Why Seven Twenty Holdings LTD Membership in KAM is a Game Changer
Last year, Seven Twenty Holdings Limited joined the Kenya Association of Manufacturers (KAM). Working with KAM as a business has been an excellent experience for Seven Twenty to help us grow and build Capacity. We are passionate about manufacturing at Seven Twenty, where we engineer and reverse engineer our products. Currently, we have two key Brands: Executive Curtain Rods and Set Paints.
KAM has existed for 64 years, and its core mandate is to unite industrialists and offer a familiar voice for businesses. Over the years, KAM has championed the interests of manufacturers at both the national and international levels. Currently, KAM has an ambitious goal of moving the manufacturing contribution to the GDP from 7.2% in 2022 to 20% by 2030. In simple terms, Grow the manufacturing area to 3 times in 7 years. They plan to achieve these by focusing on four core pillars that are:
- Global competitiveness
- Export-led manufacturing
- SME development
- Agriculture for industry
These four core pillars align strategically with Seven Twenty aspirations and vision, as highlighted below:
1. Global Competitiveness
KAM’s Goal is to enable the manufacturing members to achieve global competitiveness in standards, Quality, and pricing. Since we are in a global village, products that are produced locally have to compete globally to compete with the imports that come into our country.
At Seven Twenty, our vision is to be The leading Manufacturer in Africa with Global standards. We focus on the African market by providing local solutions and products that are globally competitive. We promise our clients to get quality products that can compete globally in terms of price and Quality.
2. Export-led Growth.
To achieve 3-fold growth in manufacturing, we have to look for markets beyond our borders. KAM is looking to leverage products where we have a comparative advantage to grow our exports. The export market will improve the country’s foreign currency reserves and our balance of payments (BOP). BOP is a statement that records all the monetary transactions made between residents of a country and the rest of the world during any given period.
Our Tagline at Seven Twenty is “Manufacturing for Africa.” The tagline is guided by our mission To provide locally manufactured products for the African market and beyond. Our products are geared to serve the local market and the African region. “We are Africans, and Africa is our business.”
3. SME development
The government is keen on SME development to uplift the incomes of “Hustlers” through the “bottom-up economic model.” SMEs at KAM constitute about 52% of the membership. In 2019, KAM established the Manufacturing SME Hub to capacitate SMEs. The critical focus areas of the hub include access finance, market linkages, and capacity building related to governance and compliance.
Seven Twenty-one years later, we have benefited and can attest to KAM’s role in Building our capacities. For example, on market linkages Platforms Such as the Changamka Festival have enabled us to have market linkages and partnerships with other players in the industry.
4. Agriculture for Industry
Agriculture is the backbone of our economy. You have heard this statement several times without a number. Why is it the backbone of the economy? To give a glimpse using the numbers, Agriculture contributes 22.4% (KES3.75T) to the country’s GDP and creates 40% of jobs. We import Food worth KES 200 billion annually. Therefore, we must have agriculture in the picture when discussing industrialization.
KAM is focusing on Value addition across the value chains. Examples of crucial sectors with quick wins include leather, Textiles, and food crops such as avocado and pyrethrum. To give an example using the Leather industry, Kenya has the 3rd largest livestock in Africa behind Ethiopia and Botswana. To attain value in the sector, we must ensure quality livestock and value the raw hides and skins by improving animal husbandry and reducing production costs. The industry can grow from the current 14 billion to KES 120 billion by 2030 from domestic and export markets.
Agro-processing is a prospect for Seven Twenty to venture into, and the Goal is to move into Manufacturing agricultural tools for farmers and other related tools within the value chain.
Conclusion.
There is no doubt that the four core pillars that KAM identified are Global competitiveness, Export-led Growth, SME development, and Agriculture for industry. If achieved, it will transform Kenya. Seven Twenty will be at the forefront and play a crucial role as a member of KAM in growing and expanding our footing to growth by providing locally manufactured products for the African market and beyond.
The writer, Ayusa Ondieki, is the Operations Manager of Seven Twenty Holdings Limited and can be reached at ayusa@seventwentyholdings.co.ke