwaterdis- tribution. “Sincerity and transpar- ency have been the building blocks of this company,” said Yashwanth Kumar Shetty, Di- rector of KEML, who looks af- terthecompany’soperationona daytodaybasis.Heisafamiliar faceatthesiteworkshopalong MombasaRoad,providingguid- ancetohisteam.Inthemidstof a fully set up workshop, small meetings are carried out, and theday’splansfordealingwith clientsaregonethrough. KEMLcurrentlyhas28staff, 18ofthemdealingdirectlywith drilling related activities. “My technical team, and the high quality of service that we pro- vide has helped us grow as a company,”saidYashwanth. KEM provides the major- ity of its drilling solutions for property developers, as well as for NGOs, such as the Interna- tional Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), which has had pumps installed in the KarenareaofNairobi. Compassion Inter- national Kenya has had similar servicesprovid- ed in the Meru region. “We do not carry out much advertising to target our clients,” said Yashwanth, “word of mouthhashelpedus.” Butthesectoriscompetitive, meaningKEMLhashadtokeep abreastofwhatcompetitorsare offering. It constantly surveys for innovation and ways of sourcing in the local and inter- nationalmarket.“Ouraimisto supplythebestproductstothe market,withanemphasisonbe- ing energy efficient.” The com- panyalwaysselectsandinstalls therightsizeofenergyefficient pump and motor to match the clientneeds. As new technology comes in and trends change the mar- ket, KEML also trains its staff, giving them the relevant skills to adapt to the evolving work environment. Staff are also en- couragedtobeprofessional,and to follow all safety procedures whenatwork. Clients are not left out ei- ther.“Weensureallsafetycom- ponents to safeguard the cus- tomer pumping system,” said Yashwanth. Client communication has beengivenahighprioritylevel bythecompany.“Anyproblems weencounterduringdrillingare openly discussed with clients. Any amount of progress is de- tailedtotheclientsaswell.”This openspositivecommunication channelsensuringclientsareal- ways up to speed with drilling projects across Kenya. Clients are also able to contact KEML via phone or email, and site visits are also provided when necessary. “Whenever there is a prob- lem identified by a client, my teamknowstoalwaysrespond as soon as possible.” Over the years,KEMLhavealsolearned tonegotiatewithclientsandlis- tentotheirspecificneeds. With regards to the impact ofbeinglisted34thinthecom- panyrankings,Yashwanthsaid: “I’m very thankful for the rec- ognition.Infact,ithasplayeda major part in encouraging our employees,whoarenowhighly motivatedafterseeingthecom- pany’sranking.”KEMLintends tobethebestandmosteffective watermanagementcompanyin KenyaandeasternAfrica. 26 HAJAR SERVICES LTD INDUSTRY CONSTRUCTION 27 SUPREME PHARMACY LIMITED INDUSTY PHARAMACEUTICALS 28 NORTH STAR COOLING SYSTEMS LTD INDUSTY ENERGY Northstarcoolingsystemsisarenownednamefor theirdesign,installation,repair,maintenanceand optimizationofmissioncriticalrefrigerationand HVACsystems. The companyhashandledvariousprojectsofdiffer- entsizesanddifferentsectorslikehealthcare,enter- tainment,government andmayothers 29 UNITED EAST AFRICA WAREHOUSES LTD INDUSTRY LOGISTICS United(E.A)WarehousesLtdisoneoftheleading providersofintegratedlogisticssolutionstotheTea, GeneralandBulkCargoIndustry.Thecompanyisa 100percentKenyanprivatelyownedlimitedcom- panythatwasfoundedin1999byJustinJ.Ogwapit. TheUnited(E.A.)WarehousesLtdteamismadeup ofseasonedprofessionalswhoprovidequalityserv- icesinImport,Export,TransitCargoDocumenta- tion,CustomClearance,WarehousingandQuayside BaggingFreightatourcentresinMombasa,Nairobi, MalabaandKampala. Ourpurposebuilt-godownsareconvenientlylocat- edatourheadofficeinShimanzi,lessthan1kmfrom thePortofMombasaandspanover150,000sqft. Thegodownsfeaturefeaturingcustombuiltload- ingbays,modernconveyorbelts,railwaysidingand stateoftheartsecurity. Wehaveafullyfittedmodernteatastingroomand abuyingdepartmentthatcatersauctionpurchase, blendingandpackagingofblackCTCteaasperthe requirementsofallmajormarketsincludingPaki- stan,SudanandEgypt. Ourclearing&forwardingarmisfullyconversant withtheproceduresinvolvedintheimportandex- portofalltypesoflocalandtransitmerchandiseand offersarangeofservicesincluding: •CustomsBrokerage •FreightProcedures •On-sitesupervisionofallPortOperations •BorderPointUnitsatMalabaandLungaLungato trackallincomingandoutgoingcargo. • ContinuousCargomonitoringandissuanceofcli- entadvisories • SightingandCross-Stuffingofcontainers • ClearingofPersonalEffects,BulkandContainer- isedCargo 30 JO WORLD AGENCIES LIMITED INDUSTRY ICT JoWorldAgenciesLtd,alocallyincorporatedcom- pany,isanInformationSystemsSolutionsand Supportprovider.Despitehavingreasonableand reputableclientbase,wehavemanagedtokeepour servicesatbothapersonallevel,andcorporatelevel throughtheyears.Wehaveoverthepastdecade grownbyleapsandboundsandarenowoneofthe mostefficientandrespectedprovidersinusersup- portinInformationandCommunicationTechnology. 31 RAVENZO TRADING LIMITED INDUSTRY TECHNOLOGY 32 GENERAL CARGO SERVICES LTD INDUSTRY TRANSPORT & LOGISTICS 33 MPPS (1998) LTD INDUSTRY SUPPLIES 35 BTB INSURANCE BROKERS LTD INDUSTRY INSURANCE 36 SPECIALIZED ALUMINIUM RENOVATORS LTD INDUSTRY MANUFACTURING SpecialisedAluminumRenovatorsLimited(SARL)is aNairobi-basedcompanyestablishedin1992thatis recognisedacrossEastAfricaasgeneralcontractors ofhighlyprofessionalservicewhichincludesinte- riorfitouts,aluminumandupvcfabrications,glass works,suspendedceilings,joineryworks,architec- turalstainlesssteelproducts,paintworks,etc.Our specialtiesserveacross-sectionofthemarket-do- mestic,commercialandcontractcustomers. D≥illingcompanyblends innovation, technology OfficialsandstafffromKisimaElectroMechanicalsLimitedposewiththeirtrophyafterthecompanywas declaredindustrychampionintheInfrastructureandConstructiontcategoryduringtheKenyaTop100 Mid-SizedCompanies2015Survey.
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Kenya Top 100-Online Newspaper : Kenya’s Fastest Growing Mid-Sized Companies

  • 1. SPECIAL PULLOUT 26TH OCTOBER, 2015 Kenya’s fastest g≥owing Mid-Sized companies
  • 2. II BUSINESS DAILY| Monday October 26, 2015 BY JOSPHAT MWAURA O n Friday 9 October 2015, we once again gathered for an evening of pomp and celebration of the 2015 Ken- ya Top100 mid-sized businesses. Since the inception of the Survey in2008,theGalaDinnerisdeliber- atelystyledasaglamorousformal event complete with black tie or culturalwear. The intention is to prepare the businesses being feted to be- gin to present themselves in the high level events that their suc- cess will bring them globally. We wanteveryoneofthesebusinessto readythemselvestostandonstage inLondon,Tokyo,Paris,NewYork andBeijingtoreceivetherecogni- tiontheydeserve. AndtheGaladinnerneverfails toexcite.Nearly1,000peoplegath- er for the evening and the excite- ment is almost palpable. Every singlebusinessrepresentedatthe dinnerisawinnernomatterwhat positiontheyendupbeingranked. It is for this reason that many of themcomewiththeiremployees, their relatives and business part- ners to receive their awards and baskinthemomentofglorywhen theyarecalledonstage. Itisespeciallygratifyingtosee the diversity of those present, of all ages, of all extractions and in- volved in a wide cross-section of businesses.Thisiswhatbusiness is about - hardwork and success beingcelebratedbyallofus,with- outconsiderationofwhateverelse separatesus. Selfnominating NowinitseighthyearinKenya,the Top100Surveyisavoluntary,self- nominatingprocessformid-sized businessesthathaveaturnoverof betweenSh70millionandSh1bil- lion.Eachbusinessmustpresent audited financial statements for thelastthreeyears. Itisfromthosefinancialstate- ments, audited by a professional accountantingoodstandingwith theInstituteofCertifiedPublicAc- countantsofKenya(ICPAK),that weextractvariousratiostoassess andrankgrowth,profitability,and anindicatorofliquidity.Theproc- essispredicatedontheconfidence that each participant has in the waytheyruntheiroperation,and the performance that they have delivered. Those who choose to partici- pate in the Top100 Survey, here in Kenya or in Uganda, Tanzania andRwanda,whethertheyendup beingrankedamongsttheTop100 for that year or not, are sending a strong message to the market that: “we know we are running our business right and that our performance is worthy of recog- nition and celebration.” Govern- anceandperformancegohandin hand in facilitating a business to transitionfromasmall owner- managed en- tity, to a national, regional, continental and ultimately global organisation. To facilitate the sharing of knowl- edge, the Top100 Sur- vey process includes a conference the day beforethegaladinner where all businesses that participated in the survey are invited to send their chief ex- ecutive and head of finance. The conference is a forum to present detailed survey findings, sharelessonsfromkeynotespeak- ers and other Top100 businesses, engage with policy makers and regulators, and create linkages between Top100 businesses to enable them to trade and share lessonsamongstthemselves. In this year’s conference, Mr. Ali Mufuruki, himself an accom- plishedentrepreneurandregion- al leader, generously shared his time and lessons with partici- pantsandemphasized the need to invest in human capital, both atanational/regional level, and in the indi- vidualbusinesses.He singledoutthisasthe limiting factor that separatedEastAfrica fromtheAsianTigers, andlimitsthegrowth of businesses and by extension employ- ment and economic transformation. He warned that, ifwedonotaddresstheissuesthat are causing unemployment and poverty, our region will not real- izetheenormouspotentialthatis attractingbusinessesfromevery- whereelseintheworld. We also had occasion to listen to lessons on growth and upscal- ing of mid-sized businesses from thosewhohavewalkedthatpath. And once again, the issues of the characterandskillsofyourteams cametothefore. Inadditiontoinvestinginsys- tems and leveraging technology, each business, and the business leader in particular, must invest theirtimeinbringingthequalityof peopleateverylevel,thattheycan trusttorunthebusinessasitifwas theirown-expansionandgrowth arelimitedbyfoundersholdingon to too many roles and not having faithintheirteams. Chooseyourpeoplewiselyand then delegate and trust them to perform. If you have put in place appropriategovernancesystems, thesewillenableyoutoholdthem toaccountandtoarrestanywick- ednessthatyoumayhavemissed outintheappointmentprocess. Vibrancy These mid-sized businesses bring energy, vibrancy and resil- iencetoanyeconomy.Theydeliver growth,wealth,employment,for- eignexchangeearnings,andabove all, national revenue in the taxes theypay. Everypolicymakerandregula- tormustmakeittheirbusinessto makeitpossibleforthesebusiness- estogrowmore,toearnmoreand to employ more people. We were pleasedtoheartheundertakings by the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA)tore-orienttheirapproach tothesebusinessestooneoffacili- tationratherthanunduescrutiny. TheKenyaPrivateSectorAlliance (KEPSA)hasalsoprioritizedinitia- tivestargetedatfacilitatingsmall andmid-sizedbusinesses.Wehave reasontolookforwardtonextyear and hope to recognize and cele- brateevenmorebusinesses. Grateful Iamdeeplygratefultoourpart- ners in this initiative, the Nation MediaGroup(NMG)throughthe BusinessDaily.Everyweek,wesee storiescarriedinthepaperabout individual Top100 businesses. There are so many stories to tell, so many lessons to pick that I am confident that there are more stories to be told through other channels. Through these stories, NMG can re-orient the national con- versation to focus on value crea- tion and not the endless political noisewehear.Ilookforwardtothe evolutionofthatspace. jmwaura@kpmg.co.ke Theviewsandopinionsare thoseoftheauthoranddonot necessarilyrepresenttheviews andopinionsofKPMG SPONSORS Invest in t≥usted teams to g≥ow MrJosphatMwauraistheSeniorPartnerandCEO,KPMGEastAfrica. We also had occasion to listen to lessons on g≥owth and upscaling of mid- sized businesses f≥om those who have walked that path. ChiefExecutiveOfficer JoeMuganda Editor-in-Chief TomMshindi ManagingEditor Ochieng’Rapuro SeniorGraphicDesigner Gennevieve Nahinga GraphicDesigner ChrispusBargorett PhotosSalatonNjau FOUNDERS
  • 3. IIIMonday October 26, 2015 | BUSINESS DAILY BY JOE MUGANDA T he Top 100 Mid-Sized companies’ initiative has over the past 8 years, awardedandcelebratedenterprise through this survey that is a partnership between KPMG and the Nation Media Group. Over the years, the Top 100 Mid-Sized companies have enjoyed the benefits of association with the big corporations as crediblebusinesspartners. Manyofthepastwinnersofthissurvey havegainedinvaluabletractioninthemar- ketthathavenotonlyopenednewdoorsfor growthbutalsomadeiteasiertodealwith theauthoritiesandformpartnerships. Some have, for instance, had financial institutions approach them with offers of partnershipstheycouldnotimaginewere possible before their participation in the survey and their dealings with the tax au- thoritieshavebecomelesstedious. Thisyear,Top100Mid-Sizedcompanies reached out to entrepreneurs in Nakuru, Kisumu,Mombasa,ThikaandNairobi.The surveycontinuestogrowintheregionwith astrongpresenceinTanzania,Rwandaand Uganda. Mostimportant,therehasbeenarisein thenumberandqualityofentriesandeach competingenterprisehasdemonstrateda remarkable degree of excellence, innova- tionandsuccess. SMEs are andwillremainacriticalpart oftheEastAfricaneconomy.Theywillcon- tinuetomakeatremendouscontributionto industrialisationthroughinnovationand jobcreation.Thiscontributionissignificant to the overall performance of the Kenyan economy which stands among the fastest growingintheworld. As in many other places around the world, financing remains one of the big- gest challenges that the SMEs face. The operating environment is also stymied by difficult economic environment and a demandingconsumerallwhichrequirea sizeable amount of persistence, tact and constantinnovationtomanoeuvre. Some of the challenges are, however, within the grasp of the SMEs and can be dealt with internally. For example, hiring therightpersonforthejob,usingtechnol- ogy, opening up the business to dynamic businessplatformssuchasmobilemoney, useofresearchandensuringbusinesspres- enceisfeltincommunitiestheyserve. Top 100 Medium Sized companies’ su≥vey a c≥ucial benchma≥king tool Nation Media GroupCEOJoe Muganda. FILE The Nation Media Group’s support of the TOP100Mid-Sizedcompaniessurveyishinged on our belief in the important role it plays in helping SMEs to formalize their processes, pay taxes and create credible structures that enablethemtogrowtonextlevel. Itisabenchmarkingcompetitionthatevery entrepreneurwithhereyesongrowthshould participatein. NationMediaGroupandKPMGcontinue tocelebratethesuccessofexceptionalmenand women,whohavetakentheriskofventuring into private business and have impacted not just their own lives but also the lives of those theyemployandofferopportunitytoprosper everyday. TheNationMediaGroupiscommittedto providing media platforms where entrepre- neurscangainbusinessinsights,growcapac- ity and leverage opportunities to grow from small to medium and ultimately become big multi-nationals. From our traditional to dig- ital platforms, we will continue to walk with youinyourjourneytogreatness. RILEY FALCON SECURITY JOINS THE LEAGUE OF TOP 100 MID - SIZED COMPANIES!! Riley Falcon Security Staff led by their Director, Tobias See ( seated) pose with their trophy after the firm emerged among the Top 100 Mid - Sized Companies at the Carnivore Restaurant Grounds in Nairobi on 9th October 2015. OUR HEAD OFFICE: RILEY HOUSE, TOM MBOYA ROAD, MILLIMANI, P. O. BOX 876 - 40123, KISUMU. TEL: 057 2021380, 2020363, 0722204876, 0733622211, 0703505787, 0703505475 Email: info@rileyfalcon.co.ke Website: www.rileyfalcon.co.ke Other Branch Offices: Nairobi, Mombasa, Nakuru, Eldoret, Siaya, Kisii, Embu.
