SPEECH BY MS. ANNE WAIGURU, OGW, CABINET SECRETARY,

MINISTRY OF DEVOLUTION AND PLANNING, ON THE OCCASION

OF THE UNVEILLING OF THE WINNERS OF THE TOP 100 SURVEY

2013/14 AT THE CARNIVORE RESTAURANT, NAIROBI, ON 11TH

OCTOBER, 2013

Fellow Cabinet Secretary, Mr. Adan Mohammed,

Nation Media Group, CEO, Mr Linus Gitahi,

KPMG Kenya CEO, Josphat Mwaura

Corporate Leaders,

Invited Guests,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Let me begin by expressing my sincere appreciation for the

invitation to this important occasion, the gala dinner to unveil the

winners of the Top 100 2013/2014 Survey for mid-sized

companies. In the same vein, let me thank KPMG Kenya and the

Nation Media Group, for their foresight and initiative, in

introducing the Top 100 Survey and for organizing this annual

event now in its fifth year. No doubt through this Survey,

companies which once thought of themselves as tenderfoot have

moved on to greater achievement and recognition.

This progression from being young and being unknown to

blossoming into being mature and acknowledged, is one that we

can all identify with as a core human aspiration. It is for this

reason that you will permit me, as the Cabinet Secretary

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responsible for women and youth, to make some special pleading

for these two social categories of our population who, in the

nature of things, tend to both young and unknown.

When addressing issues of women and youth in this country the

tendency has been either to subsume these two categories into

the general population or to ignore their efforts to forge a

livelihood through enterprise activities. This has resulted in the

lack of an adequate understanding of the potential benefits of

women and youth entrepreneurship as a means of creating jobs,

improving livelihoods and lending dignity to the lives of what is

certainly the majority of our population.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

In an effort to overcome this lack of attention to women and

youth, the Government has initiated a two bold policy moves

aimed at integrating women and youth to the fabric of business

and economic life. First the Government has set aside KES 6

Billion for a revolving fund to lend to women and youth at not

more than 1% interest. This Fund, now well known as Uwezo, is

aimed at pioneering alternative models to community level

enterprise development.

There are two other existing funds one, targeted at women – the

Women Enterprise Fund, and the other supporting the youth – the

Youth Enterprise and Development Fund, both offering credit at

concessionary rates to women and youth.

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The second policy initiative is the creation of a 30% procurement

preference for business associations owned by women, youth and

persons with disability. This percentage of Government

procurement translates to at least KES 200B. This is easily more

than double the total turnover of the 100 companies that will be

honoured tonight. We have started a campaign to create

awareness regarding the opportunities available through this

initiative. Indeed, during this coming week, my Ministry has

organized an EXPO at the KICC Comesa Grounds on access to

government procurement which will be open to all members of

the public with the aim of laying bare the ‘mysteries’ of public

procurement.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

In addition, we have started an energetic campaign to register

youth and women business groups and associations so that we

can have a trust of information that can be used to advance the

enterprise cause of women and youth both inside and outside of

Government. We are optimistic that in the not so distant future,

some of those who will win Government tenders now will stand

here on their own right, to be recognized in The Top 100 gala.

In this respect therefore, the Top 100 project and the Government

are already in an accidental partnership. As a way of furthering

our mutually shared objectives I would be glad if KPMG Kenya and

the Nation Media Group considered introducing in the future, two

special categories to honour the fastest growing businesses ran

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by women and youth respectively. This would bring more

intentionally to the fore, the toiling efforts of these social

categories without in any way detracting from the achievements

of those honoured under existing categories. In any event, my

Ministry is open to dialogue that will in any measure fan the spark

of women and youth enterprise.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Let me join those present here tonight, in congratulating today’s

Top 100 winners and in wishing them well in the growth of their

businesses and other endeavorus that life provides. For those who

did not win tonight, take courage in the fact that you put yourself

forward for scrutiny and this in itself reveals your confidence and

belief in yourself. Moreover it is evidence to the fact that you are

not afraid. That is the spirit of risk takers, the spirit of enterprise.

You have come out of this exercise much stronger and hopefully,

much wiser.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

On a lighter note let me explore the subject of lists. When I

received the letter of invitation to this function, what struck me

most was the figure 100. Why 100? And not 50? Or 10? Or any

other number? Today we are celebrating the top100 medium

sized companies. Tomorrow it will be the turn of the top 20 most

successful companies. By the year-end it will be the 10 companies

that were best performers in the year. Each working day, we keep

an eye on the listed companies at the Nairobi Securities Exchange

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and especially comparing the NSE 20 list against NSE All Share

list. There is of course certain arbitrariness about numbers that

we choose to work with. But there is certainty about the fact that

we shall develop a list.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

This collection of lists is not limited to businesses alone. Across

our human experience both in space and in time, we are avid

collectors of lists. From the humble shopping list to the eternal

debate to nail the ‘greatest of all time’, it appears the human race

is condemned as a creator, a collector and an inheritor of lists.

In part lists help us organize our lives. In a world with a confusing

mass of information, a list acts as daily compass to help us

navigate through the chaos around us. The list helps to narrow

choices so that decisions can be easily made. The list can help to

mark out boundaries of what is desirable, or instructional. Without

the abstract concept of a list it would not be possible to have

codes and laws. Everything would lie strewn everywhere. The

most famous list of all – and one can have a list of most famous

lists – is of course the Ten Commandments, which we all know

even though we do not always obey.

It is difficult to imagine life as we live it without a list. Indeed

according to the Italian thinker, Umberto Eco, our universe being

a limitless expanse provides human beings with one challenge,

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the limitation caused by death. Therefore much as we like things

that are endless we must place this fondness alongside our mortal

limitations and the way we do this is by creating lists.

It follows therefore that the companies that tonight are honoured

in the Top 100, have not only excelled in what they do, but by

joining the list, they have become a particle in the human quest

to define limits in an infinite universe without any fixed

coordinates. So on behalf of mankind I thank you.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

In conclusion I wish to reiterate my Ministry’s willingness to

partner with the Top 100 to create two special categories that

recognize excellence in medium sized companies ran by women

and youth respectively, or those that model exemplary

achievement through taking advantage of the opportunities

presented by the 30% preferential procurement.

Thank you Ladies and Gentlemen!

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