Category: Business Daily

Kamau founded and now runs a fast-growing agritech firm out in the leafy Nairobi suburb of Karen. When customer numbers surged last quarter, he divided up his staff and placed them into new departments.

He then pushed some decisions down the chain granting greater autonomy all while quietly hoping that things would work out with the new arrangement to handle the excess workloads.

Instead, the departments just did not get their information straight. The sales team kept promising tech features that the software engineers had never actually built into the system.

The operations department spent a lot of time responding to inquiries from the sales team that never materialised into actual customer acquisition.

As a result, Kamau’s senior team started meeting more often but kept spinning their proverbial wheels without actually solving much. Even though everyone was working hard the organisation just felt out of sync within itself.

There is a helpful research-based way to make sense of the above kind of institutional mess that Kamau faces. Social scientists John Joseph and Metin Sengul reviewed two decades of research on how companies set up their internal structures, standard operating processes, and technology systems and just recently published a highly prestigious study on what happens to organisations based on how they organise themselves in prior years.

The metanalysis finds that organisational design is not a one-time organisation chart that hangs on a wall and is only revisited and revised every few years. Instead it proves to be a living dynamic set of choices that must fit together inside a firm and also fit external stakeholders keeping in mind that external relationships shift over time.

When the needs of external stakeholders change and do not match the internal structure, then organisational performance drops. When leaders notice the misfit and actively realign and therefore correct the mismatch, then performance results recover and thrive.

The study breaks down four everyday lenses. First, configuration asks leaders whether the pieces inside the firm reinforce each other and match the broader external environment.

Sadly, leaders often only notice this when something does not match correctly. As an example, a growth push can weaken training, which then can weaken quality, which then can weaken the firm’s reputation. The correction cannot be found in one cookie cutter solution.

It is usually a series of small design moves that brings internal and external alignment back into sync. Sometimes it even means separating a work team to explore new creative ideas while another team tries to exploit and strengthen what already work well within the firm. Sometimes it also can mean cycling between decentralising to find options while also centralising to unify them together.

Second, the concept of control asks a leader how they guide people to act in the company’s best interests rather than merely their own.

Key performance targets, regular reviews, and organisational culture all do matter. But a narrow span of control with fewer direct reports reporting up to each manager does help managers to coach each of their direct reporting staff better.

Wider spans tend to work only when information is easy to access and flows cleanly throughout the organisation.

In such scenarios, many human resources teams focus on bonus incentives to bring about alignment. But high-powered bonuses can push effort toward short-term wins but can quietly choke and kill off long-term exploration if human resources is not careful.

If department work is truly interdependent and it is hard to see who did what and give credit to where credit is due, then simple financial extrinsic rewards will cause underperformance unless leaders adjust the task and the metrics both together.

Third, channelisation makes leaders asks where their and their department’s attention goes. Organisational structure shapes what people notice. Headquarters tends to watch the whole portfolio.

Departmental teams tend to watch their local specific wins and losses. Managers need simple communication routines that connect the diverging views so that attention converges on what truly matters.

Framing scenarios from the top down can prime staff members’ focus, but teams on the ground in departments can also pull attention upward when they feel safe and empowered to share their voices upwards all while bringing clear evidence.

Fourth, coordination forces leaders to ask how groups with interdependent tasks can move as one. If Kamau cannot act until Mutisya acts, who himself cannot act until Achieng acts, etc, it becomes difficult to proceed forward in unison.

So, when parts of the business depend on each other, leaders will need shared departmental language, step in to provide clear project interfaces, and keep some decisions that stay centralised so the whole broader team stays coherent.

This goes against conventional leadership wisdom. In other cases, managers can break work into modules. In so doing, they can let units experiment simultaneously but in parallel while keeping shock unexpected results from experiment from spilling over and harming another part of a team.

This type of modularity is complicated to implement but can be useful if and only if it can match the real interdependence within the team.

In closing, good design is not a big grand theory. Instead, it is practical attention to honest task versus structure fit.

The government projects Sh2.7billion savings in reforestation costs as it moves to open up public forests to private investors as part of a strategy to maximise returns from the fast-growing industry through concession deals.

Concession agreements give an individual or organisation the right to use a specific area in a national or county forest by means of a long-term contract for commercial forest management and use.