  • 4. IV BUSINESS DAILY| Monday October 26, 2015 BY MAURICE GACHUHI T heTop100Mid-SizedCompa- nies Survey is an initiative of KPMGKenyaandtheNation Media Group that seeks to identify Kenya’s fastest growing medium- sized companies in order to show- case business excellence and high- lightsomeofthecountry’smostsuc- cessfulentrepreneurship stories.Themaingoalof this initiative is to iden- tifynewrolemodelsand business heroes, recog- nise them and most im- portantly connect them topeers,keystakeholders and mentors within East Africa, as similar surveys arecarriedoutinUganda, TanzaniaandRwanda. Thesurveypresentsan opportunityforparticipat- ing companies to bench- mark themselves against their peers, contribute to thedevelopmentofindustrydatabases, andenjoyrecognitionastopperform- ersatbothnationalandindustrylevel, andasmembersofaprestigiousclubof ‘prosperity’creators.Thesurveytakesa self-nominatingaspectandhenceuni- versalcoverageisnotexpected. Everyyearweinteractwiththepar- ticipants and what has always stuck outistheenergy,enthusiasmandthe uniquewarstories.Entrantsinthesur- vey must have had revenues ranging fromSh70milliontoSh1billionforthe lastthreeyears,shouldnotbeabank, insurance company, Sacco, a legal or audit firm. For any past participants whoexceedthe1billionmark,theyau- tomaticallygraduatetotheesteemed eliteClub101. Participants are required to sub- mittenkeyratiosthroughaFinancial Questionnaire. Those with the best revenuegrowthrates,returntoshare- holders and liquidity rates will rank high as these are considered the key insights on the companies’ perform- ance. The ratios are also weighted to take into account revenue range and growth trends with key emphasis on thecurrentyear’sperform- ance. Keytonoteisthata companyperformingwell ontheseparametersfitsthe profileofthefastestgrow- ing mid-sized companies that are also financially stable.Some key findings thisyear; • Companiesinthecon- sumerandindustrial werebyfarthemost prevalent,withmanu- facturing,retail,trans- port,constructionand ICTaccountingforclose totwo-thirdsofthesample. •67%oftheparticipantswerein thegrowthphaseoftheircyclewith 26%fallinginthematurephase. 7%oftheparticipants,mostlyin thetourism,advertisingandcrea- tiveindustriesindicatedthatthey werere-emergingfromadecline. •Slightlyover40%ofthefirms surveyedhadoverKES300Min revenuesin2015.Likeinprior years,wenotedthatmostcompa- niestendedtostagnateattheKES 300Mlevelwiththechallengesof scalingupbeingthemainobstacle togrowth. Keyfindingsof Top100 mid-sizedfi≥ms’su≥vey 2015editionfindsthatcompetition,volatility ofshillingwerethetwomaingrowthobstacles •Amajorityoftheparticipants (80%)registeredarevenue growth.Mining,Gas(Down- stream),Infrastructure&Con- struction,TelecomsandFinance reportedadeclineinrevenues mainlyduetoreducedsales/lossof clients,securityconcerns,reduced production/closingofmajorout- letsandhighoperationalcosts. •Aggressivemarketing/goodmar- ketingstrategiesandincreased demandforproductsandservices werenotedaskeygrowthdrivers accountingfor75%ofthepartici- pants. •Competition(bothfairandun- fair)andthevolatilityofcurren- cieswerenotedasthetwomajor obstaclestocontinuinggrowthat 46%and34%respectively. •Onemployment,amajorityof theparticipantshadatleast15 employeesandinoverallhadin- creasedtheirworkforceby28% since2011.83%ofrespondents indicatedtheywerelikelyorvery likelytoincreasestaffinthenext The main goal of this initiative is to identify new ≥ole models and business he≥oes, ≥ecognise them and most impo≥tantly connect them to pee≥s, The2015legattractedmoreyoungerparticipants(1-5yrs)aswellas olderfirms(aged25+years)comparedtothe2014leg. AGE OF COMPANY Localownershipcharacterisesamajorityofthe participants. OWNERSHIP STRUCTURE SOURCES OF START-UP CAPITAL 4outof5founderssetuptheirbusinesseswithsomeoftheirownmoney. Manufacturing 15% Wholesale 12% Retail 11% Transport 9% Infrastructure/Construction 8% ICT 8% Tourism 4% Agriculture 4% Manufacturingcompaniesarebyfarthemost prevalentsectorinthesample. Manufacturing,Retail,Transport,Construction andICTaccountforclosetotwo-thirdsofthe sample. SECTOR DISTRIBUTION STAGE OF BUSINESS LIFE CYCLE
  • 5. VMonday October 26, 2015 | BUSINESS DAILY KPMGEastAfricaCEOJosphatMwaura(left),DiamondTrustBankCEONasimDevji andNationMediaGroupCEOJoeMuganda duringtheKenyaTop100Mid-SizedCom- panies2015SurveyGaladinnerattheCarnivoreGroundsinNairobionOctober9. year.Aslightincreasefromthe2013/ 14results. •Roughly5inevery8(63percent) ofthesurveyedfirmshaveaninter- nationalfootprint,aslightdecline fromthe2013/14results.Theaspira- tiontoexpandintoEastAfricaroseby an8%marginbetween2013/14and 2014/15. •4outof5founderssetuptheirbusi- nesseswithsomeoftheirownmoney while1outof4coveredatleastsome ofthestart-upcostswithabankfacili- ty.Friendsandfamilyremainasignif- icantsourceofcapitalwithbusiness expansionsbeinglargelyfinanced bybankloans,followedbyfounder’s savings. Venturecapitalwassignificantly mentionedintheTelcoandFinancial Servicessectorswhereitwasranked 2ndor3rdsourceofcapital. •OnlistingattheNSE,wenotedin- creasedinterestwith30percentof theparticipantsindicatingwilling- nesstolistwithinthenext2-3years. Challengestolistingincludedthefear oflosingcontrolofbusiness,lackof knowledgeonlistingrequirements, therigorouslistingrequirementsand bureaucraciesthatgowithit. •4outof10respondentsexperienced challengesinworkingcapitalwith customerdelaysinsettlementoftheir billsbeingthemainobstacle. Overall, based on the survey, small and medium-sized companies’ current outlooktowardsperformanceofecono- my is moderate, with 45 per cent of the respondentsstatingthattheeconomyis “substantially” or “moderately better” than6monthsago. Theoutlooktowardsindividualindus- try’sperformanceismorepositive,with 61 per cent declaring the current status tobe“substantially”or“moderatelybet- ter”. Interestingly, future outlook (next sixmonths)ismorepositivewith79per centexpectinganimprovementintheir ownindustries. Itakethisopportunitythankallpar- ticipants and look forward to the next year’ssurvey. MrGachuhiis a senior manager with KPMGKenya’sauditpractice mgachuhi@kpmg.co.ke. COMPANY CLUB 101 BROLLO KENYA LTD CANON CHEMICALS LIMITED ELDOHOSP PHARMACEUTICALSLTD KENYA BUILDERS & CONCRETE CO LTD MEGA PACK K LTD SIGMA SUPPLIES LTD TRUFOODS LIMITED VEHICLE AND EQUIPMENT LEASING LTD INDUSTRY CHAMPIONS Retail ALLWIN PACKAGING INTL. LTD Wholesale IZMIR ENTERPRISES LTD Infrastructure/Construction KISIMA ELECTRO MECHANICALS LTD Transport LOGISTIC SOLUTIONS LTD ICT SOFTWARE TECHNOLOGIES LTD Manufacturing WARREN CONCRETE LTD Financial Services WAUMINI INSURANCE BROKERS LTD 100 ROY TRANSMOTORS LIMITED 99 DE RUITER EA LIMITED 98 KISIMA DRILLING (EA) LTD 97 IRON ART LIMITED 96 SYNERGY GASES (K) LTD 95 GACHICHIO INSURANCE BROKERS LTD 94 PALMHOUSE DAIRIES LTD 93 EMOMENTUM INTERACTIVE SYSTEMS LTD 92 IDEAL MANUFACTURING CO. LTD. 91 BELL ATLANTIC COMMUNICATIONS LTD 90 AVTECH SYSTEMS LIMITED 89 RELIABLE CONCRETE WORKS 88 DEEPA INDUSTRIES LIMITED 87 SOLOH WORLDWIDE INTER-ENTTERPRISES LTD 86 FARMPARTS LIMITED 85 NAIROBI ENTERPRISES LTD 84 SPECIALISED HARDWARE LIMITED 83 NEWLINE LIMITED 82 CUBE MOVERS LIMITED 81 KENBRO INDUSTRIES LTD 80 NATIONWIDE ELECTRICAL LTD 79 OIL SEALS AND BEARINGS CENTRE LTD 78 STATPRINT LIMITED 77 BAGDA’S AUTO SPARES LTD 76 TYPOTECH IMAGING SYSTEMS 75 HYDRO WATER WELL (K) LTD 74 EUROCON TILES PRODUCTS LTD 73 KENYA BUS SERVICE MANAGEMENT 72 ORBIT ENGINEERING LTD 71 EDUCATE YOURSELF LTD 70 EXECUTIVE HEALTHCARE SOLUTIONS LTD 69 MASTER FABRICATORS LTD 68 FURNITURERAMA LTD 67 SMART BRANDS LIMITED 66 COMPULYNX LTD 65 KENCONT LOGISTICS SERVICES LIMITED 64 KANDIA FRESH PRODUCE SUPPLIERS LIMITED 63 DUNE PACKAGING LIMITED 62 DEVSONS INDUSTRIES LTD 61 NAPRO INDUTRIES LTD 60 NDUGU TRANSPORT CO. LTD 59 TOTAL SOLUTIONS LTD 58 HOSPITALITY SYSTEMS CONSULTANTS 57 GENERAL AUTOMOBILE CORPORATION LTD 56 SILVERBIRD TRAVEL PLUS LTD 55 CIRCUIT BUSINESS SYSTEMS LTD 54 WOTECH KENYA LTD 53 RILEY FALCON SECURITY 52 AIRTOUCH COOLING SYSTEMS LTD 51 SOLLATEK ELECTRONICS (K) LTD 50 TRIDENT PLUMBERS LTD 49 HOMESCOPE PROPERTIES LTD 48 ARK CONSTRUCTION LIMITED 47 ZEN GARDEN LTD 46 PRAFULCHANDRA & BROTHERS LTD 45 MIC GLOBAL RISKS INSURANCE BROKERS LTD 44 IMPAX BUSINESS SOLUTIONS 43 RILEY SERVICES LIMITED 42 EXPRESS COMPANY LTD 41 EXON INVESTMENTS LIMITED 40 ASTRAL INDUSTRIES LTD 39 MANDHIR CONSTRUCTION LTD 38 BLUEKEY SOFTWARE SOLUTIONS (K) LTD 37 SPENOMATIC LTD 36 SPECIALIZED ALUMINIUM RENOVATORS LTD 35 BTB INSURANCE BROKERS LTD 34 KISIMA ELECTRO MECHANICALS LTD 33 MPPS (1998) LTD 32 GENERAL CARGO SERVICES LTD 31 RAVENZO TRADING LIMITED 30 JO WORLD AGENCIES LIMITED 29 UNITED EAST AFRICA WAREHOUSES LTD 28 NORTH STAR COOLING SYSTEMS LTD 27 SUPREME PHARMACY LIMITED 26 HAJAR SERVICES LTD 25 LOGISTIC SOLUTIONS LTD 24 MACHINES TECHNOLOGIES (2006) LTD 23 POWERPOINT SYSTEMS EA LTD 22 NOVEL TECHNOLOGIES EA LTD 21 COAST INDUSTRIAL & SAFETY SUPPLIES LTD 20 SHEFFIELD STEEL SYSTEMS LIMITED 19 D&G INSURANCE BROKERS LTD 18 ALLWIN PACKAGING INTL. LTD 17 RUSHAB PETROLEUM LTD 16 TROPIKAL BRANDS A LTD 15 PINNACLE (K) TRAVELS & SAFARIS LTD 14 WAUMINI INSURANCE BROKERS LTD 13 DATAGUARD DISTRIBUTORS LTD 12 AMEX AUTO & INDUSTRIAL HARDWARE LTD 11 WELL TOLD STORY LTD 10 HIPORA BUSINESS SOLUTIONS 9 SOFTWARE TECHNOLOGIES LTD 8 SUPERBROOM SERVICES LTD 7 LEAN ENERGY SOLUTIONS LTD 6 SUPERIOR HOMES KENYA LTD 5 BONFIRE ADVENTURES LIMITED 4 WARREN CONCRETE LTD 3 IZMIR ENTERPRISES LTD 2 PROFESSIONAL CLEAN CARE LTD 1 PHARMAKEN LIMITED 2015 WINNERS
  • 6. VI BUSINESS DAILY| Monday October 26, 2015 1 PHARMAKEN INDUSTRY PHARMACEUTICALS S amier Muravvej made up his mind to get into business even beforehegraduatedfromdental schoolintheyear2002. Heteamedupwithhiscollegemate and friend, Leonard Njeru, to found Pharmaken Ltd, a Mombasa-based companytodistributemedicaldrugs. Dr Muravvej, an alumnus of the University of Nairobi, says he always wantedtobe‘independent’andquickly movedintobusinessaftercompleting hismandatoryinternshipandgovern- mentservice. “Ineverwantedtobeemployed.I’ve alwayswantedtorunabusiness,”says the dentist, who is also chairman and CEOatPharmaken. Initsfirstyearofoperationin2006, Pharmaken made $3,000 in sales. “It wasquitedisheartening,”hesaid. Dr Muravvej kept his eyes on the prize, and last year he saw sales hit $5 million. It is this phenomenal growth that saw Pharmaken emerge the overall winner in this year’s Top 100 survey – a study that grades Kenya’s fastest growingmid-sizedcompanies. The pharmaceutical distributing businesswasalsorankedinlastyear’s survey. An initiative of Nation Media Group’s Business Daily and audit- ing and consulting firm KPMG, the initiativetracksSMEswithanannual turnover of between Sh70 million to Sh1billion. Dr Muravvej has expanded the list of goods he supplies beyond drugs to includemedicalanddentalequipment aswellasnon-pharmaceuticalproducts suchasgloves,syringes. The two dentists partnered with another investor and started Phar- maken with a capital of Sh5 million. Theyraisedathirdofthecashandbor- rowed the remainder from banks, Dr Muravvejsaid. Atinception,thebusinesswassell- ing only four products. Pharmaken’s portfolio currently stands at 18 mer- chandises. Dr Muravvej, 37, grew up in Mom- basa and attended Aga Khan Acade- my for both his primary and second- arystudies. He also