agro-processing products, textiles, leather,
construction materials and machinery. It
is largely dominated by Micro and Small
Enterprises (MSE) that are characterized
by low skilled jobs.
BIG FOUR AGENDA
Big Four Agenda Outlook
And Opportunities For
Marketers
By Geoffrey Sirumba
T
he relationship between the
government, its people, and
business
fraternity
hasn’t
been exactly great over the years. For
starters, the government isn’t keeping its
promises and those kept are not delivered
effectively or efficiently. The strained
relations, depending on one’s perspective,
has been occasioned by the failure by the
government to nurture and stabilize a
conducive business environment.
Enterprises more so the SMEs complain
of harassment by regulatory agencies
and sustained chokehold by a hostile tax
regime. While some businesses may be
at fault in terms of business strategy, it is
undeniably the government’s prerogative
to establish a smooth operating
environment in the country.
However, in the realization of virtually
intangible growth impact for the past six
years, the government is now revisiting
its delivery of development initiative
through the now popular buzzword; Big
Four Agenda. The phrase is today part and
parcel of government lexicography and
buzzed through all its orifices to whom
may bother to listen.
Given the heightened publicity over
the program, one can assume that it’s
understood by all and sundry. Conversely,
it’s not obvious as it seems especially at
the grassroots level in far-flung rural areas
and a quick street survey would confirm
this supposition. So, what is it?
Understanding the Big Four
Agenda
The Big Four Agenda is a rapid national
transformational development initiative
that prioritizes focus on manufacturing,
food security, universal health coverage,
and housing to be implemented over the
next five years. It was launched in 2017
immediately after the inauguration of
The Big Four Agenda is indeed a good plan
that would provide a lot of opportunities
not only for marketers but for other profes-
sionals. If successfully implemented within
set time frames, it will be the biggest mile-
stone in the country since independence.
The government must encourage public-pri-
vate partnerships where the private sector
takes the lead.
32 MAL29/19 ISSUE
President Kenyatta for his second and
final term.
Many have touted it as the president's
legacy for the people of Kenya. However,
when one goes beyond the chatter, its
realization by the government that these
four items are the severe pain points for
most Kenyans and rightly so. Still, some
of the big four related projects are not new
and will require critical focus as they were
already experiencing implementation
challenges.
The magnitude of the big four plan’s
impact on economic growth and social
development will depend on how
effectively and efficiently the projects
are implemented. Additionally, success
will rely on a successful partnership
between the National government, county
governments and the private sector. So
what are the treasures lying within the
much publicized big four agenda?
Opportunities for Marketers
Pillar I: Manufacturing
Manufacturing is the first pillar of the
big four agenda. The sector is crucial
for the achievement of Vision 2030
and is arguably the most important for
marketers because of its strong forward
and backward linkages with other sectors
in the economy and thus creating a myriad
of opportunities for businesses.
According to the Kenya Association
of Manufacturers (KAM), the Kenyan
manufacturing sector mainly produces
The sector's contribution to GDP over
the last five years has been on a downward
trend. In 2013, the sector contributed 10.7
per cent of GDP but this has declined
progressively to 8.4 per cent as of 2017.
This sector has mainly been affected by
the proliferation of cheap substitutes
from China which has brought about
illicit trade. Another hurdle is market
access to manufactured goods and also
the unpredictable nature of the business
environment.
Lack of competitiveness in the
manufacturing
industry
locally
is
attributed to cost of energy, delay in
payments, multiple fees and charges,
logistics and transport, and poor SME
access to credit. Indeed, the government
needs to improve market access of
manufactured products by improving
access to the local market, global market
and regional market.
The opportunities available in the
manufacturing sector will involve
sustaining the existing manufacturing
business and encouraging the organic
growth of cottage local industries, value
addition, and scaling mechanism of such
to encourage growth and consistent
production. The manufacturing sectors
with the greatest potential include textile,
leather, and the automotive industry.
Another way of encouraging the growth
of the manufacturing sector will be by
guaranteed access to government projects
by local manufacturers.
Pillar 2: Food Security
The importance of the agricultural sector
to the economy cannot be overlooked.
Food production in the country has been
declining in the last five years. A sneak
preview of Kenya’s food balance sheet
shows that Kenya imports most of the
basic food commodities including Wheat,
Maize, Rice, Beans, Potatoes, Sugar and
Milk.
Opportunities for marketers in this pillar
lie in the provision of storage facilities,
supply of farm inputs, distribution of
farm produce, and agribusiness marketing
consultancy. Through incentives such
as tax rebates, the government must
It is worth noting that
we have witnessed so
many hyped develop-
ment drives that died
soon after they were
launched. Grand de-
velopment plans like
Vision 2030 and Kon-
za Technopolis are
some of the puffed
up ideas that have
little to show despite
being launched sev-
eral years ago. All we
can do is to remain
hopeful and that Big
Four Agenda won’t
be another popular
fad in Kenya’s devel-
opment politics.
encourage the private sector to develop
commodity exchange to help with the
logistics of food to reach those who need
it throughout the country.
Pillar 3: Universal Health Coverage
For a nation to be prosperous, its people
must be in good health and productive.
However, of late healthcare costs have
been skyrocketing with out of the pocket
expenses pushing many to abject poverty.
The Universal Health Coverage, the
third pillar, ensures that all people and
communities can use the promotive,
preventive, curative, rehabilitative and
palliative health services they need, of
sufficient quality to be effective, while
also ensuring that the use of these services
does not expose the user to the financial
burden.
While health is largely a social service,
marketers can partner with non-
governmental organizations as well
as other actors involved in healthcare
promotion/marketing.
Pillar 4: Housing
Kenya is facing a shortage of affordable
housing which directly and indirectly
contributes to the development of slums
and poorly serviced informal settlements
near the urban areas. This has contributed
to ill health especially among the poor
and also contributes to insecurity in
the country. This pillar addresses the
increasing housing problem in major
urban centers across the country.
The entire building construction value
chain need to position themselves for this
direct boom in business from building
materials manufacturers, distributors, and
real estate sales and marketing agencies
that do branding as well as the promotion
of the housing schemes.
The secondary beneficiaries such as banks
need to come up with palatable mortgage
solutions for the various segments of
clients for these houses. Landowners near
these sites also need to position themselves
with amenities for the upcoming new
communities who will need retail stores,
schools, and health centers among others.
An Opportunity or a Fad?
The Big Four Agenda is indeed a good plan
that would provide a lot of opportunities
not only for marketers but for other
professionals. If successfully implemented
within set time frames, it will be the
biggest milestone in the country since
independence. The government must
encourage public-private partnerships
where the private sector takes the lead.
Out of the big four agenda, the biggest
opportunities perhaps lies in the first
pillar, Manufacturing. However, it is
worth noting that we have witnessed so
many hyped development drives that died
soon after they were launched. Grand
development plans like Vision 2030 and
Konza Technopolis are some of the puffed
up ideas that have little to show despite
being launched several years ago. All we
can do is to remain hopeful and that Big
Four Agenda won’t be another popular fad
in Kenya’s development politics.
Geoffrey Sirumba is a Brand and
Marketing Practitioner, currently
working as the Head Marketing
Strategy and Research at MAPRO
and Marketing Consultant at EKAR
Communications. You can reach him
via email at: [email protected]
or @ geoffsirumba on Twitter.