Flora Mutahi is the new chairperson for Kenya Association of Manufacturers board, joining a list of the elite club whereby she is taking over from the chief executive of cement maker Athi River Mining, Pradeep Paunrama and will serve for a period of two years.
Ms Mutahi, the first ever lady chair person since the association was founded in 1959, has the difficult task of expanding the markets through intra African trade based on three tenets; engage, entrench and expand. As the founder and CEO of Melvin Marsh International, the company behind the popular brand Melvin’s tea, salt, and rice, she is an accomplished entrepreneur. The entrepreneurial bug bit her in the 1990s and she has never shied away from expanding her territory.
She is looking forward to “expand businesses by creating linkages” as she works through the association to entrench a condusive environment, and good governance while promoting stability in order to drive down the cost of doing business.
With an MBA from the University of Cape Town, BSc Finance and accounts from the UK, her calibre and experience comes at a time when manufacturing industries in not only Kenya but across the world needs talented individuals to serve on boards.
She is joining the list of the elite club thanks to her proven ability to innovate, conceptualise and implement products and business solutions as we have seen with her brand – Melvin’s. Ms Mutahi is tough enough to push KAM to the next level going by the fact that she has achieved much not only on the entrepreneurial front but also personal goals. Whether her leadership, which centres on engagement with stakeholders like the government with an aim of creating more opportunities while lobbying for stronger policies, is good, remains to be seen.