operates his own clinic - Smile Dental Centre – situated at Mombasa’sCityMall. After graduating from School of Dental Sciences, the dentist did his internship at Kenyatta National Hos- pital and later went to Coast General Hospital for his mandatory two-year governmentservice. Pharmaken has a workforce of 52 employees. The key challenges in the pharma- ceuticalbusinessaretheslowclearance of goods at the port of Mombasa and highregulatoryfees. “It takes up to two weeks to clear our pharmaceutical products at the port, despite having all documents,” lamentedDrMuravvej. Furthermore, the Pharmacy and Poisons Board charges a registration fee of $2,000 per product, before any drugisallowedintotheKenyanmarket, thedentistdecried. DrMuravvejreckonsthatthedelays attheportandthefeechargedbyPPB increasesthecostofdoingbusiness. Pharmaken LimitedchairmanSamierMuravvej(seated)receivesatrophyfromNationMediaGroupCEOJoeMuganda afterhis companywasdeclaredoverallwinnerduringtheKenyaTop100Mid-SizedCompanies2015Survey. Dentists who cut thei≥ teeth in d≥ugs ma≥ket Riley Services Ltd staff led by their CEO and Group Chairman, Julius Abiero (seated) pose with their trophy after the firm emerged amongst the Top 100 Mid - Size Companies at the Carnivore Restaurant Grounds in Nairobi on 9th October 2015. Actively contributing to the growth of Africa !! Power Plants & Steam Turbines Boilers & Thermic Fluid Heaters Vapour Absorption Systems Water & Effluent Treatment Plants Remote Monitoring Solutions ..and our contribution has not gone unnoticed.. Spenomatic (K) Limited, P.O. Box : 39935-00623, Parklands, Nairobi. Tel: +254-736-447775, +254-715-447611. Email: info@spenomatic.net • By making it self reliant in power using renewable energy sources • By reducing its energy cost and thus operational cost • By using waste heat to provide process & comfort cooling • By providing cost effective solutions for process, drinking and wastewater • By increasing operational efficiency of utilities by Chemicals • By developing Agro-based industries & providing packaging solutions • By providing flexibility to operate remotely by using state-of-the-art remote monitoring systems Dairies, Food Processing & Packaging Machines
  • 7. VIIMonday October 26, 2015 | BUSINESS DAILY
  • 8. VIII BUSINESS DAILY| Monday October 26, 2015 OfficialsfromProfessionalCleanCareLimited receivetheirtrophyfromDiamondTrustBankCEO NasimDevji (right)afterthecompanyemerged second intheKenyaTop100Mid-SizedCompanies 2015Survey. PROFESSIONALCLEANCARELIMITED 2 PROFESSIONAL CLEAN CARE LIMITED INDUSTRY SERVICES Kick high when pitching fo≥ ventu≥e capitalists S omewhereinthatslushpileofpitches onmydeskisanoriginalideaanda bioofanundiscoveredleader.Andhe orsheisreadytolighttheworldonfire.But myfear,onesharedbymanyventurecapi- talists(VCs),isthatImaymissanamazing pitch.Thepileisjusttoohigh. How then do you get your idea into a VC’s hands? What should your pitch look and feel like? Here are a few pointers to getnoticed: 1 .Beauthentic. One of my contacts had her interestpiquedwhenanex- convict had an idea to replace pricey jail pay phone systems. The VC funded the project, because she was looking for entrepreneurswhohadexperi- encedtheproblemtheywanted tosolve.Iftheformerinmatehad hidhisbackground,hisproposal mighthavegoneunfunded. 2 .Bepersonable. Whileetiquettecallsfora professionaldistancefrom business contacts, I have had success building close friend- shipswiththestartupteamsin which my firm invests. I send handwritten notes to cheer up stressed out founders. Morethanhalfofmycallswith founders end without talking abouttheirbusiness,focusing rather on how they’re doing personally. 3 . Be humble. Don’t pretend to knowitall. There are key things you need to know about your busi- ness,thesizeofapotentialmar- ket and how you plan to reach thatmarket.ButIadmirethein- dividualwholeavesegobehind and shows common sense. Be clear about why you have a greatideaandalsoaboutwhat itisthatyoudon’tknow.Some- times,thebestansweris,“Idon’t know.Letmegetbacktoyou.”It creates an excuse to follow up andinstillsconfidencethatthe otherresponsesyougavewere accurate. 4 .Becreative. Astartup’sfoundingteam sent out a hip hop video, rappingtheirpitch.Thisworked forthem.Tthefounders,skilled rappers,putatonofproduction valueandheartintotheirpitch and got tons of press. We re- sponded in kind and also got attention. Caveatentrepreneur:Suchbold- nessisrisky--bigtime.Instead of an investment from the VC, youcouldendupwitharestrain- ing order from a judge. Comic efforts,inparticular,aretough topulloff,askanycomic. 5 .Don’tbungletheask. Yours should be crisp and memorable. Where does the investor fit in the bigger picture? It’s critical to explain why you’re soliciting a partic- ular investor. Are they adding specific value beyond money? If so, show your excitement about the prospect of working withthem. Remember,thereisalotofcapi- taloutthere,buttherearealot of startups, too -- it’s a melee. Forstreet-fightingtactics,two- finger pushups and life advice ingeneral,IalwaysgotoBruce Lee: “Always be yourself, ex- press yourself, have faith in yourself,donotgooutandlook forasuccessfulpersonalityand
  • 9. IXMonday October 26, 2015 | BUSINESS DAILY
  • 10. X BUSINESS DAILY| Monday October 26, 2015 3 IZMIR ENTERPRISES INDUSTRY SECURITY PROTECTION PRODUCTS AND SERVICES O verthepastfewyears,IzmirEn- terprisesLimitedhasgrownto becomeacompanyofsufficient scaletoprovidesolutionsforthedefence industryinKenya. It all started as a hobby for Sahir Mughal,andhisco-CEO,AsiyaMughal, whoisalsohisaunt,intheearly2000s. The company deals in security pro- tectionproductsandservicesthatcover up to 50 brands for clientele including governmentsandNGOsacrosstheGreat Lakesregion. “We offer personalised services de- livering products to meet the clients’ requirements,”saidMrSahir. His drive in setting up Izmir Enter- prisesgrewfromthepassionthathehad developed from his interest in defence activities across the world, which saw himseekinformationandlinksintothe industry. This also led to his introduc- tiontothe Department of Defence, the governmentagencythathandlesissues relating to defence and security. And that was Izmir Enterprise’s stepping stonethatsawitintroducedtotheKen- yanmarket. Ithasnotbeensmoothsailing,how- ever, with the company facing many challenges, chief among them difficul- ties in accessing financing. Normally, Mr Sahir said, it takes several months fortheproducttomovefromanorderto actualproductionanddeliverytoclient, toeventualpayments,whichhasaffected thefinancialstatusofthecompany. TheothermajorchallengethatIzmir Enterpriseshasfacedhasbeenthehuge investmentintimeandresourcestotrain andprovideskillstostaff.W ith every new technology that be- comes available, the firm has had to conduct fresh rounds of training to both the new and existing staff. In ad- dition to that, when they were starting out Izmir enterprise, Mr Sahir and his partner faced hurdles in explaining to clientstheirproductportfolio. He adds: “Our market was not just simple.Inordertogetallourclientsand meettheirneeds,wehadtoexplaintoall ofthemmostofourproductsandsolu- tions,includingavailablenewtechnology andhowtheyimpacttheproduct”. Despiteallthesechallenges,thepas- sion that they had in what they do has beenmotivatedandinspiredbytheevolv- ingtechnologythathaschangedtheway theworldworks. Looking back, Mr Sahir says that in ordertosucceedinthemarketyouhave tobalanceyourself,doyourprojections, plan yourself, have a proper vision and focus,understandyourfinancialstatus, embracethelatesttechnologyandwork hard.Neverfearcompetition,insteadem- braceitinapositivewayasamotivation tobethebestinyoursector. Besidesthecorebusiness,IzmirEn- terprisesisalsoinvolvedinanumberof projects in the communities in which theyoperate. Hepartnerswithfiveother charityorganisationsintheseactivities, including providing support to home- lesschildren “Weareeducatingandinspiringthe youth living in poverty and the under- privileged.AttheCoast,weworkwithup- comingorganizationsthatempowerand supportthepoor.Weworkwithwomen inprovidingeducationopportunitiesand helpingthemgotothenextlevelinlife. IzmirEnterprisesLimitedofficialsposewiththeirtrophyafterthecompanyemergedthird inthesurvey. Small fi≥m that takes on tough secu≥ity jobs 4 WARREN CONCRETE INDUSTRY CONSTRUCTION & ENGINEERING O verthepast26years,Warren Concrete(K)Ltdhasemerged asaleadingindustryplayerin concrete and manufacturing. What started as a small family business with just two machines, 25 people andcapitalofSh7.5m,hasnowgrown into a regional company with an an- nual turnover of Sh400 – 460m and over150employees. Warren, which has a wide range ofproducts,includingconcretepipes and roofing tiles, was originally a de- partmentinthelargerWarrenKenya, whichmainlydealtinconcretepipes, fabricated steel structures, and steel tanks. “Warren Concrete business was boughtbymygrandfather,MrDevshi Dhanji Patel, and has been passed down through the family lineage to the third generation, now being run bythegrandsons,”saidDineshPremji Patel, the CEO of Warren Concrete Ltd. “We have now managed to build thebusinesstobecomeacompanyof itsown.” Quality and efficiency hasbeenattheheartof thistransition,seeing thecompanycontin- uouslyrevampitself overtheyears. “The early 90’s witnessed the com- pany open up a branch in Uganda, Stone Concrete Ltd,withasimilarbusinessstructure asWarrenConcrete(K),”saidDinesh. Thecompanyfocusesonquarryingand manufactureofprecastproducts. A major priority in the expansion hasbeenimplementingthelatesttech- nologiesandutilizingthemostmedo- ersandeffectivemachinery. “Good and efficient equipmentisofsuchhigh importancetothecom- pany,hencewe useEu- ropeansolidmachiner- ies, coming from Den- mark and Germany,” said Mr Dinesh. “This hasseenusmovefromjust twomachinesatthebeginning to30now,ensuringthedeliveryofqual- ityservicesandproducts.” The exponential growth that the company has experienced over the yearshasnot,however,comewithout itsfairshareofchallenges. “Duplicationoflicensesinthegov- ernment departments and acquiring skilled labour are problems we con- stantly encounter,” said Mr Dinesh. This,coupledwiththetransportation hurdlesthatthecompanymeetsevery day,greatlyaffectthebusiness. But“weareonlymoreinspiredby beingpartoftheTop100SmallMedium Enterprises(SMS)forthesecondtime running,inadditiontobeingthebest manufacturing company in Kenya,” saidMrDinesh. The company is now the leading suppliersofconcretetilesinKenya,in addition to being the second to Bam- buriCementKenyainthemanufacture of building blocks. Warren Concrete nowsupplies70percentofcontractors inNairobi,andiscurrentlyworkingon more innovative ways and looking at variousoptionsofbringingnewprod- uctsintothemarket. For companies looking to follow intheirfootsteps,Dineshemphasizes thattheoneimportantfactorisquality. “Believeintheuniquenessandquality of your product without compromis- ingonthepriceoftheproducts,despite whatyourcompetitionmaybeselling thesameproductfor,”saidMrDinesh. “Afterall,yougetwhatyoupayfor.” Equipment make≥ ≥ides on booming const≥uctiontog≥ow OfficialsandstafffromWarrenConcreteLimitedcelebrate afterthefirmwasdeclaredindustrychampioninthemanufacturing categoryandfourthoverallduringtheKenyaTop100Mid-SizedCompanies2015Survey.