The Employment and Labour Relations Court has upheld the dismissal of Java House’s former Chief Operating Officer (COO) Leonard Mudachi on account of redundancy nearly 10 years ago, citing lack of evidence to support his claims that he signed the exit package under duress.

At the same time, the court directed that he be paid $208,293.75 (Sh26.9 million) being the value of his shares at Nairobi Java House Limited and Java House (Mauritius) Limited Long-Term Incentive Plan scheme.

Cars reached a level of general technical competence about 100 years ago. By then, they did what they were supposed to. Since then, their basic form and function have remained unchanged. They do the same job of transporting people and luggage in the same way with the same fundamental components and controls as the cars of today.

But everything, absolutely everything, has been constantly altered to improve performance, handling, reliability, comfort, safety, convenience, and to reduce the toxicity of their exhaust emissions. Add-on indulgences have gone from ‘non-existent’ . to ‘optional extras’ . to ‘built-in’ abundant and are now often computerised.

There have been too many step-changes and refinements in every respect and to every part to list them all here, and their ‘significance’ depends on what aspect you measure.

Focussing primarily on ‘the driving process and experience’, those that have had the most profound effect would surely include pneumatic tyres (and then radials), synchromesh (and then automatic) gears, power steering, servo-assisted disc brakes, handling integrity and power performance (including turbocharging).

Safety features, for example, have gone from nothing to lap straps to three-point with a diagonal, to inertia reel belts and head restraints, and then air bags. The whole car body and everything in it or on it now has safety built-in to crumple zones and safety cells, padding, softness, roundness or snap-offness.

It is the lack of those things that would most surprise any modern motorist put behind the wheel of a car that didn’t have them.

The interior would be Spartan, and everything in it would have to be manually operated. There would be a bench seat at the front, and the gear lever would be on the steering column. The steering itself would be surprisingly heavy at low speeds, and the brakes would require double the pressure with half the effect.

The revs range would be limited, and acceleration and top speed would be disappointing, control would be less precise, and handling would be less assured. Many of today’s mid-range family cars would win a race against James Bond’s original Aston Martin.

The gears might demand double-declutching, windows would have to be wound by hand, doors would be locked and unlocked one-at-a-time; no anti-glare rear-view mirror, pathetic headlights with dip-and-beam operated by a foot button behind the clutch pedal!

The trim and extras levels on today’s town runabouts would top even the executive limos of yesteryear. Push-button and power-assisted and computer-managed operation of just about everything is now the universal ‘standard’.

And the overall motoring scene would be very different.

The old days – less pure but simple

Few things in life evoke past eras quite so vividly and powerfully as the car. The imagery is so strong and clear that filmmakers can pinpoint their audience – in both time and place – with just a single shot of a street.

So, what would stand out the most – car wise – if we watched a film clip of Nairobi taken, say, 70 years ago? It would be a cine film, of course. Video bado.

Obviously, all the vehicles would be models from the 1950s, cruising around on almost empty streets between low-rise buildings (a queue of 10 cars was considered a traffic jam; the terms ‘parking space’ and ‘open road’ were things that actually existed, rather than just being hoped for). But beyond the most obvious long-distance observations.

There would be no SUVs, no hatchbacks, and almost no pick-ups or matatus. The only 4WD would be a Series II Land-Rover, with its headlights still mounted in the radiator grille (not out on the wings).

The biggest trucks would be what we now call 7-tonners. And in these and any other classes, there would not be a single vehicle from Japan (where today 80% of our road fill comes from).

Zoom in a little closer and there would be more to surprise today’s norms. All would be running on crossply tyres (though radials were about to arrive as the Michelin X, which everybody thought needed to be pumped up more).

They might have wing mirrors but no door mirrors; all the bumper bars would be chrome plated with over-riders (and badges). The number plates, fore and aft, were black with silver-grey lettering (mostly starting in the KC-KF range).

Many would have roof racks, sun visors and bonnet ornaments. The latest fad was a little Perspex gizmo mounted on the front of the bonnet, billed as an ‘insect deflector’.

There were no buttons – switches were either push-pull, screw-twist or up-and-down toggle flippers, and in whichever case were provided in a hotch-potch of locations.

