Nation Media Group CEO Linus Gitahi (centre), KIM Board of Fellows chairman Peter Muthoka (left) and KIM Governing Council chairman Alfred Lenana during the launch of the Company of the Year Awards at Nation Centre on Tuesday. Photo/Jennifer Muiruri
What you need to know:
The maiden Small Medium Company of the Year Award (SMOYA) is intended to highlight the growing co-dependence between large firms and mid-sized companies.
The Kenya Institute of Management (KIM) will for the first time fete small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) at the Company of the Year Awards (COYA) on November 8.
The maiden Small Medium Company of the Year Award (SMOYA) is intended to highlight the growing co-dependence between large firms and mid-sized companies.
KIM launched the COYA awards 14 years ago with the aim of benchmarking companies against international best practices including in marketing, financial management and corporate citizenship.
Twenty-five large companies are participating in this year’s evaluation while 15 SMEs — businesses with turnover of below Sh1 billion — are contesting.
“We are promoting collaborations between the large corporates and the SME sector as we encourage them to embrace business excellence,” said Peter Muthoka, KIM Board of Fellows chairman.
“We seek and continue to help organisations, both large and small, drive continuous learning and competiveness to sustain their competitive advantage.”
Management
Last year, auto-dealer Toyota Kenya was crowned company of the year while British American Investment (Britam) and UAP Insurance were first and second runners up respectively. PanAfrica Life Company bagged the CEO of the year award and an award on leadership and management.
The sponsors of this year’s event include Chandaria Foundation, ACCA Kenya, Keroche Breweries and Better Globe Forestry Ltd. Others are Jacaranda Hotels, Brussels Airline while Nation Media Group (NMG) is the media sponsor.
NMG chief executive Linus Gitahi said that the awards were being held at an opportune time given the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport fire and deadly Westgate Shopping Mall terrorist attack.
“The awards show the world that Kenya is open for business and that we are still moving towards the direction of Vision 2030 despite the recent mishaps,” said Mr Gitahi.
KIM uses the Organisational Performance Index to rate businesses, giving them a score on a scale of 1 to 10, a rating from which the winners are then picked.
The institution is set to receive the 2013 European Awards for Best Practices from the European Society for Quality Research, for use of the index as a way of improving quality of management.
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