  • 11. XIMonday October 26, 2015 | BUSINESS DAILY 5 BONFIRE ADVENTURES INDUSTRY TOURS & TRAVEL BY LYNETTE IGADWA S imonKabumetthewom- anwhowouldbehiswife at a Lukenya excursion and after interacting with her realisedtheybothhadaburn- ingpassionfortravel. Theideaofrunningatours, travelandeventscompanywas conceivednexttoabonfiredur- ingoneoftheexcursionswith SarahattheMaasaiMaraGame Reserve, giving birth to Bon- fire Adventures and Events Limited. Thatwasin2008,asKenya wasgrapplingwiththeeffects of post-election violence that significant reduced tourist numbers. Tourcompaniesthatrelied heavilyonforeigntouristswere hithardest,makingthecouple spot a gap in catering for the domesticmiddleclass. “Hotels across the country had lowered their accommo- dationratesmakingitpossible formorelocalstosampletheir services,”saysMrKabu,anEco- nomicsandStatisticsgraduate ofEgertonUniversity. The journey started with the couple inviting friends to accompanythemtotheirwild tours and excursions around ataffordablerates. Withtime,friendsentrust- edalltheirtravelplanningand organizing to the couple who were keen to change percep- tions that only foreign tour- ists could sample the coun- try’sbeauty. Without wasting time, the Kabus planted their seed of sh20,000 into a business ven- turethatstartedwithoutanof- ficeorabankaccount. More established tour companies were at the time focusing on corporate clients and tried to shrug off Bonfire Adventuresbaby-stepsbutthat didnotdampenitsspirit. Acknowledging that they lacked experience in the tour andtravelbusiness,thecouple embarkedonadoortodoorre- search so they could give cli- ents what they had sampled firsthand. “We learnt fast tricks of the business, enabling us to handle clients from different social backgrounds includ- ing celebrities,” says Mr Kabu who had worked as a tout on route44. Todaywithover60employ- ees, the company does hotel bookings,airticketing,airport transfers,excursionsandany- thing travel for its customers spreadacrosstheworld. It has over 100 travel pack- ages to destinations across the globe for newly-weds, an- niversaries, birthdays and re- tirements. Integrityandhardworkare some of the values that have seen the business venture growintoamulti-millionshil- ling company that has waded through the murky waters whenever western govern- ments issue travel advisories by focusing on the domestic market. With five branches in Nairobi and one in Nakuru, the company is set for bigger things including becoming the biggest tour company in Southern, Eastern and Cen- tralAfrica. “We have grown to be the biggest promoter of domestic tourism in Kenya,” says Mr Kabu, who worked for Unga Limited prior to venturing intothetourbusiness. Social media has played a keyroleinmakingthecompany one of the most popular tour andtravelfirmsinthecountry. Customers post photos taken during travel on the company Facebook page making the business get referrals and re- peatclients. MrKabu viewsbusinessas acallingwhichrequiresoneto be proactive, consistent, hon- estandpatient.“Integritywill enable you get repeat clients and referrals while patience will chase away the spirit of expecting results overnight,” hesays. Officialsandstafffrom BonfireAdventures Limitedreceivetheir trophyfromNation MediaGroupadvertising directorMichaelNgugi (3rdleft)afterthefirm wasrankedfifthinthe KenyaTop100Mid-Sized Companies2015Survey. Tou≥ ope≥ato≥ thatg≥ewoutof love fo≥ t≥avel 2015 2014 2013
  • 12. XII BUSINESS DAILY| Monday October 26, 2015 6 SUPERIOR HOMES INDUSTRY REAL ESTATE BY GEORGE OMONDI I fsmartinvestmentsfollowhighre- turns,thentheAthiRiver–basedreal estatefirm,SuperiorKenya,hasbeen quitediligent.Inacrowdedresidential housingmarket,ithasmanagedtokeep a consistent growth record by putting moneyinlocationswiththehighestre- turnspotential. When Machakos County opened its vast land resources for investments a few months ago, it took up the offer andlaunchedaflagship700-unithous- ingprojectinacountyonceregardedas Kenya’salternativecapitalcity. The firm which, was registered in 2004 with initial capital of just Sh500 millionistodayundertakingtheMacha- kosprojectvaluedatSh15billion,hardly eight years since it began construction in2007. Uponcompletion,Greenparkwillalso have a shopping area, two schools and asundownerclubhouseonits163-acre pieceofland.“IcansaySuperiorHomes hasgrownfromhumblebeginningstobe recognisedwithintherealestatesector whereitemploysover200peopledirect- ly and another 800 indirectly,” says the firm’sdirectorIanHenderson.“Wepride ourselvesinnurturingtalentamongour employees,givingthemopportunityto transferskillsandemployothers.” Thefirmseesmoreroomforgrowth via innovation. It made an early name in the residential housing segment by introducingthetry-before-you-buycon- cept,allowingpotentialhomeownersto enjoythecomfortofthepropertybefore makingapurchasedecision. That concept, which literally trans- latesto “test-driving”thehouse,itssur- rounding and neighbourhood before committingmoneyintheproperty,has impressedthefirm’sclients,saysmarket- ingmanagerAngelicaWambui. “Ithas giventhemconfidenceinthe companyandtheworkwearedoing.We havenothingtohide,”shesays. Recently,thefirmalsointroducedBuy OverLongTerm(BOLT)concept,where a client can pay for a house within one to three years. This financing method, MsWambuisaid,istargetedatbusiness peopleordiasporaclientswhooptnotto goformortgages. Likeallotherstart-ups,thefirm’spast isauthoredbysetbacks.MrHenderson recallsthechallengestheshefacedwhen hefirstapproachedfinancierstobuyinto the Greenpark project. “We had to rely oncapitalfromanotherbusinessinthe UK.”Hesaid. Healsorecallsthatthegatedconcept wasalsoahardsell.“Ittooktimebefore clientsfullyunderstoodtheconceptand welcomedtheidea.” SuperiorHomesseesitselfreplicating theGreenparkmodelinothercountiesin thenextfiveto10years.Atthemoment, thefirmsaysithasanumberofdevelop- mentinthepipelinebutcan’tgopublic about them yet as they are still in early stagesofnegotiations. Ithashoweverconfirmeditsplanto construct holiday lodges around Lake Elementaita of Nakuru County. The 50 “leisurelodges”beconstructedona12- acreparceloflandwillbecompletedin OctobernextyearatcostofuptoSh200 million.Theprojecttargetsholidaymak- erstothenearbyNaivashaandNakuru towns. Thefirmalsoholdsdearitscorporate social responsibility (CSR) division. At the moment, its CSR project involves identifying public schools with chil- dren from the humble background. Once a school is selected, its students areprovidedwithmaterialandexperts to guide them through creating hand- madecards. Superior Home’s associate in UK (HCL), then help in finding market wherethecardsaresoldtofinanceschool projects.“Weseeourselvesgrowingthe CSRdivisiontogreaterheightsinthenext fiveyears”,saysMrHenderson. OfficialsfromSuperior Homes LimitedreceivetheirtrophyfromNationMediaGroupadvertisingdirectorMichaelNgugi(left)after thefirmwasranked sixthduringtheKenyaTop100Mid-SizedCompanies2015Survey. Realto≥’s supe≥io≥ homes win it top honou≥s in su≥vey 1ST NOV.215 @51 BUTERE ROAD INDUSTRIAL AREA MOBILE:732 333 334 NAIROBI. LOTS OF OFFERS AND GIVE AWAYS TΗIS FESTIVE SEASON… DONT BE LEFT OUT VISIT OUR KISUMU OR NAIROBI OUTLET FOR DETAILS. Dіrесt Imроrtеrѕ, Whоlеѕalеrѕ & Rеtaіlеrѕ оf Mоtоr Vіhісlе Sрarеѕ & Aссеѕѕоrіеѕ. Ηеad Offiсе: P.O. 44 - 41, Makaѕеmbо Rоad, Kіѕumu, Kеnуa Tеl: + 254 - 57 - 2238378 Naіrоbі Branсh: 51 Butеrе Rоad, Ind. Arеa Naіrоbі, Kеnуa Mоbіlе 732 333 334 Emaіl: іnfо@amехautоѕѕрarеѕ.соm Wеbѕіtе: www.amехautоѕѕрarеѕ.соm SΗOP ONLINE@ www.amехautоѕрarеѕ.соm NAIROBI BRANCΗ Direct Importers, Wholesalers & Retailers of Motor Vehicle Spares & Accessories 1ST NOV.215 @51 BUTERE ROAD INDUSTRIAL AREA MOBILE:732 333 334 NAIROBI. LOTS OF OFFERS AND GIVE AWAYS TΗIS FESTIVE SEASON… DONT BE LEFT OUT VISIT OUR KISUMU OR NAIROBI OUTLET FOR DETAILS. Dіrесt Imроrtеrѕ, Whоlеѕalеrѕ & Rеtaіlеrѕ оf Mоtоr Vіhісlе Sрarеѕ & Aссеѕѕоrіеѕ. Ηеad Offiсе: P.O. 44 - 41, Makaѕеmbо Rоad, Kіѕumu, Kеnуa Tеl: + 254 - 57 - 2238378 Naіrоbі Branсh: 51 Butеrе Rоad, Ind. Arеa Naіrоbі, Kеnуa Mоbіlе 732 333 334 Emaіl: іnfо@amехautоѕѕрarеѕ.соm Wеbѕіtе: www.amехautоѕѕрarеѕ.соm SΗOP ONLINE@ www.amехautоѕрarеѕ.соm NAIROBI BRANCΗ Head Office: P.O. Box 404-40100, Makasembo Road, Kisumu, Kenya Tel: 0722 793780/0733 333334 Nairobi Branch: P.O. Box 17880-00500 Nairobi, 51 Butere Road, Ind Area Nairobi, Kenya Mobile: 0732 333334, Email: info@amexautospares.com | Website: www.amexautospares.com 1ST NOV.215 @51 BUTERE ROAD INDUSTRIAL AREA MOBILE:732 333 334 NAIROBI. LOTS OF OFFERS AND GIVE AWAYS TΗIS FESTIVE SEASON… DONT BE LEFT OUT VISIT OUR KISUMU OR NAIROBI OUTLET FOR DETAILS. Dіrесt Imроrtеrѕ, Whоlеѕalеrѕ & Rеtaіlеrѕ оf Mоtоr Vіhісlе Sрarеѕ & Aссеѕѕоrіеѕ. Ηеad Offiсе: P.O. 44 - 41, Makaѕеmbо Rоad, Kіѕumu, Kеnуa Tеl: + 254 - 57 - 2238378 Naіrоbі Branсh: 51 Butеrе Rоad, Ind. Arеa Naіrоbі, Kеnуa Mоbіlе 732 333 334 Emaіl: іnfо@amехautоѕѕрarеѕ.соm Wеbѕіtе: www.amехautоѕѕрarеѕ.соm SΗOP ONLINE@ www.amехautоѕрarеѕ.соm NAIROBI BRANCΗ .