Dials were few – speedo (in mph), an odometer in miles but rarely with an interim-distance ‘trip ‘that could be zeroed; temperature gauge (in Fahrenheit), fuel gauge (in guesswork; the VW Beetle didn’t even have one), few warning lights and, as an optional extra, a clock (in loud ticks). A silent clock was a distinguishing feature of Rolls-Royce.

Gear shift levers on the steering wheel were common – four-on-the-floor gear levers and bucket seats were for sports cars. There were no combination lights-and-wipers levers – those were push-pull buttons scattered randomly around the unpadded dashboard; a two-speed wiper was something to mention in adverts, intermittent options were unheard of, and the washer spray was a completely separate item activated by a one-squirt-per-push rubber bulb.

The steering column often (but not always) have a small second lever to make the ‘trafficators’ blink left or right, and there were still plenty of vehicles that did not have those – instead, a little illuminated paddle swung out of the door pillar, at the behest of a toggle switch near the ashtray.

The rear-view mirror had no anti-dazzle mechanism. Reversing lights were an optional extra, the taillights were a quarter of their modern size, and bulbs were physically quite large and generated more heat than illumination.

There were no fabric-covered seats. Those that weren’t leather were described as ‘genuine’ or ‘real’ plastic, much vaunted for their washability. Fully reclining seats were a novelty (and much more effective as a bed before head restraints were invented).

Under the bonnet, there was mostly. space. No turbos or intercoolers or computerised management systems or air conditioners or power this-and-that. Just a lump of iron called the engine, lightly dressed with the bare essentials for delivery of air, fuel and spark, a radiator, a single belt driving the fan blades, water pump and the dynamo/generator (no alternators yet), and a bakolite box called the battery.

Wiring was mostly insulated with fabric, not plastic. Expansion tanks on radiators were a not-yet, like brake servos and power steering. Steering wheels had a thinner ring but a much larger diameter, to help leverage because they were so heavy at low speeds.

The hydraulic shock absorber had arrived, and the McPherson strut was imminent. Any car that could do 100 miles per hour (160 kph) was exceptional, which is perhaps just as well considering how crude the tyres, handling, steering and brakes were. Windscreens were predominantly flat.

Some brand nostalgia

Though the ‘car’ fleet was only saloons and station wagons (no hatch-backs or notchbacks), it was already class-conscious. Here are some reminders, for those old enough to suffer from nostalgia, of what Kenya had:

The popular dinky cars included the rear-engined Renault Dauphine (the Quatre’L ‘Roho’ hadn’t been invented), the Renault Floride, the Fiat Topolino Cinquecento (500), the Citroen 2CV, the smaller Standard (its boot did not open; you loaded through the flip-down back seat), and the occasional three-wheeled and rear engined ‘Bubble Car’. Motorcycles (not infrequently with side-cars) were still a realistic option.

Town runabouts included the Simca Aronde, Ford Prefect/Anglia, VW Beetle, Opel Kadet, Peugeot 203, Morris Minor (the ‘Moggy Thou’ – also convertible, also a van!), DKW, Saab.

Medium family cars were typified by the Ford Consul, Peugeot 403, the Hillman Minx (Mk 8!) and Husky, the Saab 96, Singer Gazelle, and – with or without roof – the Triumph Herald, Mayflower, and MG-A.

Bigger family cars verging on the executive included Ford’s Zephyr, the Humber Hawk, Standard Vanguard, the Triumph Renown (for vicars), Citroen DS19, Opel Kapitan/Commodore and its Holden cousins, Morris Oxford, Austin Devon/Cambridge, Lancia Aurelia, MG Magnette, Vauxhall Velox, the Volvo PV, and the Peugeot 404 just coming over the horizon and due to become all-conquering until cars invented Japan (sic).

Sportier types used the Austin Healy or the frog-eyed Sprite.

There was already a Wabenzi class, and other posh sorts drove Jaguars, top-of-the range Rileys and Wolseleys, Humber ‘Super’ Snipes, Rover Cyclops and P4 90, and a collection of once-dominant but now remnant American V8s from Plymouth, Dodge and Co. There were more than a few Porsche 356s.

The only 4WDs were Land-Rovers, the Willy’s Jeep and the Austin Champ. That would change dramatically in next two decades, and again around the turn of the century with crossovers and SUVs.

