Nairobi Business Forum, Abojani to Host NCBA Group MD on September 8

By David Indeje / Published September 7, 2021 | 3:56 pm

KEY POINTS

The forum seeks to expand the Kenya business space and find innovative new ways to create jobs for the youth and the country in general.

Founded by Irene Gathiaka in 2017, Nairobi Business Forum is a business networking forum, where members invite a speaker who is established in their careers and sector, to address members on how to attain success in the Kenyan business space.

The group has about 2500 professionals as well as a sizable number of expatriates. Once again, the Nairobi Business Forum in partnership with Abojani Investments will be privileged to host Mr. John Gachora, the Group Managing Director of NCBA bank, as well as the Chair of the Kenya Bankers Association on 8^th of September 2021, from 7.00 PM to 9 PM.

Since the forum last hosted him, Mr. Gachora together with his team has managed to merge two very large banks into one giant bank, as well as been appointed the Chair of Kenya Bankers Association.

“We are therefore very eager to hear from Mr. Gachora, on his experiences, his vision for NCBA as well as for banking in Kenya and the region at large,” read a statement by the organizing body.

Some of the questions he will answer include

How long will it take for the business scene to get to pre-pandemic business levels? (factors influencing recovery)
what can we do to weather the period between now and recovery?
Opportunities that may arise as a result of the pandemic
Banking in Kenya – Five-year outlook
NCBA high-level road map
Why big names (companies) and banks have fallen in the last few years and whether their weaknesses are industry or company-specific. Were they not agile enough to evolve with changes in their respective business sector or is it simply a case of mismanagement? Etc. How does this affect foreign investment?
Risk-Based Lending – Is it suitable for the Kenyan market?
Macro – Kenya debt, shilling performance, and five-year outlook on Kenya.
Do your relatives ask you about money? Is money ever enough
What was your experience, working on the Euro Bond? Are you satisfied that Kenya and Kenyans benefited from it or was it a bad call altogether?
Why the NCBA’s persistently low ROE, despite the merger of the two banks which would seemingly have made the new outfit tech-dense and a top tier one bank.
What are the actual NCBA NPLs if you strip out Mshwari, all Mpesa projects, and inherited projects like KQ, etc.? How do you balance the business development side Vs the credit side who are very quick to call the auctioneers?
How do you envision NCBA’s alternative banking evolving, especially for the youth demographic? Will it be digital, digital + agents, etc.?
Is the reduction of brick and mortar outlets still a valid decision?
How is NCBA dealing with assets on sale by auctions, is this the most optimal option?
How is NCBA dealing with free float challenges and foreign buying?
Any ambition on regional expansion play?
Are there still one-off costs related to the merger of the two banks?
What does it take to be a great business leader?

By answering these questions, the forum seeks to meet the common goal of expanding the Kenya business space and innovating new ways to create jobs for the youth and the country in general.

Nairobi Business Forum holds monthly sessions and usually gets 200 to 500 attendees at any one session. Members then use the knowledge to advance their businesses and careers. They have also started to invite young university students in their mentorship program.

“We hope to scale such activities even further given the pool of talent within the group. In addition, we have been going a little further, by getting our members targeted contacts and business leads, which keeps the members coming back,” concluded the statement.

Click on this link to find the details of the event as well as how to log in.

About David Indeje

David Indeje is a writer and editor, with interests on how technology is changing journalism, government, Health, and Gender Development stories are his passion. Follow on Twitter @David_IndejeDavid can be reached on: (020) 528 0222 / Email: info@sokodirectory.com

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