Transport

Logistics firm Habo seeks to woo KICC expo clients with new centre

expo

A participant at an Homes Expo held at KICC: Habo is looking to take a share of KICC’s expo earnings. FILE PHOTO | JENNIFER MUIRURI

Mombasa-based logistics firm, Habo Group, has a peculiar expansion plan. It has partnered with Global Trade and Exhibition Centre (GTEC) to pull in local and international business looking to display products in Nairobi.

But as a starting point, the clearing and forwarding firm is moving its headquarters to Pili Plaza on Mombasa Road where it has been expanding and remodelling buildings for the purpose.

By setting base outside the Central Business District (CBD), it hopes to woo clients of established Kenyatta International Convention Centre (KICC) who may be seeking to avoid the often congested city centre.

Habo Group business development director, Ben Awiti said the firm plans to set up conference facilities and display sections on three out of the four floors in the completed building.

“What we are offering is ample space for displaying products outside the Central Business District, proximity to the airport and just next to where Hilton Hotel will set up,” he said.

Mr Awiti said that their package will be differentiated in terms of the flexibility it is offering and help clients avoid the hassle of getting into the city.

“If you have noticed, industries prefer being on these sides of the city so with amenities like a restaurant we are best placed to offer local and international traders a platform away from the CBD where they can come in from the airport conduct business and leave without having to go through traffic,” he said.

The firm targets an average Sh1 million per week on consistent occupancy and is open to biding for space for any businesses.

Mr Awiti, however, says that as a logistics company they will strategically tap into their clientele to tailor their product so that they offer the display service over and above the normal package.

“What we have seen is there is a gap in the market, we want to do it like Dubai where you have exhibition centres to display products for clients,” he said.

He said that the business will also offer a platform for their main line of business which involves dealing with import and export traders by linking them up at the facility to meet up and close deals.

The KICC has popularised conference tourism by aggressively marketing Meetings, incentives, conferences, and exhibitions (Mice) as a new form of tourism.

The strategy helped Kenya’s ailing tourism sector stay afloat despite a year that was dominated by low tourist numbers due to security concerns which prompted Western governments to issue travel warnings for the better part of the year.

Kenya hosted more local conferences, going up to 3,199 in 2015 from 3,077 a year earlier including the 10th Ministerial Conference of the World Trade Organisation, and the Global Entrepreneurship Summit attended by US President Barack Obama.

According to the Economic Survey released by the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS), the country received 1.18 million tourists in 2015, 12.6 per cent lower than the figures in 2014.

This translated into lower revenues as Kenya collected Sh84.6 billion in 2015 compared to Sh87.1 billion the previous year.

According to the Survey, the number of visitors spending nights in hotels went down by 6.4 per cent from 6.28 million in 2014 to 5.87 million.