  • 13. XIIIMonday October 26, 2015 | BUSINESS DAILY MPPS Accessories, A Different Class The Top 100 Mid-sized Companies is an annual survey by the Nation Media Group’s Business Daily newspaper and professional services firm, KPMG. It informs the market of the fastest growing mid- sized companies to look out for. For MPPS Managing Director Zaheer Abbas Khimji, customer service is the most important value for his business. At 26, Zaheer, popular as Zak, is managing one of the biggest vehicle accessories firms in East Africa. “This recognition is the result of the team’s hard work and their strong adherence to quality PPS (1998) Ltd, a pioneer of car alarm systems in Kenya and now a leading vehicle accessories store in East Africa, has successfully leveraged its customer-centric culture to lift its fortunes further. This year, the firm has been ranked among the top 100 mid-sized companies in Kenya, taking position 33. M MPPS Workforce By MILLICENT MWOLOLO >>> mmwololo@ke.nationmedia.com Zak the servant leader For a first-time customer at the MPPS showroom on Mombasa Road, there is nothing to show that Zak is the Managing Director or the owner of the establishment. He passes as an employee, and that’s because despite managing assets worth millions, Zak is sober, cool and selfless. He exemplifies the ideals of a true servant leader. You will, for instance, never find him in a suit. He is usually dressed down in jeans and a company branded short-sleeved shirt. This, he argues, has helped him to remain humble and bond easily with the staff. “I dress simply and share meals with our employees. We are all equal as human beings,” he says. But perhaps Zak’s deep religious culture is what has shaped him to be the humble manager and custodian that he is today. He declares that his first pillar in life is his trust in God and principles of virtue such as equality, fairness, kindness and tolerance. These, he explains, guide his daily interaction with his employees, customers and the wider public. “The first thing is treating people fairly,” he says. Every month, the company has a staff meeting where all the employees are free to speak out their mind. In addition, Zak maintains an open door policy where employees can walk into his office anytime. “I take everybody’s opinion as I know people see things and think differently,” he says. Zak has also empowered managers and employees to make decisions and implement them. This makes them feel valued. MPPS also provides incentives for staff to work even harder. “The more profits we make, we give higher salaries,” says Zak. MPPS is quietly engaged in corporate social responsibility activities in various parts of the country. Zak and his family are soon coming up with a foundation purely dedicated for education and health for the less fortunate. Late Zulfikar Η. Khimji Founder TOP 100 MID SIZED COMPANIES 2015 Repositioning MPPS The last six years have been a great journey for Zak, who took over the management of the company that is known as Mombasa Penny Profit Store, hence the acronym MPPS, after the passing on of his father, Zulfikar H. Khimji in 2004. From 2010, young Zak had to strategize how to reposition the company back to where it had been for many years under his father’s leadership. “MPPS always had a reputation for quality, but when dad passed away, that reputation went down,” he explains. “When I took over, we had to win back that reputation, and the best way to do this was through customer satisfaction,” he adds. Today, Zak is more than satisfied that the company is back to where his late father wanted it to be. Having been exposed to business leadership in his upbringing, Zak has found it easy to manoeuvre and cope with challenges that came with running a company at a young age. His late father would take him along to business and community meetings. MPPS has upgraded all its operational systems and doubled its list of suppliers, enabling it to offer a wider range of products and services to customers. “Unfortunately, we reduced our staff by half, but at the same time increased our turnover by 75 per cent,” Zak says. He quickly points out that the leaner number of staff at the moment has not only meant happier employees, but also a very productive workforce. MPPS’ core business remains vehicle security. Other products and services offered include pressurized exterior and interior washing machines, mechanical and electrical services, accident repair, Bluetooth car kits, stereo systems and a variety of car care products, seat and car covers, floor mats, roof racks, air intake systems and many more that improve both durability and outlook of vehicles. The company also stocks and provides tracking and recovery services, gear/door/wheel locks, front/rear bars, heat resistant/anti-shatter window tint that protect vehicles from damage and theft. Most of these products are imported from Germany, UK, India, Italy, Lithuania, Portugal, Taiwan, Thailand, China and the United States. From a struggling position in 2010, the company now prides itself as being able to supply accessories to more than 75 per cent of all the vehicle models in Kenya. Zaheer Abbas Zulfikar Khimji Managing Director and excellent customer service, which has seen our business grow,” he says of the ranking. Continuous improvement of skills among staff and consistency in quality has over the years ensured that customers get unique, high quality products with a supreme class of service to back it. This has seen a very strong customer loyalty, which has propelled the company into growth. Repeat clients and referral business has worked well for MPPS. “Our customers have become our brand ambassadors,” Zak says, exuding confidence. The company’s showroom is based at Piranha Centre on Mombasa road. Continuous improvement of skills among staff and consistency in quality has over the years ensured that customers get unique, high quality products with a supreme class of service to back it.
  • 14. XIV BUSINESS DAILY| Monday October 26, 2015 7 LEAN ENERGY SOLUTIONS INDUSTRY ENERGY BY ANNIE NJANJA D inesh Tembhekar opened the doors of Lean Energy Solu- tionsin2007,afterleavinghis well-paying job at the United Nations DevelopmentProgramme. In a span of eight years he has en- durednumerouschallenges,including anacutelackoffinancingashepushed thecompanyupthehilltostandamong themostprofitablesmallandmedium enterprises(SMEs)inKenya. His was a humble beginning. He started off in a tiny home office with a single employee and lack of ready capital to grow his business saw him puthishouseasasecurityaftertaking aloanfromthebank. NrTembhekar, whoisthefounder andmanagingdirectorLeanEnergySo- lutions,sayschangesareapartofrun- ningabusinessandanyentrepreneur should soldier on till his/her dreams cometrue.Ittookhimtwoyearstostart makingprofits. Thisyear,forthethirdtimeinarow, LeanEnergySolutionshasbeennomi- natedasoneoftheTop100fastestgrow- ingMid-sizedcompaniesinKenya. The Top 100 survey, which is the product of a partnership between ac- countingfirmKPMGandNationMedia Group,featurescompanieswithanan- nualturnoverofbetweenSh70million toSh1billion. In 2013, Lean Energy Solutions emergedtopintheTop100Small and Medium Sized enterprises list, a posi- tion Tembhekar said was as the result of its leadership in green technology thathasattractedmajorplayersinthe market. The company appeared in fifth and seventh place last and this year consecutively. AthispreviousjobTembhekarwas mostly involved in helping organiza- tions improve productivity, which is how he founded the business aiming to help companies to reduce their en- ergyconsumption. Lean Energy Solutions uses green energyproducedfrombriquettesmade from sugarcane dry waste to heat wa- ter in boilers and produce steam. The company installs the boilers in indus- tries, a way of bringing the cost of en- ergy down and stop the rising costs of fossilfuels. Thecompanyhasabriquettingma- chineinMuhoroni,whereitgetsitssup- plyofbiomassmaterialsthatarecom- pressedintobriquettes.Theleftoverba- gassefromMuhoroniSugarCompany iswhatthecompanyusestomakethe briquettes.Thesugarcompanywhich previously used furnace oil embraced the use briquette boilers courtesy of Tembhekar’sinnovativeness. Use of briquettes prevent carbon dioxide emissions which is a major contributor to climate change. It also reducestheoverrelianceontheimport- ed oil bringing the cost of production downandpromotesemployment. In a past interview with the Busi- nessDailyTembhekarsaidthatstatis- ticsshowthat“everytonneofbriquettes manufacturedbythecompanycreates a12daysofemploymentandsavesthe country $150 by reducing reliance on importedoil.” Steamcanusedtosterilizemedical equipment in pharmaceutical indus- tries, fixing dyes in textile industries andboilingsyrupforthemanufactur- ingofbeverages Industriesusingtheoptionspend25 percentlessoftheamounttheywould incurbyusingafurnaceoilordieselfuel toproducesteamenergy.Coca-cola,Sas- iniCoffee,SpinKnitandFlamingoTiles aresomeofthecompany’sclientelewho aremainlyfromthemanufacturingand processingsector. Lean Solutions Group signs an eight year agreement with its clients anddeploysitsworkerstoruntheboil- ers.Aftertheeightyearscompaniescan choose to renew the contract or pur- chasetheboilers. Thecompanyemploys200people, 15 of whom are engineers. It has also madeanentryintotheTanzanianmar- ket,andplansisthatitwillopenanof- ficeinUgandabin2018. Thecompanyhasbeenrecordinga growth rate of 30 to 50 per cent annu- allyinturnoverandprofits.Tembhekar attributesthesuccesstoqualityservice whichalsosupportsconservationofthe environment. LeanEnergySolutionsLimited managingdirectorDineshTembhekar(centre)andofficialsposewiththeirtrophyafterthefirm emergedseventhduringtheKenyaTop100Mid-SizedCompanies2015Survey. Fi≥m finds fo≥tune in clean ene≥gy solutions By EVANS ONGWAE eongwae@ke.nationmedia.com To consistently feature in the list of the Top 100 Mid-sized companies in Kenya, North Star Cooling Systems must be doing something right. NSCS was one of the winners during this year’s survey of mid-sized firms. This is a confirmation that the firm is excelling in its chosen field of supplying and installing HVAC systems. Any business should strive to add value to the economy and should live up to or exceed the expectations of the clients. Quality service delivery guarantees business continuity and NSCS has succeeded in delighting its customers. HVAC systems, which this firm specializes in, is important in the design of medium to large commercial or industrial, laboratories, cold rooms and office buildings. These are places where safe and healthy building conditions are regulated with respect to temperature and humidity, using fresh air from outdoors. Ventilation is used to remove unpleasant smells and excessive moisture, introduce outside air, keep interior building air circulating, and prevent stagnation of the interior air. Ventilation includes both the exchange of air to the outside as well as circulation of air within the building. It is one of the most important factors for maintaining acceptable indoor air quality in buildings. In modern buildings the design, installation, and control systems of these functions are integrated into one or more HVAC systems. For larger buildings, building service designers, mechanical engineers, or building services engineers analyze, design, and specify the HVAC systems. Specialty mechanical contractors then fabricate and commission the systems. North Star Cooling System’s unique competency and perhaps the biggest differentiator is that, they do not simply carry out the project as a typical contracting firm, where as they work closely with all the stake holders of the project and look at the entire system in a holistic manner keeping in-view of certain critical factors such as optimal design, efficiency, reliability, life cycle cost and after sale service, among others. This philosophy and approach earns the confidence of the firm’s esteemed clientele. NORTH STAR COOLING SYSTEMS LTD, P.O Box 5085-00506, Nairobi, Kenya Shiv Business Park, Unit No.4, Old Mombasa Road, Tel: - 2013142 Tel/fax: - 551398 Cell:0710-200400 / 0737-777600, E-Mail: - info@northstar.co.ke md@northstar.co.ke NORTH STAR COOLING SYSTEMS LTD Best in professional services
  • 15. XVMonday October 26, 2015 | BUSINESS DAILY SuperbroomServicesLimitedofficialsposewith theirtrophyafterthefirmwasrankedeighthduring theKenyaTop100Mid-SizedCompanies2015 Survey. SUPERBROOMSERVICESLIMITED 8 SUPERBROOM INDUSTRY SERVICES Soyou’rethinkingaboutstartingabusi- ness? Terrific. About 543,000 small businesses are started each month in the United States ac- cording to data from DocStoc. However, for those thinking about starting one, it’s often the mental hurdles that prevent you from forgingahead. Unansweredquestionscangetintheway ofadvancement.AmIreadytostartabusi- ness?DoIhaveenoughsavingsandtime? Or,Ihaveseveralbusinessideas--whichone shouldIpursue? Startingabusinessisexciting,headystuff,and it’snotforeveryone.Here’ssomeguidanceto helpyoudetermineyourentrepreneurialtal- ents,whetheryou’rereadytojointheranksof smallbusinessownersandthenextsteps. WhyStartaBusiness? Forsome,entrepreneurshipisinspiredbythe need for autonomy, like in Jayson DeMers’ case. The founder and CEO of Audience- Bloom, a Seattle-based SEO agency, was 24 years old and working a full-time job at an online-marketing agency when he began a side business. “I questioned everything and feltuncomfortablebeingboundbysomeone else’s rules,” he says. “I wanted to be free to make my own decisions, take time off when I chose to (without asking) and not have to reporttoanyone.” Aftergatheringfreelanceclients,DeMers waseventuallyabletoquithisfull-timejob. Forothers,startingabusinesscomesfrom solvingaproblemintheirownlives,likeitdid with Sujan Patel, the vice president of mar- ketingatWhenIWork,anemployeesoftware schedulingcompany. Last year, Patel, 30 years old at the time, created two marketing tools to save himself timeandeffortinhisjob.Aftertellingfriends, who were also in the marketing field, about his tools, he discovered they were willing to payhimmoneyforaccesstothem. “That’s when I knew I had something people really wanted,” he says. “It was a bit ofanaccident.” He started two new businesses, ContentMarketer.io and Narrow.io, with the benefit of marketing his SaaS products toinanindustrywherehealreadyhadmore than10yearsofexperience. Some entrepreneurs go into business for thechallenge.MikeTempleman,CEOofFox- tail Marketing, a digital content marketing firm specializing in B2B SaaS, was at a full- timejobwherehe’dbeenpromotedandgiven araise--andhefoundhimselfrestless. He would work on side projects at night. Eventually,thoseprojectsbroughtinenough incometoallowhimtoleavehisfull-timejob andstarthisowncompanyattheageof30. Steps to sta≥ting a small business
