BY ANTONY MUTUNGA W.J. Cameron said, “Money never starts an idea; it is the idea that starts the money.” He wanted to show that the origins of wealth are found in ideas and innovation, which can be only brought about by people. The late journalist believed money was an end result, which could not be achieved easily without an intermediary, people, to assist. If you were a general manager of a growing organization, which would you focus more on? Is it the money or the people? This can be described as the ‘million dollar question’ because, if one is able to know…
Author: Editor
By Tom Odhiambo It is difficult to get a more appropriate title of a book than ‘Trade is War.’ This is why I find Yash Tandon’s book, Trade is war: The West’s War Against the World (2015) a most apt reading in the aftermath of the World Trade Organization’s meeting in Nairobi in December last year. I doubt that the African ministers of trade – or those from the developing world – who gathered here had read this little but compact book. Some will definitely have met the author. But I guess that others don’t know him or wouldn’t be…
BY JOLIE LANJI The Kenyan coast continues to globally receive praise for its white sandy beaches, friendly people, rich culture and beautiful weather. It is also the most affordable option compared to the Indian Ocean Islands of Seychelles and Mauritius. Diani, Vipingo, Nyali, Malindi, Watamu & Kilifi have been tourist hot spots for close to three decades but the deteriorating decline in the tourist income in Malindi & Watamu was one of the most alarming tourism trends of 2015. The history of the Portuguese, specifically Vasco Da Gama, in Malindi is rather intriguing, especially because today, the impact of the…
African telecoms enabler SEACOM has extended its support of Uganda’s technology incubation hubs by providing high-speed Internet connectivity to Hive Colab and Outbox. Both centres will receive 20mbps of bandwidth speed and they support developers and entrepreneurs who develop products for Uganda’s burgeoning technology industry. “This investment in bandwidth falls in line with SEACOM’s commitment to supporting technology innovation in Africa and to helping Uganda’s technology industry capitalise on the opportunities of broadband Internet,” said Joseph Muriithi, SEACOM’s Managing Director for Kenya and Regional Head of Sales for North East Africa. SEACOM has been supporting innovation hubs in Kenya since 2012…
In your organisation, which department within IT has the largest cohort of staff? Is it development, with its solution architects, programmers – nowadays called software developers, analysts, and project managers? Is it infrastructure, with its network engineers, hardware technicians and systems administrators? For most organisations, in fact, neither development nor infrastructure are their biggest IT staff components. Rather, it is a little-known department, sometimes labelled “Operations”, sometimes “Support”, but always with the same function: dealing with “user issues”. The journey of the average IT department is a well-known one: it began life as a quasi-department, usually within the finance group,…
BY LYNETTE HUNDERMARK Publishers who want to remain relevant in a fast-changing media landscape must adapt their content and platforms to the needs of an audience that wants personalised news available wherever they are and in real-time. In order to successfully compete for the attention and engagement of today’s busy and demanding audience, publishers must deliver high-quality, relevant content in real-time to their audiences in ways that fit their lifestyles. The rise of mobile media is quickly reshaping the publishing landscape in Africa and particularly in South Africa. This is evident from a recent study conducted by e-Marketer indicating that…
BY VICTOR ADAR It is barely a year since Creston Systems was started and now its target market sets it apart. Creston is an emerging enterprise that builds on alarm padlocks and hotel locks solutions, CCTV and access control systems as well as software solutions. The guy behind this young enterprise, Stanley Githinji, started toying with the idea in 2009. Mr Githinji, who cut his teeth as a security technologist, recalls how he always wanted to venture in business at an early age. He was charmed with computer science and everything to do with security. So he factored in legal…
BY LANJI OUKO The first lady of the United States gained the fashion community’s vote for her elegant and sophisticated style, with the New York Times referring to her as the “mistress of American Fashion”. Initially, Mrs. Michelle Obama’s wardrobe was said to be managed by a boutique owner in Chicago, Ikram Goldman, however as time went by Mrs Obama has been styled by the Crème de La crème in the fashion industry, including the great Oscar de la Renta, Carolina Herrera & Narciso Rodriguez among others. Seven years on and the fashion focus on her wardrobe has never diminished.…
By Dr Kellen Kiambati Frequency of organizational redesign reflects a high level of disappointment with the outcome. Less than a quarter of organizational-redesign efforts succeed. 44% run out of steam after getting under way, while a third fails to meet objectives or improve performance after implementation. The good news is that companies can do much better. Success doesn’t just mean avoiding the expense, wasted time, and morale-sapping skepticism that invariably accompany botched attempts. A well-executed redesign pays off quickly in the form of better-motivated employees, greater decisiveness, and a stronger bottom line. Organizational redesign involves the integration of structure, processes,…
BY NBM WRITER Something fresh is happening in the political sphere of neighbouring Tanzania. It is the new political broom left in the wake of the recent General Election in that country. It is President John Magufuli and his out-of-this-world, practical style of leadership that has reawakened the conscience of the masses not only on the African continent but even as far as Europe. The opposition in Australia for instance has chided their leadership, challenging it to borrow a leaf from Tanzania’s President. It rarely happens that Europe, even with the collapsed economy in Greece would strive to emulate leadership…