Shhh! Economy is already reopened, but don’t go tell it on the mountain

In business, as in careers and life generally, there is always a secret to unlocking value, success, growth and wealth. In the times of Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves, that secret was encrypted in two magic words: “Open, Sesame!” Today, in Kenya, a country of 47 million, the question on almost every lip as we inch closer to June 6 has been: “Will he or will he not open?”

At the beginning of the movement restrictions meant to slow down the spread of coronavirus, Kenyans welcomed staying at and working from home. It had its high points. For instance, senior managers could be called Baba Boi during working hours. It was novel. We got to learn about Zoom and the more we used it, the richer Eric Yuan, the founder and CEO of the platform, became.