[Kenya Business Week] Towards affordable housing

As Kenya aims for mid- level economic status it has set targets it hopes will propel it to this dream. While its economic blue print Vision 2030 envisions this to happen in about 12 years from now, a new, robust, and dedicated vision dubbed Big Four Agenda has identified food security, affordable housing, manufacturing, and affordable healthcare as the immediate key drivers of economic prosperity and the general welfare of its citizens.

This week President Uhuru Kenyatta has signed into law a bill creating a 15 percent tax relief for Kenyans buying houses under the Affordable Housing Scheme. This is one of the many initiatives tha the government has committed to pursue under the affordable housing space. Private companies like Unity Homes and Housing Finance bolster government's efforts even as studies show Kenya’s real estate market now favours low cost housing.

In the banking sector, Equity Group Holdings Plc has appointed its long serving Group Director of Strategy, Legal Services and Company Secretary Mrs. Mary Wangari Wamae as Group Executive Director overseeing the Group’s subsidiaries. This is one of the many strategic decisions the bank has made to position itself as a market leader including an agressive agency and mobile banking campaign.

In manufacturing more than 80 Kenyan companies have adopted Kaizen practices to improve operations in the last 19 years and have reaped considerable benefits in their productivity, cash flows and operations.

And in technology community Internet service provider, poa! internet has launched Kenya’s first village home Internet service. The internet provider is offering unlimited Wi-Fi into homes around Ting’ang’a, Kiambu County. This, as GreenTec Capital announced its investment into Bismart Insurance . Leveraging on cutting edge technology, the company provides a digital interface to offer insurance products and services across Africa. This as the insurance penetration picks up to remain one of the fastest growing in Africa.