Nation Media Group CEO Linus Gitahi (left) with Strathmore Business School’s Dr Edward Mungai during the signing ceremony of the 2014 Top 100 mid-sized companies survey by sponsors at Nation Centre on Thursday. Photo/Diana Ngila
What you need to know:
Survey, which ranks the fastest-growing mid-sized companies in Kenya, aims to double the number of entries to 500 this year.
The two NSE-listed firms - DTB and Safaricom - raised Sh18 million in their debut sponsorship.
Other sponsors include Sage Pastel (Sh6 million) and Nairobi Securities Exchange and UAP Insurance with Sh3 million each.
Safaricom and DTB Group have joined the growing list of sponsors for Nation Media Group’s annual Top 100 survey, pushing up this year’s contributions almost two-fold compared to last year.
The survey ranks the fastest-growing mid-sized companies in Kenya. The two NSE-listed firms raised Sh18 million in their debut sponsorship.
A total of Sh30 million, the highest in the last seven years, has been raised by five sponsors so far compared to Sh16 million last year.
They include DTB (the highest contributor with Sh10 million), Safaricom (Sh8 million), Sage Pastel (Sh6 million) and Nairobi Securities Exchange and UAP Insurance with Sh3 million each.
“SMEs have a huge potential in the economy of East Africa. We seek to support economic development by supporting this market segment,” DTB chief executive Nasim Devji said during Thursday’s signing ceremony.
She acknowledged that small businesses have over the years been perceived as carrying high loan default risk, saying participation in such surveys would help them earn good credit ratings.
Visible
Established in 2008, the Top 100 survey aims to double the number of entries to 500 this year targeting firms in Nairobi, Kisumu, Nakuru and for the first time Mombasa.
It identifies and rewards the fastest-growing small and medium firms in Kenya and is a product of audit firm KPMG and NMG’s publication the Business Daily.
To qualify, participants must have been in business for a period of three years with an annual turnover of between Sh70 million to Sh1 billion. Financial institutions are not eligible.
Additionally, the firms must not be listed at the bourse. The recognised firms stand to benefit from accreditation though certification, making their brands more visible.
They also benefit through leadership skills and training courtesy of training sponsor Strathmore Business School.
The gala ceremony is slated for October 10. The survey separately covers firms from Uganda, Tanzania and Rwanda.
The broadening of the number of participants, Robert Onyango, director mid-markets at KPMG said, would help diversify scope and generate wide sectoral reports.
“We cannot talk about achieving middle income status by 2030 without recognising the broad-based SME sector,” said Sylvia Mulinge, the general-manager Safaricom Enterprise.
NMG chief executive Linus Gitahi said the survey has provided small and medium enterprises with a platform to benchmark their practices with market leaders.
“This is so far the best award and learning initiative for medium-sized enterprises in East Africa,” he said.
Peter Mwangi, NSE chief executive, expressed hope that more medium-sized firms would list at the bourse under the growth enterprise market segment (Gems).
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