  • 16. XVI BUSINESS DAILY| Monday October 26, 2015 9 SOFTWARE TECHNOLOGIES LTD INDUSTRY ICT S oftware Technologies Limited (STL)startedin1991withonly fiveemployees,andhasgrown to become one of Africa’s leading IT solutionsprovider,withover120em- ployeesaroundtheglobe. It emerged as the best ICT com- pany in the 2015 Top 100 mid-sized companies survey, an initiative of accounting firm KPMG and the Na- tion Media Group designed to iden- tify Kenya’s fastest growing medium sizedcompanies. Software Technologies first ap- pearedontheTop100mid-sizedcom- panies list in 2009 finishing at posi- tion97.In2013,thecompanywasonce againontheTop100listandfinished atposition78.Thefirmshowedcontin- uedgrowththisyearwhenitfinished atpositionnineandwasdeclaredthe ICTindustrychampion. Fromitsconception24yearsago, SoftwareTechnologiesaimedatcom- ingupwithuniqueservicesthatwould offersolutionstotheneedsofitsbusi- nessandindividualclients. It creates and comes up with its ownsoftware,whichhasovertheyears createdhighconfidencelevelsfromits customers,leadingtoasteadygrowth ofitscustomerbase. The company strives to bring in- novative products made by Africans to Africa. “We give our clients quality productsandservices. Our standards in the quality of products we offer our clients are international not local,” said Jyoti Mur- khejee CEO of Software Technologies. Whenitwasestablished,itwasthe onlycompanyinKenyathatdeveloped it’sownIPlocally,and,evennow,itis theonlycompanyinKenyathatoffers aboardmeetingsmanagementsystem called the e-Board. E-Board is a software that allows busi- nessestomakeuseofthe best corporate govern- ance practices and all aspects of boards, including recording board meetings, cre- ating agendas, and al- lowingdirectorstocarry out evaluations, as well as containingthedirectors’CV’s. Some of the companies that have benefitedfromthisinnovationareEq- uityBank,KenGen,CICGroupInsur- anceandtheKenyaCentralBank. Thecompany,whichhasapresence inTanzania,Uganda,Nigeria,Zambia, andtheMiddleEast,placesitsclients asthecentralpillarinallitdoes. Ithassetupanonlineremotesup- portsystemforallitslocalandinter- national clients, which guarantees maximum satisfaction and has led to the continued growth of its cus- tomerbase. It also continuously works on bringing technology like cloud com- puting to Africa, which has helped businessesruntheirITdepartments better and at a cheaper cost, as well as increasing the business solutions itofferstoitsclients. Overtheyears,STLhasexpanded fromIPservicesprovisiontoproviding servicessuchasconsultancy,support and training, web and e-commerce services,andapplicationmigration. Itremainsrelevanttoitsmarketby monitoringtheemergingclientneeds andcomingupwithnewinnovations toprovidethesolution,andbyavoid- ingtheredundancyofservicesoffered byitscompetitors. STLhasavisionofgrowingtobe- comeAfrica’sleadingglobalsoftware solutionscompany. -AFRICANLAUGHTER OfficialsandstafffromSoftwareTechnologiesLimitedwiththeirtrophiesafter thefirmwasdeclaredindustrychampion intheICTcategoryandninthoverall duringtheKenyaTop100Mid-SizedCompanies2015Survey. The IT fi≥m that delive≥ssolutions fo≥smallbusiness
  • 17. XVIIMonday October 26, 2015 | BUSINESS DAILY 10 HIPORA BUSINESS SOLUTIONS INDUSTRY RETAIL LOGISTICS BY MUGAMBI MUTEGI H iporaBusinessSolutionsEast AfricaLimitedhaslatelybeen in the news for a number of reasons. Thelogisticsfirm,whichspecialises inverificationofsupermarketprocesses to reduce losses, was in July, hired by cash-strappedUchumiSupermarkets toauditthefinancialhealthoftheretail chaininthethreeEastAfricannations whereUchumihadapresence. UchumirecentlypulledoutofTan- zania and Uganda citing perpetual losses. It is, however, not clear if Hi- pora’s report had anything to do with thedecision. Two weeks ago, the firm was once again in the media. This time around Hipora,whoseannualrevenuestands atoverSh200million,hademergedfifth inthelatesteditionoftheTop100Mid- Sizedcompaniessurvey. “Theawardwasagreathonourfor us.Otherthanendorsingthecompany’s health and viability, it has made more peopleknowusandunderstandwhat we do,” said John Wanjohi, the firm’s financedirectorandco-owner. Hipora’s job can be boiled down to ensuring that whatever retailers buy from suppliers and what they sell to customersbalanceoff. In the event that these inventories do not reconcile, the six-year-old firm investigatesthecauseandadvisesthe supermarket’s management accord- ingly. Mr Wanjohi, who is one of the four equalshareholdersinHipora,initially worked as a finance manager at Sho- prite – a South African retail chain before moving to retailer’s Tanzania branch in 2008. He teamed up with a South African friend-turned business partner,MrTshepoMonnanyana,who at the time worked at a risk manage- mentfirminSouthAfrica. Thetwofiguredoutthatthereexist- edabigriskmanagementandlogistics gap in Kenya’s blossoming retail sec- tor, which lost Sh3 billion every year to shoplifting, pilferage and outright theft through well-coordinated rack- ets transporters, receiving and pack- agingteams. Armed with this insight, Wanjohi, Tshepoandtwootherpartners(aKenya andaSouthAfrican)decidedtosetup afirmtoofferarangeofinventoryand logisticsservicestoretailers. Hipora,whichisbasedatPanariSky Centre along Mombasa Road, started its business in 2009 when it wrote a proposal to Tuskys Supermarkets to employworkersfortheretailer. AftertheTuskysdeal,Hiporastarted marketingitselfasabrandandwithin threeyearsofoperation,ithadsecured moreclientsfromtheregion. “Tuskys offered us even the space to operate from. It was a good recep- tion given we hardly knew each other asclientandserviceprovider,”saidMr Wanjohi. Today, the list of Hipora’s clients in Kenya include Tuskys, Eastmatt, Nakumatt, Quickmart, Maathai and Eastmattsupermarkets.InUganda,it servesthelikesofUgandaBreweriesas wellasTuskysandNakumatt. Under the contract, no deliveries are paid to retail suppliers until Hi- pora confirms that the amount due corresponds with the quantity and qualitydelivered. Thecompanyalsoworkswithware- housesandinstitutionsthat buygoods in large quantities and receiving and dispatch sections that are prone to stocklosses. Hipora provides companies with loss control managers, stockroom controllers, front end checkers, floor- walkerswhocheckanomaliesthatmay occurinthesupermarkets. It recently introduced undercover agents who covertly provide informa- tiononanyunderhanddealingsatthe workstations.Thisintelligenceiscriti- cal to sealing any loopholes that may existintheorganization. Hiporaisnowtargetingcountygov- ernments, manufacturing plants and supermarketsuppliersallofwhomdeal inlargequantitiesofsuppliesandthere- foreneedtobeefuptheiraccountability intheirsupplyanddistribution. HiporaBusinessSolutionsEastAfricaLimiteddirectorJohnWanjohi(right)andofficials posewiththeirtrophyafterthefirm emergedtenthduringtheKenyaTop100Mid-Sized Companies2015Survey. Logisticscompanythathelps≥etaile≥scutlosses
  • 18. XVIII BUSINESS DAILY| Monday October 26, 2015 11 WELL TOLD STORY INDUSTRY SOCIAL MEDIA RESEARCH F rom the ashes of political tur- moilthatfollowedKenya’s2007 generalelectionaroseabusiness ideathatusedstorytellingtoreachthe youth who were vulnerable to chaos andviolence. Two years later the originators of that idea registered Well Told Story Limited, a socially dedicated media research and production company based in Kenya and Tanzania, focus- ingonpositivetransformationofyoung peopleinAfrica. “Itbecamecleartousinthewakethe post-election turmoil that there was a need to give youth in Kenya access to goodideas,opportunitiesandinspira- tion so they could take action to im- provetheirlives,”RobBurnet,46,told theBusinessDailyinaninterview. Eight years later, Well Told Story – theenterprise--finished number11in theTop100mid-sizedcompanies’sur- veyanachievementthattestifiestothe rapidgrowthithasrealizedsinceitwas formallyregisteredsixyearsago. “We saw an opportunity in that space, for a socially motivated com- panythatcouldcreatevaluesharedby youth, corporations and by develop- mentagenciesallanxioustoreachthe youthdemographicsinpositiveways,” heexplained. WellToldStoryLimitedwasfounded by Mr Burnet who works along with a group of individuals and has incorpo- ratedotherpartnersinthebusiness. The company’s main business is telling the on-going story of DJB, the pirateradioDJattheheartofShujaaz –themulti-mediachannelonFMradio, social media, video, TV, film and the Shujaaz comic books that are distrib- utedintheSaturdayNation,apublica- tion ofNationMediaGroup andfrom M-Pesakioskseverymonth. Like most startups, Mr Burnet re- calls his first month of doing business ashardbutthathardenedhisgraspto pushonuntiltheend. He categorises his hardest part as getting to the launch of the platform with all the necessary partnerships in place. However, he says the easy part was connecting with young Kenyans who loved the Shujaaz media right fromtheoutset. Hisfirstclientswereandstillismo- bile services provider Safaricom and the Nation Media Group who distrib- uteShujaazcomicsincludingCocaCola thatdoesthesameinTanzania. “We still work with the United Kingdom government. Our base has broadened to include the Gates and Hewlett foundations, Unilever, Voda- com in Tanzania and others. And the audiencehasgrowntoo–Shujaaznow reaches69percentofKenyansaged15- 24,”saidMrBurnet. “Fromtheoutsetourmotivationwas to offer genuine, measurable value to Kenyanyouth.Maybewewerenaïvebut wefiguredthatourbusinesswouldbe sustainableandgrowifwedeliveredto young people first, our clients second and ourselves third. We still work to maintainthatorderofpriority.” Well Told Story Limited break- through came in the year 2012 when they won the first of our two Inter- national Emmy Awards for the way theytellstoriesacrossmultiplemedia platforms. He says knowing they are among the best in the world at what they do has been a boost to every part of their business. Currently,thecompanyhasaround 40staffinKenyaandTanzania,aswell as a lot of freelance creatives spread acrosstheregion. Well Told Story Limited said their business segment has not received much competition. “Almost everyone elseputsprofitoverpurpose.Westickto ourcore–weserveouraudiencefirst.” Hesaystheonlyfearsareaboutmoving asfastasourmarket. On expansion plans, the company plans to spread into further countries in Africa and is currently developing opportunities for strategic growth with focus to stay on under-served youngpeople. “We are working on a number of strongnewideasthataddvaluetoour existingbrands,”hesays. WellToldStoryLimitedofficialsposewiththeirtrophyafterthefirmwasranked11th duringtheKenyaTop100Mid-SizedCompanies2015Survey.LookingonisNSEchairman EddyNjoroge. A c≥eative sto≥y that tu≥ned into th≥iving business
