Re: Bidco, the IFC & Kenyas bullish prospects Im fascinated by funding flows in part because theyre excellent trackers of power - political, economic and even religious power. Bidco was recently reported as being on the receiving end of some KShs 3.2 billion from the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the private sector lending arm of the World Bank. The Shah family firm which boasts annual revenues of over USD 500 million has an aggressive expansion plan, and, interestingly, has been pretty deliberate about how to realize it. Why the family opted not to dilute their ownership structure, unlike in the case of the Kenyatta familys Brookside deal with French multinational Danone, will, Im sure, be the subject of a second Harvard Business School Model study (Harvard did an earlier success model study of the firm, and CEO Vimal Shah has made several presentations there). The IFC loan is slated to be repaid in 7 years and will be principally directed at expanding capacity by building more factories in Kenya, as well as optimizing Bidcos vast supply chain. Kenyans can expect the companys already well established lead in the manufacture of edible fats & oils, detergents, cattle feed, amongst others, to be further compounded, yielding greater market share across all product categories. I myself am looking forward to seeing CEO Vimal Shah expand his companys footprint beyond the 13 African nations that Bidco currently exports to. Having said that, I think Bidcos success has to be appraised within a larger context. Theirs is really a tale of the bullish prospects of Kenyas economy which most experts believe started in 2002 under retired President Mwai Kibakis tutelage. But the benefits of reform havent exactly been confined to Kenya. Indeed most nations within the COMESA and SADC umbrellas have shown a welcome keenness to institute market-friendly reforms over the past decade or so. And as if to reap the benefits of this long slough, its small wonder that in June 2014 TIME magazine reported that 9 of the 20 best destination for global investment dollars were all in the African sub-Saharan region. What this means to me is that as its middle class ranks continue to swell, Kenya will benefit from even more such funding inflows. And it will be individuals and families who go out on a limp and do some taxing entrepreneurship who are likely to smell the roses. As we trackers say, all power to them. The son of Ndunge bids you adieu...for now.
Posted on: Sat, 26 Jul 2014 21:15:22 +0000