Front-wheel drive was rare (the Citroen Avant); the transverse engine was about to arrive (the Mini, whose 10-inch wheels disqualified its chances of popularity in Kenya).

In core functional terms, the 1950s car was much the same thing as the 2020s car, but just about everything has ‘changed’ both inside and out – mostly upwards in safety, performance, driveability and convenience, and also in shape (aerodynamics and fashion), and use of a much wider range of materials (especially plastics).

Read: Are EVs 20 years too early.or too late?

The original ‘chassis@ concept has been supersedes by ‘monocoque’ construction. Electric and hybrid vehicles are, of course, a whole new dimension, and computerisation has led to so many non-essential extras that the latest addition to ‘driving experience’ is to not drive at all!

Some cars can drive themselves, and already many turn on their own wipers when it rains, turn on their lights at sunset, open and lock their own doors without any keys, beep if you are about to bump into something, apply their own brakes to avoid an accident.

One thing that has not improved is ease of maintenance. That has been made more difficult, with many items ‘sealed for life’.

Nowadays, you mostly don’t service or fix things. You replace them. And plug-in diagnostics to some extent replace mechanics.

And where there are items that would benefit from servicing or could be repaired, they are designed, attached and positioned to simplify manufacture and assembly, not to facilitate DIY access.

The engine compartments of older cars were half-empty – everything was clear to see, simple to recognise, and easy to reach. On modern cars, they are packed full, hidden by pretty covers, profoundly mysterious, and do not welcome intrusion or interference of any sort.

The Kenya Tea Development Agency (KTDA) has blamed a strong Kenyan shilling against the US dollar and poor tea quality from certain regions for lower tea bonus payments to farmers this year.

KTDA defended the payment, saying this year’s global trading conditions are beyond its control, but it has already adopted a plan to cushion farmers and stabilise their incomes.

Thousands of farmers serving 67 factories under KTDA factories were shocked to receive lower bonuses, with some reporting drops of more than Sh110 a kilo compared with last year’s earnings.

The agency, however, vowed to reverse the situation through a raft of strategies, including bigger trade in specialty tea. The regional auction in Mombasa traded its maiden batch of specialty orthodox tea on Wednesday last week in a strategy aimed at curbing the plummeting fortunes from dealing in traditional black tea.

During the sale, a kilo of orthodox tea fetched Sh622.93 ($4.82) compared to Sh270.11 ($2.09) for the traditional cutting- tear- and- curl (CTC) tea.

‘Looking forward, KTDA is taking steps to stabilise farmers’ income. We are expanding production of orthodox tea, which fetches higher prices in niche markets, to reduce reliance on CTC teas. We are working with the government to promote value addition, reduce packing costs, and open new markets, including China,’ read the statement.

KTDA is also investing in factory modernisation and energy solutions to cut costs and improve competitiveness.

In 2024, the Kenyan shilling traded at an average of Sh144 to the US dollar, while in 2025 the average was Sh129. This weaker exchange rate meant that even where international prices were stable, the amount realised in Kenyan shillings was significantly lower.

Average tea prices across regions reflect this challenge. In the East of Rift, Kiambu fetched Sh371 per kilo, a drop of Sh46 from last year, Murang’a earned Sh376, down by Sh42, Nyeri earned Sh388, down by Sh42, Kirinyaga earned Sh400, down by Sh38, Embu earned Sh404, down by Sh34, and Meru earned Sh381, down by Sh46.

In the West of Rift, Kericho earned Sh245, a drop of Sh101; Bomet earned Sh209, a drop of Sh85; Nyamira earned Sh266, a reduction of Sh106; Kisii got Sh246, a drop of Sh95, and Nandi /Vihiga earned Sh208, a drop of Sh66.

These are prices for made tea, and when converted to green leaf using the 4.4 ratio, they explain the reduced farmer payouts across the board.

In its statement dated September 30, 2025, KTDA said differences in the second payment between East and West of the Rift are due to quality factors, market dynamics, and costs, further reducing net earnings.

‘Independent producers and plantation companies in the West of Rift, outside KTDA, have reported similar difficulties, confirming that these disparities are market-driven and not unique to KTDA-managed factories. It is important that tea is not politicized,’ said KTDA.