  • 19. XIXMonday October 26, 2015 | BUSINESS DAILY 12 AMEX INDUSTRY AUTO/HARDWARE SUPPLIES A mexAutoandIndustrialHard- ware Limited started out in 1988 as a small retail shop in Kisumu, with a staff of four. With an “in-depth” knowledge of vehiclespareparts,ithasgrowntoday tobelistedamongtheTop100compa- nies in the region. Foracompanytoberecognizedin thecompetition,theymustbewilling to submit audited results for the past threeyears,andhaveanannualturno- ver of between Sh70 million and Sh1 billion, something they boast of. The company’s Director, Devesh Patel,saysthat,theystartedbyslowly increasingtheirturnoverandcreating a bigger customer base. In 2010, they had saved enough to buythembiggerpremisesforthecom- pany’s expansion, he says. “Withanewchangeofenvironment andafreshteamof24peoplein2013, westarteddoingwholesalebusinessas achangeofstrategytoslowlyincreas- ingoursaleswithverylowmargins.We haveempoweredourstaffandcreated agoodworkingcultureinthecompany, which is crucial for growth,” said Mr Patel adding that his father, Manhar- bhai Patel, was the founder. “Our yearly turnover has grown steadily in the last three years”. Thecompanydealswitharangeof vehicle spare parts. From suspension arms, body parts, side mirrors, headlamps to service parts. MrPatelsaystheyrecentlylaunched ane-commercewebsiteallowingcus- tomerstosecurelypayforgoodsusing a variety of options including mobile money, Master Card and Visa Credit cards. “Innovation is the way to go in businessandwehavecreatedanauto parts e-commerce website to make things easier for our clients and we alsoprovidefreedeliveryonallonline ordersthroughoutKenya.Wealsofully computerised our operations so it is easy to monitor inventory, ordering, sales,” he said. Headdedthattheyhavealsopart- nered with Jumia to sell their auto parts on their online platform. Their target market include retail shops, garages, insurance companies, fleet owners and individuals. Thedirectorstatesthattheyimport theirhardwaredirectlyfromtheirfac- tories in Asia. Theywillsoonbeopeninganoutlet onButereRoadinNairobi’sIndustrial AreastartingNovembertobetterserve ourNairobiclientsandtheircounter- partsinthesurroundingenvirons,says Mr Patel. They also serve Uganda and Tan- zania markets. “We have managed to keep and growourclientelethroughtheunbeat- ablepricesontopbrandswhilebreak- ingeven.Wewillbecreatingafurther 30jobsinourNairobiofficein2016as we look to expand our customer base to Central Africa,” he said. MrPatelquicklyaddsthatthecom- pany made notable strides from be- ing position 62 in last year’s Top 100 companies’ survey conducted by the BusinessDailyandKPMGtonumber 12 this year. “The experience is amazing. This big leap (being ahead of 50 compa- nies compared to last year) has re- ally empowered our staff and we are all looking forward to increasing our productivity and clinch position one come next year,” said Mr Patel. -AFRICAN LAUGHTER AmexAutoandIndustrial HardwareLimitedofficials celebrateafterthe firmwasranked inposition12 duringtheKenyaTop100 Mid-SizedCompanies2015Survey. Moto≥ spa≥e pa≥ts fi≥m ≥evs to ≥ecognition THANK YOU FOR MAKING US NO 2 COMPANY IN KENYA IN THE TOP 100 MID-SIZED COMPANIES 2015/16 We thank our dedicated staff and customers for having trust and confidence in us. Professional Clean Care Ltd is a leading company in Commercial Cleaning Services with over 28 years in providing outsourced cleaning services to a wide variety of clients who need to focus and concentrate in their core business. We have hundreds of satisfied customers occupying millions of square feet of office space who can testify that, when it comes to value, quality and responsiveness, Professional Clean Care Ltd is number one. We thank God that we were for a third time recognized by KPMG Kenya/Nation Media Group as the No.2 overall winners out of 100 Top SME’s Companies. We were awarded the prestigious award on 9th October 2015. We wish to mention that we were the first cleaning company to attain ISO 9001: 2008 Certificate in 2011. The company’s success is due to my hands on leadership skills and good organizational structure and confidence in my staff. The company has since opened branches in Nairobi, Mombasa, Nakuru, Kisumu, Nyeri, Thika, Marsabit, Eldoret. We crossed over to Kampala and Somalia and very soon venturing to Rwanda. Visit us at Brunei House,1st Floor Witu Road-(off Lusaka Road) Cell:0725685492/0772145050 Mrs. Betty Wanyoike CEO of Professional Clean Care limited receive their trophy from DiamondTrust Bank CEO Nasim Devji (left) after the company emerged number two during the Kenya Top 100 Mid- Sized Companies 2015 Survey Gala dinner at the Carnivore Grounds in Nairobi on October 9, 2015. Looking on (left) is KPMG CEO Josphat Mwaura. THANK YOU For Quality Cleaning in Hospitals, Offices, Houses & Commercial Properties
  • 20. XX BUSINESS DAILY| Monday October 26, 2015 INDUSTRY ICT 13 DATAGUARD DISTRIBUTORS LTD A s computer viruses and mal- warecontinuetomultiplyincy- berspace, James Kinyua saw an opportunitytokeepdigitalgadgetssafe andmakemoneyintheprocess. Sixyearsago,DataguardDistributors wassetupasalinkbetweenproducersof anti-virussoftwareandindividualcom- puterusersandbusinesses. Essentially, the company is a major distributor of products to sub-dealers likeshopownersandnetworkingcom- panieswhosellthemtoindividualcon- sumers, SME enterprises and govern- mentagencies. Dataguard has since grown in leaps andboundstopostimpressivenumbers that have put it firmly in the league of Kenya’s fastest growing Medium-sized companies. ThoughMrKinyua,whoisthecompa- ny’schiefexecutive,wasaboutthecom- pany’s finances – Dataguard definitely runs an annual turnover in excess of Sh70million.“Lastyearweenteredthe Top 100 competition and were at posi- tion126.Itsayssomethingthatthisyear weareat13.” AmongtheclientsithasservedareSa- faricom,KenyaRevenueAuthority,KCB, National Hospital Insurance Fund and BankofKigali. When a company approaches them forsolutions,Dataguardwillexecutethe job through one of their sub-dealers as they do not deal directly with the cli- ent.Thecompanydistributesproducts fromthreeforeigncompanies.Theseare Kasperskyanti-virussolutionswhichwas theirfirstproduct;Bitdefenderanother anti-virus software and ICT hardware fromanAmericancompanyNetgear. “It’sbeenachallenginggrowth.There was a time a lot of people couldn’t even pronounce Kaspersky but now it has a marketshareofover50percentinKen- ya,”MrKinyuasaid. Under the Netgear brand, they dis- tribute switches, wireless connection products, routers and gateways and storagesolutionsamongothers. MrKinyuasaidthattheyplantoadd moreproductstoitsstablebutthisisonly done after a careful review of the mar- ket.Hehoweveraddsthatthenumberof productstheyhandlewouldbecappedat seven. “We have in the past introduced someproductsbutrealisethattheyhave not performed so well so we dropped them,”hesaid. As technology continues to develop new services and gadgets like cloud computing, smartphones and tablets, the need for connectivity devices and anti-virus protection has offered Data- guard an even bigger opportunity for growth. Thecompanyhasspreaditswingsin theeasternAfricaregionandnowserv- icesits40sub-dealersinKenya,Uganda, Rwanda,BurundiandTanzania. The nature of their operations as more of a logistics operator has meant that they have managed to keep a lean staffof15. Mr Kinyua said that they face stiff competitionespeciallyfromonlinesales of the products they sell as well as indi- viduals who fly out of the country and acquiretheitemsthere. Ente≥p≥ise makes its ma≥k keeping digitalgadgetssafe Dataguard DistributorsLimitedofficialsposewithNSEchairmanEddyNjoroge (secondright)afterthefirm wasrankedinposition13duringtheKenyaTop100 Mid-SizedCompanies2015Survey. INDUSTRY INSURANCE 14 WAUMINI INSURANCE BROKERS LTD W hat started out as an insurance agency af- filiated to the Catholic Churchanditsrelatedinstitutions hasgrownintoanawardwinning enterprise in the financial servic- esindustry,asWauminiInsurance BrokersLimitedemergedthebest in the Financial Services category during the 2015 top 100 survey of the fastest growing mid-sized companies in the country. “As a team we felthumbledbythe recognition, which wasasresultofrigour- ous research. The award has injected fresh motivation and will go a long way in helping ourportfoliogrow,”saidthemanag- ingdirector,NancyMuriuki. Thisyear,theinsurancebroker- agesecuredposition14,upfrompo- sition59,in2014,followingtheTop 100survey,whichisrunbythe Na- tionMediaGroup’sBusinessDaily andauditfirmKPMG.Thisisanin- dicationofgrowthandthegrowing confidencepeoplehavetowardsits products,saidMuiruki. WauminiInsuranceBrokerage Ltdhasnowbeenlistedforsixyears runningasoneoftheTop100mid- sized companies in Kenya. Other recognitions include the special commendation award in leader- ship and management from the Association of Insurance Brokers ofinFebruary2010andthecoveted awardforexcellenceintrainingand professionalismandprofessional- ismdevelopmentfromthesameas- sociation,AIBK,inMarch2012. Wauminihasinsuredmorethan 10,000organisationsinKenyaand offersabroadrangeofservicesin- cludinginsurancebrokerage,gen- eralinsurance,motorvehicleinsur- ance,pensionschemeadministra- tion,grouplifeassurance, riskmanagementand medicalinsurance. It was incor- porated to fill the insurance needs of the Catholic Church and its re- lated institutions in 1997. However, it has grownitsmarkettoinclude non-Catholicsandwasupgradedto an insurance broker in 2005. The company started with an annual premium of Sh 2m and only three employeesin1997,buttodayit’s22 permanentstaffhandleSh500min premiums. Muriuki said that one of the biggest challenges has been the competition for talent, and the growing numbers of companies intheinsuranceindustry. “One of our biggest challenge inthisindustryisthecompetition fortalent.Inthepreviousyear,we trained seven people, and four of themweretakenupbyotherinsur- ancecompanies.” “There is still a slow uptake of insurance products in Kenya, whichhasalsoaffectedthegrowth ofmanyinsurancefirms,aswellas stiffcompletionfromotherfinan- cialinstitutions,suchasbanks,that previouslydidnotofferinsurance services,”shesaid. However,Waumini,whichstart- edoffwithabranchinNairobi,has sinceaddedanotherthreebranches in Kisumu, Nyeri, and recently in Nakuru. “We have plans to be in every part of the country and so in the nextthreeyears,weintendtohave openotherbranchesinMombasa, MachakosandEldoret.Wealsoplan toengagemoreyouthsinsellingin- surancethuscreatingemployment and increasing the penetration of insurance,whichisstillextremely lowat3percent,”shesaid. Muriuki reiterated that Wau- mini stands out among its peers for its deep-rooted values of trust, professionalism, team work, self- lessness, integrity, innovation, respect, loyalty, and community citizenship. “Being a faith-based organiza- tion,weensurethatweupholdthe higheststandardsofintegrityand professionalism. We also conduct continuouseducationtoourclients oninsurance,”shesaid. -AFRICANLAUGHTER Faithanddiligenced≥ives insu≥e≥ to Hall of Fame OfficialsfromWauminiInsuranceBrokersarecongratulatedbyKPMGEastAfricaCEOJosphatMwaura(right)andNation MediaGroupCEOJoeMuganda(left)after thefirmwasdeclaredindustrychampioninthefinancialservicescategory duringtheKenyaTop100Mid-SizedCompanies2015Survey. FILE
  • 21. XXIMonday October 26, 2015 | BUSINESS DAILY BROLLO KENYA LTD INDUSTRY CONSTRUCTION Manufacturesawiderangeofvalueaddedsteel andtubularproductsforthebuildingandcon- struction,manufacturing,automotiveandpack- agingindustries. CANON CHEMICALS LIMITED INDUSTRY MANUFACTURING Developsaportfolioofqualitybrandswhichare partofaneverydayaffordablelife:homecare (PetroleumJelly,Lotions)Ithas aproudheritage passionatelycommittedtoempowerandenrich people’slivesinAfricabydevelopingaportfolio ofqualitybrandswhicharepartofaneveryday affordablelife. KENYA BUILDERS & CONCRETE CO LTD INDUSTRY CONSTRUCTION ManufacturersofAggregatesandPrecastCon- creteProducts ELDOHOSP PHARMACEUTICALS LTD INDUSTRY PHARMACEUTICALS DistributorsofbrandslikeGlaxoSmithkline, Novartis,Sanofi,BayerE.ALimitedandPfizer amongstothers. MaindistributorsforTorrentandMicrolabs. ImportersofSurgicalsandalliedproducts. CLUB101 AKenyaBuildersandConcreteCompany Limitedofficial iscongratulated byKPMGEastAfrica CEOJosphatMwaura(left)andDiamondTrust BankCEONasimDevjiafterthecompanygraduated toClub101duringtheKenyaTop100Mid-SizedCompanies2015Survey. MEGA PACK K LTD INDUSTRY MANUFACTURING SIGMA SUPPLIES LTD INDUSTRY MANUFACTURING Oneofthecountry’slargestfullyintegratedpoul- trycompany. Mainproductsincludedressedchicken,cutups, dayoldchicks(broilersandlayers),tableeggs, hatchingeggs,poultryequipmentandanimal feed. TRUFOODS LIMITED INDUSTRY MANUFACTURING Oneoftheeadingproducersofhealthy,conven- ientfoodsforeveryeatingoccasion-Zesta,Ke- nylon.Homeiswhere“true”foodis.TruFoods ispassionateaboutservingupgoodfood.They understandthepoweroffoodtoconnectpeople, uniteculturesandenrichdailylife. VEHICLE AND EQUIPMENT LEASING LTD INDUSTRY LEASING VehicleandequipmentLeasingLimited(VAELL)isthe leadingindependentassetleasingcompanyinEastern andCentralAfrica.VAELLhaveestablishedthemselves astheforemostexpertsinassetand plantleasing acquisitionandmaintenanceprovidingservicesinan arrayofsectorsacrosstheeconomy.VAELLhavebe- comealeadingproviderofassetleasingacquisition solutionstogovernmentsintheregion. HEAD OFFICE: Astral Plaza, Old Mombasa Road, Kyangombe P.o Box 7335-00300 Nairobi, Kenya Tel:020-2081501,Email info@tridentplumbers.com Website:www.tridentplumbers.com • Plumbing & Drainage • Sanitaryware Installations • FireFighting Services • Automatic Irrigation Systems • Air Conditioning and Ventillation Systems • Compressed Air systems • Boiller Installations • LPG Gas and Petroleum Service Systems • Health Club Services • Solar Water Heating Systems • Water Storage Facilities • Water Distribution OUR EXPERTISE
