Sustainable Inclusive Business Kenya – The Knowledge Center held its 2nd Private Sector Conference on Sustainable Inclusive Business at the Catholic University of Eastern Africa on the 26th of April. The conference, attended by approximately 280 delegates provided a good opportunity through a series of workshops for businesses to share knowledge on what is needed to scale and grow.In attendance was the KEPSA CEO Carole Kariuki, The Dutch Ambassador to Kenya Amb. Frans Makken, The General Manager at Philips East Africa, Roelof Assies, among other business leaders and members of the academia. A conference report entailing the key insights gathered in the workshops and plenary sessions will be shared soon.Themed "Future-Proof Business: From Trends to Habits", the core agenda of this year's conference was to look at ways in which businesses can embrace sustainability and inclusiveness to be at the core of their business operations, while having a larger foresight of their business impact and lifespan.

Kenya’s Mining Sector is the second-highest growth sector in the country, registering a 14.7% growth in the year 2015 rising from KES21.1b in 2014 to KES24.2b in 2015 (economic Survey 2016). Despite this growth, there still remains significant scope to increase women’s economic engagement and investment in the sector.

The High Commission of Canada to Kenya and SIB Kenya (the Sustainable Inclusive Business – Knowledge Centre under KEPSA and supported by MVO Nederland and the Dutch Embassy) in partnership with the Ministry of Mining of the Republic of Kenya and AWEIK (Association for Women in Energy and Extractive in Kenya) are organizing a forum on CSR/ Sustainable Inclusive Business in the Extractives Industries in Kenya, to be held on 22 March 2017.

SIB Kenya held a meeting with David Mwagiru of the Canadian Embassy. The meeting, attended by Karin Boomsma and Willem Lageweg was for the purpose of creating any areas of collaboration. SIB together with the Canadian Embassy are crafting ways of designing a workshop on Mining and Extractives and highlighting the issues facing this sector. 

Globalization of the economy, the breaking down of national boundaries and the organization of nations into regional economic blocs have made the business environment complex and continues to threaten the survival of many Kenyan businesses, according to a Nairobi-based Knowledge Centre. Sustainable Inclusive Business (SIB) – a partnership between the Kenya Private Sector Alliance and MVO Nederland with the support of the Embassy of The Netherlands – says whereas these developments have come with incredible benefits, the immense challenges for big and small business cannot be understated. “Markets have expanded, information has moved from the physical library to the tip of our fingers and opportunities for affordable marketing have literally flooded the market,” said SIB’s Karin Boomsma.

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SIB Kenya is participating in the Second High Level Meeting on Global Partnership for Effective Development Cooperation happening at the Kenyatta International Convention Centre (KICC). We will have a side-event on 1st December at the Robin Room to discuss on How to Make Businesses Future-Proof. Together we will discuss the opportunities within various business areas with solid business examples, experts and hands on tips and tricks. At the end we will have a look at how responsible business practices (from within the company, throughout the value/supply chain till the end consumer) will impact People, Planet and Profit. We also have set up an exhibition booth which will provide visitors with more insights into what we do, and how together, we can make a positive difference :)