From the gross revenues earned this year, KTDA has already factored in the monthly payments remitted to farmers and the operational costs covering processing, marketing, and logistics.

The final payment is therefore the balance after these obligations. While understandably disappointing to many, this year’s final is a direct reflection of global trading conditions beyond KTDA’s control.

The share of electricity imports has for the first time crossed the 10 percent mark as Kenya deepens its reliance on neighbouring countries to avoid power rationing and blackouts.

Data from the Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority (Epra) shows that electricity imports accounted for 10.6 percent or 1.53 billion kilowatt-hours (kWh) of the 14.38 billion units bought by Kenya Power in the year to June, up from 4.87 percent in June 2023 and a paltry one percent in 2021.

Credit rating agencies play a vital role in determining the cost of debt for many African countries who have been accessing international capital markets to fund their budgets.

The role played by these agencies has, however, been put under scrutiny by leaders including President William Ruto who has raised issues over potential bias against African issuers. This critique has seen African governments move to create their own rating outfit.

US President Donald Trump’s administration supports a one-year extension of the African Growth and Opportunity Act, the trade initiative with sub-Saharan Africa that expires on Tuesday, according to a White House official.

Since coming to office in January, the administration had not publicly stated a position on the act, known as Agoa, a law first passed in 2000 to provide duty-free access to the US market for thousands of products.

Despite broad bipartisan support for renewing Agoa, which supporters say helps diversify US supply chains and counter Chinese influence in Africa, the law’s prospects for extension before it lapses are deeply uncertain.

Its only realistic legislative path is to be attached to the stopgap funding bill Republicans are pushing to keep the US government open past Tuesday, although it could also be reinstated later.

African governments and investors have been lobbying in recent weeks for a one- or two-year extension after efforts to secure a longer-term renewal did not make it to a vote in Congress.

Agoa is credited with supporting hundreds of thousands of jobs in more than 30 eligible countries.

Its impact has been diluted by the bilateral tariffs Trump introduced in August, which exposed products once exported duty-free under Agoa to US import taxes of between 10 percent and 30 percent.

Property development firm, Eboss Investments Company, has injected Sh80 million to construct a new British-curriculum institution in Ruiru called Seven Oaks International as it seeks to ride on the middle class appetite for the international syllabus.

The developer, which is behind the 143 Brookview Membley project in Ruiru, received a Sh110 million loan from Co-operative Bank of Kenya with Sh80 million earmarked for the school, while Sh30 million will form a revolving fund to be used in developing residential units.

‘The school forms the anchor of a mixed-use gated community that integrates residential housing, commercial spaces, recreational amenities, and other social infrastructure,’ said Co-operative Bank in a statement. ‘The financing package combines a Sh80 million mortgage facility, dedicated to constructing the school, and a Sh30 million revolving term loan tailored to the project’s phased development model.”

Most middle class parents, who are the target market for the 143 Brookview Membley project that entails four bedroom houses selling at between Sh33 million and Sh35 million, have been shifting from the Competency Based Curriculum (CBC) and enrolling in schools offering international syllabus.

The shift is largely driven by uncertainty surrounding the CBC whose first batch of students is set to sit the Kenya Junior Secondary Education Assessment later this month.

Investors in middle and high-end private primary schools have moved to cash in on the demand, building extra classrooms while some have acquired franchises of international institutions.

It is not clear whether Seven Oaks International is related to a public school with a similar name in England.

Those along Thika Road have had few options of such international schools with Seven Oaks moving to plug into this gap.

Eboss Investments injected Sh120 million in 2020 for infrastructure development on a 20 acre gated community and has since completed three phases of the project riding on family resources and buyers’ deposits.

‘Our financing approach follows the project’s natural growth. Once Eboss proved their ability to deliver in earlier phases, we structured support for the school phase through a mortgage facility,’ said head of mortgage finance at Co-operative Bank of Kenya, Vincent Kihara.

When complete, the 143 Brookview Membley project will feature 100 housing units, an education centre, a commercial hub and play area creating a modern, self-contained community in one of Ruiru’s fastest-growing neighbourhoods.

The Seven Oaks School will serve as the educational anchor, offering families convenience and peace of mind while enhancing the value proposition of the entire development.

