[Kenya Business Week] Leveraging the blue economy wave to boost national purse
Kenya has this week successfully hosted the first global conference on blue economy that brought together over 16,000 delegates among them heads of states in a gathering that sought to harness the promise and address the vulnerabilities of the blue economy. The conference saw landmark deals signed among them a partnership between Kenya and Canada on maritime sector including maritime security. The high profiled event comes at a time when key institutions like the Economic Commission for Africa continue to advocate for the continent to embrace blue economy to guarantee its future. Countries like Seychelles are already reaping huge dividends for harnessing their maritime potential.
The week has also witnessed key partnerships from corporates, government institutions and international organizations. Family Bank has partnered with technology firm SimbaPay to launch an instant money transfer service from Kenya to China through WeChat – a service that will help boost Kenya-China trade. This is the latest in a new wave of partnerships between Kenyan banks and Chinese entities. Previously Barclays Bank of Kenya launched a partnership with China UnionPay, which will allow UnionPay cardholders to transact at Barclays’ ATMs and point-of-sale devices across the country. Stanbic Bank Kenya and Industrial Commercial Bank of China (ICBC), have lso launched a new initiative to promote tourism between Kenya and China by offering incentives for travel, shopping and leisure to tourists visiting the two countries.
Majid Al Futtaim, the exclusive franchisee operator of Carrefour in 15 countries across the Middle East, Africa and Asia, has partnered with Jumia to provide a secure and convenient way for Carrefour customers to shop for groceries and household goods online. To cement its place in the Kenyan e-commerce space and grow numbers, Jumia has previously launched online pre-payments plan for customers and partnered with companies like G4S in what the CEO Sam Chappatte attributes to the endeavour to make Jumia the most loved shopping destination in Kenya.
Kenya’s first e-health platform and online retail pharmacy; MYDAWA and Kenya Pharmaceutical Association (KPA) have also announced a new partnership to advocate for access to quality health commodities for Kenyans. Last month, MyDAWA signed a deal with iPay Limited to scale up its service delivery in line with achieving better health. This has seen it reach over 30,000 registered users.
Still on matters health, GE Healthcare and Beyond Zero Initiative have annouinced a partnership to improve access to quality and affordable primary healthcare services in Kisumu County. GE healthcare has heavily invested in the Kenyan health sector. In partnership with the Society of Radiography in Kenya (SORK) it recently announced a 2-year partnership to train a minimum of 140 radiographers on the latest medical imaging technologies and techniques. It has previously trained cardiac health professionals in the country and delivered $450million to develop a medical campus.
In aviation, Kenyan based payment service provider DPO Group, has announced a partnership with Aero CRS (an airline customer reservation system) that will see DPO power all the payments at the back-end ensuring all parties receive their payments in real time.
On the other hand, regional low-cost carrier, Jambojet has appointed Mr. Allan Kilavuka as the new Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer effective 1st January, 2019. This is the latest in the series of announcements it has announced as it seeks to remain competitive. The airline has in the past announced plans expanding operations to 11 African countries, inked codeshare agreement with Kenya Airways, increased flights to competitive routes like Kisumu and Ukunda and introduced a tool on its website to help customers find the lowest fares on offer.
In real estate, Karibu Homes, a developer of modern, inclusive communities in Kenya, has signed an agreement with Tatu City to enable it to develop over 1,000 affordable homes at the mixed-use, mixed-income development. Tatu City has previously signed a similar deal with Unity Homes even as international institutions like Gallagher Power Fence Systems Limited and ADvTECH express interest in expanding to the East Africa’s largest property development.
