Moving With Times

Kenyan enterprises explore new business opportunities to mitigate the impact of the pandemic

- Geoffrey Kamadi

The COVID-19 global pandemic continues to wreak havoc around the world in terms of human health, lives and livelihoods.

Kenya is no exception. The country is estimated to have already lost 30,000 formal jobs, with another 140,000 becoming susceptible to the pandemic, according to Sachen Gudka, Chairman of the Kenya Association of Manufacturers. The country’s manufacturing sector comprises about 330,000 direct and 3 million indirect jobs. In the informal manufacturing sector, about 1.8 million people are facing joblessness due to a sluggish economy.

However, that is not to say that parts of the economy are not thriving. Indeed, a number of businesses have seen increased activity, driven by the pandemic itself.

Positive signs

From individuals hawking face masks and sanitizers in the streets to companies increasing working hours, some sectors of the Kenyan economy are clearly doing well. It is not all doom and gloom after all.

For example, the delivery company Glovo reported a 30-percent increase in business as of April. The same goes for Uber Eats, a company that delivers meals to clients.

And Safaricom, the biggest mobile service provider in East Africa, registered a 70-percent jump in data usage over the same period. This follows the dusk-to-dawn stay-at-home directive issued by the Kenyan Government, meant to curb the spread of COVID-19 pandemic.

Others have been compelled to adapt and channel resources into activities they are not used to being involved in, just so they can meet the contingencies that the current situation demands. For example, the Kikotec textile company that manufactures gardening clothes, is now making N95 face masks.