Techprenuers shine at Kenya-Barbados investment forum
Jeffrey Mote
TRADE: The Kenya-Barbados business forum held early this month unveiled huge bilateral and cultural possibilities between the two nations which helped deepen a growing appetite for business from Kenyan entrepreneurs.
During the forum in Barbados, the need to leverage financial technologies was a recurrent theme as several Kenyan enterprises made their pitches at the Caribbean nation.
This as Kenyans were keen to strike deals in the country with a population of about 300,000 and a per capita income of $13,000 (Sh1.4 million) according to the World Bank.
Captains of industry
Kenya’s delegation was led by captains of industry like Dr James Mwangi of Equity Bank and Jaswinder Bedi of Bedi Investments Limited, but it is the young crop of founders of start-ups like Jihan Abbas of Lami Technologies and Cynthia Wandia of Kwara Limited captured imaginations with their innovative products.
Prime Minister Mia Mottley feted Wandia, pictured, who is co-founder Kwara Limited in regard to the role that her platform is playing in enhancing financial inclusion. She said Barbados is very keen on achieving a similar fete.
Wandia said the time is ripe to digitise the credit union space in the country. “Credit unions in Barbados are incredibly well entrenched they have over 100 per cent membership which means everyone is a member of a credit union and that already yields a huge opportunity”
Jihan Abbas, founder of Lami Technologies a company which seeks to tap the insurance industry via digital technologies said: “The problem of low insurance penetration prevalent in Kenya also exists here (Barbados), people are not buying insurance products as they are not easy to use and we hope to bring insurance products that fit into the way of life of the people of Barbados.”
Barbados has over 80 per cent internet penetration and the Barbadian government is keen on furthering the ease of doing business in the country.
This made many Kenyan tech-preneurs keen on setting up shop in the Caribbean nation.
Speaking at the forum Tony Githinji MD of Semiconductor Technologies Limited said the contrast between the two countries presented huge business possibilities.
“Kenya’s GDP is ten times that of Barbados while Barbados boasts over 5 times per capita.
On the other hand, Kenya is way ahead in hospitality skills and technical capacity, and will be a huge strategic partner to uplift its HR and technical capacity.”
The Kenya National Chamber of Commerce and Industry also signed an MOU with the its Barbadian counterpart so as to facilitate networking, information exchange and trade partnerships between Kenya and the Carricom region.