A senior manager once told how a weekly meeting had become a dreaded ritual. The team arrived, gave quick updates, and then fell into silence. Questions from the manager were met with one-word answers: ‘Yes.’ ‘No.’ ‘Not sure.’ When asked for ideas, the team looked back blankly, as though saying, ‘You tell us.’

The meetings were frustrating, draining, and convinced her that the team lacked initiative, competencies, or intent to sabotage. What was happening, however, was disengagement.

Another employee explained how weekly team meetings had become dreaded meetings, as the manager held monologues pinpointing shortfalls, dispensing solutions, new targets, and veiled threats, without seeking ideas from the team. He had become an advice monster. In some organisations, meetings that should inspire collaboration and creativity end up as routine sessions where employees only speak when compelled.

This creates an ‘illusion of productivity,’ where employees spend enormous time in meetings, but little meaningful discussion or decision-making takes place. The silence is often a symptom of deeper issues within the organisation’s culture and leadership.

Employees choose silence in meetings for several reasons. Some fear reprisal, believing that sharing honest opinions may be met with criticism or career-limiting consequences.

Others have learned, through experience, that their contributions are routinely dismissed or ignored. Junior staff may feel it is inappropriate to challenge or question their superiors in a meeting.

In some cases, employees remain quiet because they see no clear purpose in the meeting itself. When agendas are vague or discussions are dominated by the manager, participants retreat into passivity.

The impact on the manager is equally significant. Silence can be deeply unsettling for leaders who interpret it as laziness or incompetence.

Left unchecked, it develops into frustration and even resentment, creating a vicious cycle where the manager becomes more controlling, and the employees become even quieter. The result is toxic meetings that leave everyone demoralised and the organisation deprived of ideas.

Managers can use proven strategies to improve the quality of meetings, like creating psychological safety, which is a belief that one can speak up without the risk of punishment, humiliation, or harsh judgment.

When managers foster psychological safety, employees are more willing to share ideas, raise concerns, and take creative risks.

Some practical approaches to improving meetings, like setting a clear agenda and communicating expectations beforehand, help employees prepare and feel confident about contributing.

Instead of asking closed questions that elicit ‘yes’ or ‘no’ responses, managers should use open-ended prompts such as ‘What challenges do you see in this proposal?’ or ‘How else might we approach this problem?’ These types of questions invite further discussion and demonstrate that diverse perspectives are valued.

Another useful strategy is rotating the responsibility of leading or presenting parts of the meeting. When employees have a role beyond passive attendance, they feel a greater sense of ownership, which improves participation and engagement, and a conviction that their input genuinely matters to the outcome of a discussion.

Importantly, managers must also demonstrate that ideas raised in meetings are acknowledged and acted upon. Nothing discourages employees more than seeing their suggestions vanish into a void.

Time management also plays a role. Prolonged, meandering meetings sap energy and discourage contributions. I once worked in a company where management meetings often commenced at 4pm and routinely ended past 9pm. I later learned the same issues were rolled over with no substantive closure. A former boss of mine told me that, if a meeting lasts more than three hours, it should be a workshop. Productive meetings are structured, purposeful, and respectful of participants’ time.

When meetings are concise and outcome-driven, employees are more likely to engage actively rather than watch the clock.

Admitting uncertainty, asking for feedback on their own decisions, and thanking employees for their contributions all help the manager dismantle hierarchical barriers.

When leaders set the tone by showing they are willing to listen and learn, employees respond with greater honesty and engagement.

The payoff for creating such an environment is great. Meetings shift from being dreaded obligations to forums where problems are discussed and solved, innovations are inspired, and employees feel part of something larger than themselves. Leaders no longer feel isolated in decision-making, and teams gain confidence in shaping the organisation’s direction.

As a manager, the next time you find yourself in a silent meeting, resist the urge to blame your employees. Instead, reflect on the culture and environment you have created.

Are people afraid of speaking up? Do they feel their views matter? Is the meeting structured to encourage dialogue? Have you become an advice monster? Do you provide leadership or dominate the meetings? What is your level of self-awareness and ability to control your emotions?

These are the questions every manager must ask, because when employees speak in meetings, they contribute ideas to help organisations thrive. And when managers learn to listen, meetings become not just a routine, but a powerful way of creating a culture where employees feel safe to give ideas.