  • 22. XXII BUSINESS DAILY| Monday October 26, 2015 INDUSTRY TRAVEL 15 PINNACLE (K) TRAVELS & SAFARIS LTD INDUSTRY MANUFACTURING 16 TROPIKAL BRANDS A LTD Manufacturer of household, personal care, food and baby products and distributor of top quality multinational brands. INDUSTRY PETROLEUM 17 RUSHAB PETROLEUM LTD 18 ALLWIN PACKAGING INTL. LTD INDUSTRY INSURANCE 19 D&G INSURANCE BROKERS LTD 20 SHEFFIELD STEEL SYSTEMS LIMITED INDUSTRY MANUFACTURING 21 COAST INDUSTRIAL & SAFETY SUPPLIES LIMITED INDUSTRY MANUFACTURING 22 NOVEL TECHNOLOGIES EA LTD INDUSTRY ICT 23 POWERPOINT SYSTEMS EA LTD INDUSTRY ENERGY 24 MACHINES TECHNOLOGIES (2006) LTD INDUSTRY MANUFACTURING INDUSTRY SUPPLIES 18 ALLWIN PACKAGING INTL. LTD G reat customer service: this is the secret of success, ac- cordingtoAllwinPackaging InternationalLtd,whichinjustover 10yearshasgrownfromavirtually unknown company to become a leadingsupplierofpack- agingmachineswith a monthly turno- ver of Sh30m- Sh40million. AllwinPack- aging Interna- tional Ltd, which suppliespackaging machines&materials, coding and water purifica- tion machines to manufacturing industries, started as a humble business in 2004 to cater for a gap inthemarket. “With a capital of Sh650,000, I startedthebusinessin2004topro- videaffordablepackagingsolutions formanufacturingindustries,”said Saji Kuria Khose, Managing Direc- torofAllwinPackagingInternational Ltd.“Packagingisverysensitiveand peopleexpectveryhighquality.Wedo notjustsupplypackagingmachines toindustries,butalsomakeaneffort tofollowupiftheclientisexperienc- ing any problems. There are times when we have sent engineers to go toindustriesatnighttofixmachines just so that the packaged products comeoutwell,”saidKhose. It is not only Allwin’s great cus- tomerservicethatKhosetakespride in, but also that the company has grownwithoutanybankloans. “I have never taken any bank loans or overdrafts to in order to grow, because financing in this country is very expensive. I have, instead, chosen to grow in a slow and steady manner by re-investing backintothecompany,”saidKhose. This slow and steady growth hasseenthecompanynow achieve 38 employees and supply over 250 different packaging machines to various manufacturing indus- tries,includingthosein tea,sugar,cosmetics,and agro-chemicals. Allwin’sgrowthalsosawthem recentlyacquiretherightstobethe sole distributer of global leading packagingcompany,Ishida. “Aroundtwomonthsweago,we were given the go ahead to be the onlydistributerofIshida,whichisa JapanesecompanyinEastandCen- tralAfrica,”saidKhose. Passionate about seeing other start-ups grow, Allwin has kept its affordablepackagingmachines,de- spiteacquiringmoreexpensiveones over the past decade. It is also this passion that saw Khose help a stu- dentsetupastart-up,somethinghe termsashisgreatestachievement. “Auniversitystudentoncecame tomesayingthathewantedtostart supplyingpackagingmachineswith justastartingcapitalofSh10,000.He boughtamachineworthSh6,000,af- terwhichhecamebackforanother similarmachineafewmonthslater. Twoyearsdowntheline,thisstudent camebacktomeandboughtama- chineworthSh2m,”saidKhose. Three years ago’ Allwin Packag- ingInternationalLtdwasamongthe Business Daily Top 100 Companies andithasappearedinthelistthree times consecutively, another feath- erKhoseisproudtoaddtohiscap. “Ever since we were selected three years ago, people started taking us moreseriously,whichhasdonegreat forthebusiness,”saidKhose. The journey to the top has not been smooth sailing and Khose terms unfair competition as a ma- jor impediment. “There are people who use illegal routes of importing thesemachinesandthereforedonot paytaxes.Thisaffectsusbecausethey endupsellingthemachinescheaply whichishardtocompetewith,”said Khose.Healsoattributesthegrow- ing traffic congestion as another challengetothebusiness.“Inthe10 yearswehavebeeninthebusiness, ourproductivityhasbeenreducedby 10-20percentbecauseofthetraffic jams,”saidKhose. Buttosucceed,saidKhose,“one should know their product”, a plat- formfromwhichAllwin,itself,now hopestoexpandacrossAfrica. Packagingfi≥mth≥iveson excellentcustome≥se≥vice AllwinPackagingLimited officials receivetheirtrophyfromNationMediaGroupCEOJoe Muganda(centre)afterthe firmwasdeclaredindustrychampion intheretailcategory. Lookingon is KPMG EastAfricaCEOJosphat Mwaura. D&G InsuranceBrokersLimited officialsposewiththeirtrophyafterthefirmwas ranked 19th inthesurvey. D&GINSURANCEBROKERSLIMITED
  • 23. XXIIIMonday October 26, 2015 | BUSINESS DAILY 25 LOGISTIC SOLUTIONS LTD INDUSTRY LOGISTICS L ogistic Solutions Limited is Mombasa based company that was founded in 2009 to handle emptycontainersonbehalfofshipping lines. The empty containers are ship- pingboxesthatcanbestuffedwithvari- ouscontents. “Last year, Kenya Ports Authority handledoverone millioncontainers.It isonlynaturalthatforeverycontainer that comes to Kenya or the region as importsmustleaveasloadedorempty export,” saidAbdikhaniAbbas,thechief executiveofLogisticSolutions. The company, which is renowned for its vast experience in the logistic service provision industry, credits its success to its high level of service and efficiency, which has been influenced by the huge investment the company hasmadeinbuyingequipment,suchas anemptycontainerambulance,reach stalker, and folk lifts, which make its workeasierandfaster. Logistic Solutions had its first list- ingontheTop100companiesthisyear, taking position 25. In addition, it has received awards from WEMA for best incustomerfocus;theKenyaNational Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KNCC)for employer;andKenyaPorts AuthorityAwards,forefficientdepot. The company’s success has been fueled by a strong team whose collec- tiveexperiencesspantheinlandtrans- portationbusiness,runninganempty containerdepot,andtheCFSoperations todevelopaflexiblefacilitythatcorre- lates with today’s dynamic container repositioningdemands. “Wehaveimplementedanin-house IT system, which we use to track the containers, and we have linked this system to the shipping lines and Ken- yaPortsAuthority,makingoperations smooth,”saidMrAbass Efficiency has also been increased byone-on-onerelationshipswithcus- tomers, an open door policy, and the 24 hour, seven days a week operating system. The company’s continued invest- ment in modern fleet facilities and commitment to deliver goods safely and on time, whatever the circum- stances, has ensured the individual needsofcustomersaremet. The company has also had its fair share of ups and downs, with the big- gestchallengebeingfinances.Inorder to have competent manpower and re- sourcesthecompanyhashadtodoalot ofstafftrainingandresourcemobiliza- tion,whicharebothexpensiveexercises toundertake. Poorinfrastructurehasalsoposeda challenge,withpoorroadscontributing to high wear and tear to the contain- ers, leading to an increase in mainte- nancecosts. Traffic snarl ups have also caused delaysincontainerrepatriation,which affects vessel loading. The other chal- lenge has been system breakdowns at Kenya Ports Authority and Kenya Revenue Authority. But despite the challenges, the company has grown and has discovered new avenues for earningfurtherrevenues.Newservices ithasaddedincluderepairingcontain- ers,andchemicalcleaningofcontain- ers,whichhasenabledittopreparethe containersforexport. Butthecompanyisnotimmuneto globaltrends.“Sincethedollarhasin- creased, we have noted a drop in con- tainer imports into the country. This will, in return, effect the volumes of empty containers that we will han- dle,”saidMr.Abass. But the great motivation the com- panyhasisthecreationofemployment opportunities,withnow160employees, whichisanachievementitisveryproud of.Asthecompanycontinuesgrowing by expanding its range of services, it anticipatesmorejobopportunitiesstill fortheyouth.Ithasalsosecuredakey contractwithoneoftheworld’smajor shippinglines. Beyond the normal operations of the company, it holds an a 10-day eye clinic project every year with doctors fromGermany,whocomeintodoeye tests and surgeries where necessary. The project targets 3,000 people a year and is conducted in the remote villagesinKenya. Logistic Solutions is also looking into expanding into Uganda and Tan- zaniawithinthenext10years. -AFRICANLAUGHTER LogisticsSolutionsLimitedofficialsposewiththeirtrophyafterthefirmwasranked 25thduringtheKenyaTop100Mid-SizedCompanies2015Survey. Containe≥ fi≥m usestechnologyto boost efficiency
  • 24. XXIV BUSINESS DAILY| Monday October 26, 2015 34 KISIMA ELECTRO MECHANICALS LTD INDUSTRY MANUFACTURING K isimaElectroMechani- cals(KEML)wasfound- ed in 2010 to test bore hole pumping efficiency and achieve optimal water yields, across now 350 sites in Nairo- bi, Nakuru, Thika, Machakos, Kitale, Narok, Naivasha, Na- mangaandKajiado. Byblendinginnovationand technology,KEMLhasprovided low and middle income com- munities with practi- calwatersolutions, witheachproject uniquely ca- teredfor. Its achieve- mentshaverun hand in hand with remarkable growth. By 2011, the company was adding its secondtestpumpingmachine, andathirdoneby2012,asitalso moved into bore hole mainte- nance & rehabilitation work, thesupplyofpumpsandUPVC pipes, construction of water storagesystems,andwaterdis- tribution. “Sincerity and transpar- ency have been the building blocks of this company,” said Yashwanth Kumar Shetty, Di- rector of KEML, who looks af- terthecompany’soperationona daytodaybasis.Heisafamiliar faceatthesiteworkshopalong MombasaRoad,providingguid- ancetohisteam.Inthemidstof a fully set up workshop, small meetings are carried out, and theday’splansfordealingwith clientsaregonethrough. KEMLcurrentlyhas28staff, 18ofthemdealingdirectlywith drilling related activities. “My technical team, and the high quality of service that we pro- vide has helped us grow as a company,”saidYashwanth. KEM provides the major- ity of its drilling solutions for property developers, as well as for NGOs, such as the Interna- tional Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), which has had pumps installed in the KarenareaofNairobi. Compassion Inter- national Kenya has had similar servicesprovid- ed in the Meru region. “We do not carry out much advertising to target our clients,” said Yashwanth, “word of mouthhashelpedus.” Butthesectoriscompetitive, meaningKEMLhashadtokeep abreastofwhatcompetitorsare offering. It constantly surveys for innovation and ways of sourcing in the local and inter- nationalmarket.“Ouraimisto supplythebestproductstothe market,withanemphasisonbe- ing energy efficient.” The com- panyalwaysselectsandinstalls therightsizeofenergyefficient pump and motor to match the clientneeds. As new technology comes in and trends change the mar- ket, KEML also trains its staff, giving them the relevant skills to adapt to the evolving work environment. Staff are also en- couragedtobeprofessional,and to follow all safety procedures whenatwork. Clients are not left out ei- ther.“Weensureallsafetycom- ponents to safeguard the cus- tomer pumping system,” said Yashwanth. Client communication has beengivenahighprioritylevel bythecompany.“Anyproblems weencounterduringdrillingare openly discussed with clients. Any amount of progress is de- tailedtotheclientsaswell.”This openspositivecommunication channelsensuringclientsareal- ways up to speed with drilling projects across Kenya. Clients are also able to contact KEML via phone or email, and site visits are also provided when necessary. “Whenever there is a prob- lem identified by a client, my teamknowstoalwaysrespond as soon as possible.” Over the years,KEMLhavealsolearned tonegotiatewithclientsandlis- tentotheirspecificneeds. With regards to the impact ofbeinglisted34thinthecom- panyrankings,Yashwanthsaid: “I’m very thankful for the rec- ognition.Infact,ithasplayeda major part in encouraging our employees,whoarenowhighly motivatedafterseeingthecom- pany’sranking.”KEMLintends tobethebestandmosteffective watermanagementcompanyin KenyaandeasternAfrica. 26 HAJAR SERVICES LTD INDUSTRY CONSTRUCTION 27 SUPREME PHARMACY LIMITED INDUSTY PHARAMACEUTICALS 28 NORTH STAR COOLING SYSTEMS LTD INDUSTY ENERGY Northstarcoolingsystemsisarenownednamefor theirdesign,installation,repair,maintenanceand optimizationofmissioncriticalrefrigerationand HVACsystems. The companyhashandledvariousprojectsofdiffer- entsizesanddifferentsectorslikehealthcare,enter- tainment,government andmayothers 29 UNITED EAST AFRICA WAREHOUSES LTD INDUSTRY LOGISTICS United(E.A)WarehousesLtdisoneoftheleading providersofintegratedlogisticssolutionstotheTea, GeneralandBulkCargoIndustry.Thecompanyisa 100percentKenyanprivatelyownedlimitedcom- panythatwasfoundedin1999byJustinJ.Ogwapit. TheUnited(E.A.)WarehousesLtdteamismadeup ofseasonedprofessionalswhoprovidequalityserv- icesinImport,Export,TransitCargoDocumenta- tion,CustomClearance,WarehousingandQuayside BaggingFreightatourcentresinMombasa,Nairobi, MalabaandKampala. Ourpurposebuilt-godownsareconvenientlylocat- edatourheadofficeinShimanzi,lessthan1kmfrom thePortofMombasaandspanover150,000sqft. Thegodownsfeaturefeaturingcustombuiltload- ingbays,modernconveyorbelts,railwaysidingand stateoftheartsecurity. Wehaveafullyfittedmodernteatastingroomand abuyingdepartmentthatcatersauctionpurchase, blendingandpackagingofblackCTCteaasperthe requirementsofallmajormarketsincludingPaki- stan,SudanandEgypt. Ourclearing&forwardingarmisfullyconversant withtheproceduresinvolvedintheimportandex- portofalltypesoflocalandtransitmerchandiseand offersarangeofservicesincluding: •CustomsBrokerage •FreightProcedures •On-sitesupervisionofallPortOperations •BorderPointUnitsatMalabaandLungaLungato trackallincomingandoutgoingcargo. • ContinuousCargomonitoringandissuanceofcli- entadvisories • SightingandCross-Stuffingofcontainers • ClearingofPersonalEffects,BulkandContainer- isedCargo 30 JO WORLD AGENCIES LIMITED INDUSTRY ICT JoWorldAgenciesLtd,alocallyincorporatedcom- pany,isanInformationSystemsSolutionsand Supportprovider.Despitehavingreasonableand reputableclientbase,wehavemanagedtokeepour servicesatbothapersonallevel,andcorporatelevel throughtheyears.Wehaveoverthepastdecade grownbyleapsandboundsandarenowoneofthe mostefficientandrespectedprovidersinusersup- portinInformationandCommunicationTechnology. 31 RAVENZO TRADING LIMITED INDUSTRY TECHNOLOGY 32 GENERAL CARGO SERVICES LTD INDUSTRY TRANSPORT & LOGISTICS 33 MPPS (1998) LTD INDUSTRY SUPPLIES 35 BTB INSURANCE BROKERS LTD INDUSTRY INSURANCE 36 SPECIALIZED ALUMINIUM RENOVATORS LTD INDUSTRY MANUFACTURING SpecialisedAluminumRenovatorsLimited(SARL)is aNairobi-basedcompanyestablishedin1992thatis recognisedacrossEastAfricaasgeneralcontractors ofhighlyprofessionalservicewhichincludesinte- riorfitouts,aluminumandupvcfabrications,glass works,suspendedceilings,joineryworks,architec- turalstainlesssteelproducts,paintworks,etc.Our specialtiesserveacross-sectionofthemarket-do- mestic,commercialandcontractcustomers. D≥illingcompanyblends innovation, technology OfficialsandstafffromKisimaElectroMechanicalsLimitedposewiththeirtrophyafterthecompanywas declaredindustrychampionintheInfrastructureandConstructiontcategoryduringtheKenyaTop100 Mid-SizedCompanies2015Survey.