Turnaround artist gets chamber back to life

Kiprono Kittony has a striking demeanour. A well-known  businessman, Kiprono wears many hats and is passionate about each one of them.

In the past one year, however, one of the hats has had most of his attention -- the dream of organising local traders and business people into a formidable force that can grow Kenya’s exports.

This is a challenge he has taken on as the chair of the Kenya National Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KNCCI). 

Appointed in March 2013, the law graduate from the University of Nairobi has sailed through the rough waters  -- first cleaning up the chamber’s damaged reputation after years of mismanagement and then building the capacity that the organisation needs to operate as a modern agent of trade.

“I want them (private sector) to have confidence in the chamber and to believe that this is the institution they belong to and with which they should work to rebuild the private sector,” he said in a recent interview.

Kiprono is a busy man who carries the interests and aspirations of Kenyan traders on his countless trips abroad. Almost every other week he is out of the country helping to identify opportunities for Kenyan businesses.

This week, for instance, he joined President Uhuru Kenyatta’s delegation to Qatar where investment in energy and tourism sector took centre stage and multi-billion- shilling deals were expected to be signed.

When we caught up with him in the old chambers offices at Ufanisi House, Haile Selassie Avenue, in Nairobi, Mr Kittony had just come from a mission to Berlin in Germany and he has Nigeria, Ghana, and Equatorial Guinea in his itinerary in the next couple of months.

KNCCI aims at pushing exports out of Kenya to ensure balance of trade. Kenya exports goods worth Sh517 billion against imports worth Sh1.3 trillion, according to the 2013 Economic Survey and it is the role of the chamber to help bridge that gap.

To ensure this happens, Kenya needs to open new export markets, expand its product range to include manufactured goods that are considered high value products.

It is also critical for Kenyan entrepreneurs and businesses to invest in emerging sectors such as oil, mining and in future put some money on natural gas and boost agricultural production.

In the short period he has been in office, Kiprono has recorded progress successfully leading businesses to strike export deals.

The chambers’ offices recently moved to Hetiran House, in Hurlingham, to pave way for refurbishment of Ufanisi House.

Previous wrangling between board members and management led to neglect of the building and KNCCI offices. Seats in his Ufanisi House office were old and discoloured; the wooden floor was cracked and had not been varnished for years.

Guests had to walk up the stairs, making their way through dark corners with peeling walls because the lifts did not work.

Modernisation

“Look at the environment we are working in, it is not conducive considering the people we host,” said Kiprono taking note of the wanting surroundings. When we visited his office, a delegation from Sri Lanka was waiting to see him.

To facilitate the modernisation, the chamber had to trace the title of its property, which had remained “lost” for 15 years.

The father of four has not shied away from fighting against the greedy and connected individuals who had swindled the organisation for years and filed court applications to keep him out of office.

“The memorandum and articles of association were so weak that people would go to court and obtain orders blocking us from taking office,” said Kiprono. This was one of the things he corrected upon taking office in March 2013.

He also took a donor grant of Sh50 million and used part of it to pay staff dues amounting to Sh30 million.

But KNCCI is still fighting in court to reclaim its other properties, including a hotel that is sitting on a five -acre piece of land along Nairobi’s Mombasa Road.

Battles

This is only one of the many battles he and his team have had to fight as they struggle to restore the chamber’s glory and to reposition it to deliver its mandate.

Kiprono’s association with KNCCI did not start with his ascension to the chair. His relationship with the agency began years ago when he was a young lad helping his father at their small shop in Kitale, Trans Nzoia County.

The local council often came to inspect his father’s trading licence but the chamber certificate suspended on one side of the wall inside the shop often saved the day. His father, a trader, was a member of KNCCI.

A seasoned trader in his own right and with the position and power to make a difference, Kiprono is eager to see to it that traders hold the chamber in high esteem.

The chamber was established in 1965, by founding President Jomo Kenyatta, after the collapse of the Asian, African and European chambers at independence.

Its role was champion the interests of the business community – a role that it effectively played in first two decades of independence before the era of mismanagement, politics and misappropriation of funds set in.

“Ultimately, the chamber got to a place where it wasn’t fulfilling its mandate,” said Kiprono.

The Kenya Private Sector Alliance (KEPSA) helped bring back the chamber giving it a countrywide footprint with a branch in each of the 47 counties.

Mama mboga

His key role has been to restore hope in the private sector that the chamber is back in business and capable of serving its mandate.

Since he took office, Kiprono has worked around the clock alongside his team to bring more members on board. Big corporations like Safaricom and Equity Bank have gladly responded to the call making it a true representative of the Kenyan business landscape.

“What I am proud of is we have been able to attract a high calibre of membership. Companies that previously turned their back on the chamber have become members. We have big corporations all the way to mama mboga. Which is the fundamental difference between the chamber and other business organisations,” he said.

KNCCI’s major source of income is the issuance of certificates of origin. The government had withheld the mandate from the chamber and kept it under the Kenya Bureau of Standards for years until it recently let go of the function.

“We are grateful to the government,” he said.

The chamber represents the entire spectrum of the private sector. It has opened chapters in 43 counties and hopes to complete the exercise in all the 47 counties in the near future.

Kiprono has led more than 30 missions abroad working closely with the Foreign Affairs ministry in economic diplomacy activities. To ensure efficiency the ministry of trade and KNCCI want to match businesses with the missions.

Slovakia, Austria, UK, Dubai, China Morocco and Pakistan are some of the countries they have been to. The chamber has equally received a large number of missions.

Kiprono’s other business engagements include chairing the Radio Africa Group’s board. The media house owns and operates Kiss TV, Kiss FM, Classic 105 Radio Stations and ‘The Star’ Newspaper.

It recently sold 49 per cent stake to Times Media Group of South Africa for Sh1.58 billion. Kiprono believes his career of 25 years in the private sector, education and experience have made his world.

Family time

“I have also been quite focused in my academic life. I have three university degrees so I think a combination of that and my energy and passion helps me excel,” he said.

Between travelling, the chambers and other business interests he has learnt to manage his time and priorities.

“I spend a lot of time with my family. I try as much as possible to minimise my evening meetings, though not very successfully at times. I am a very passionate farmer, so I take my family to the farm in Kitale and we try as much as possible to secure time on weekends,” said Kiprono.

“Sundays by the way I don’t participate in any activities that don’t involve the family.”

He owns a 300 acre farm in Kitale where he is a mixed farmer growing coffee and purple tea besides the zero grazing units.

To maintain his lean physique he goes to the gym two to three times a week, plays golf and runs. He ensures that when travelling he is booked in a hotel with a gym.