Making Thika The Place Of Choice For Business in Kenya

Thika is best known to the world as the setting of British writer Elspeth Huxley's famous childhood memoirs, The Flame Trees of Thika, an internationally acclaimed book about a pioneering English family’s efforts to establish a coffee farming business in colonial Kenya. But there is much more to Thika for both the serious businessman and the tourist as this report shows.

BY Emma Muli

IN its report, Doing Business in Kenya 2010, World Bank Group ranks Thika, among the three municipalities in Kenya where, overall, doing business is easiest. Based on a sample of 11 local authorities, the Bank “focused on regulations that affect four stages in the life of small or mid-sized domestic enterprises.” The stages are:

1. Starting a business
2. Dealing with construction permits
3. Registering property
4. Enforcing contracts

Below is a summary of key points of the report showing the position of Thika in each of the criteria used.

And the table below shows the position of Thika on the key indicators and the international average. Included are: the number of steps entrepreneurs can expect to go through to launch, the time it takes on average, and the cost and minimum capital required as a percentage of gross national income (GNI) per capita.

What the report doesn’t say, however, is that the Thika Municipal Council is working relentlessly to make Thika municipality the “industrial hub of Kenya.” Its road map to that destination is its elaborate Strategic Development Plan 2008 –2012 which lays out concrete objectives and goals to be achieved.

Historical Background

Lying 1420 meters above sea level and 40 kilometers north of Nairobi, Thika is one of the oldest municipalities in Kenya. It sprung towards the end of 19th century as a starting point for British settlers wanting to start coffee farming in the agriculturally rich surrounding area. By 1908, the Blue Post Hotel was already doing good business as a stopover for the British settlers. Asian traders and businessmen soon established retail businesses to cater for the needs of the fast growing European farming community.. And within a short time, industries started setting up, making Thika the hub of industrial development in colonial Kenya. By 1924, Thika had already expanded to bustling industrial and business town. That year, it was gazetted as a town. In 1963, it became a municipality with the first mayor being elected in 1968.

Today, Thika is the headquarters of a new district, Thika District and one of the municipalities included in the newly created Nairobi Metropolitan—two factors that will definitely accelerate its growth and attractiveness as an industrial and commercial centre.

Population and Skills:

Currently, the population of Thika municipality is estimated at 150,000 with a growth rate of 2.7 per cent. Its catchment area has a high population density of 358 persons per square kilometer. Despite a high unemployment rate estimated at 34 per cent, the population has a high skill level with one of the highest levels of school enrolment in the country averaging at over 70 per cent.

Economic Activities

Thika is a booming business and industrial centre with a flourishing farming sector. It is traditionally known as the heart of pineapple growing in Kenya, with not only the largest pineapple farms but also an established fruit canning industry of world wide fame. Canned fruits are sold all over the country and abroad.

A coffee milling industry has also recently been established to take advantage of the huge amount of coffee produced in the surrounding large and small scale coffee plantations. Coffee is exported mainly to USA and Europe. Other agriculture based industries include textiles, macadamia nuts, wheat flour manufacture and tannery. Horticulture and floriculture are recent but fast growing industries that are benefiting from the availability of land and fast, efficient transport system to Nairobi from where the products are exported to markets around the world.

There are also thriving construction stone mining, vehicle assembling and cigarette manufacturing industries. A growing demand for education and availability of land has made Thika a favorite for educational establishments. Currently a sizeable number of middle level training institutions and two large universities are located in the municipality.

Infrastructure

Lying on a classified international trunk road A2 which originates from Nairobi and extends to Moyale and Ethiopia, Thika is well connected with varied and efficient transport network. The Nairobi-Thika section of the road is currently being renovated to increase its capacity from the present four lane to eight lane road.

With over 30,000 vehicles passing over the road daily, the highway which was constructed to bitumen in the 1970s, was already overstretched. Its improvement will enhance mobility, alleviate congestion, reduce vehicle tear and wear, and cut down on fuel use and on time taken to travel to Nairobi. All these will translate into reduced expenses for businesses and industries based in Thika. Internally, Thika has an excellent all-weather and tarmac road network making movement within the town smooth and easy. In addition, Thika is connected to Nairobi by the Nairobi-Nanyuki railway line whose operation is expected to be enhanced under the Nairobi Metropolitan arrangement.

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