Happy new year to all of you! It has been a busy last few weeks leaving me with little time to devote to my blog hence the reason that the blog has remained inactive for close to a month.
I am now firmly in Nyeri in the shadows of Mount Kenya that for the last two days has been visible every morning unlike previous visits to Nyeri where it has remained shyly cloaked in a cumulus of clouds. Perhaps the great mountain is welcoming me to this town and showing me its true beauty. But maybe I am running ahead of myself and some of you are lost so let me start from the beginning.
My employer has officially transferred me to Nyeri to start a new branch in the town and to also roll out a regional presence in the Central region. I reported to Nyeri last week, stayed in a hotel for a few days and then found myself a 2 bedroomed apartment in one of the better area codes of this town that is the seat of Nyeri County and importantly close to a golf course at Nyeri Club. It is less than a 5 minute drive to/from work.
My experiences so far have been humbling based on the fact that all my working life I have been based in Nairobi and now all the creature comforts that we all take for granted as being available only in the big city are also available here and to a greater or lesser extent at a more modest cost.
Parking fees is Kshs. 50.00 per day and I was unfortunate enough to have my car clamped last week and the fine was Kshs. 600.00 for that. The county government staff are quite efficient also as I found out during the clamping incident which was out of ignorance as I did not see the usual yellow jacketed attendant at the usual spot where I pay my daily parking ticket and had assumed that Saturday was a free day while they actually charge for parking until 4.00 pm!! Now I know better. Once clamped, they stick a notice on your car windscreen with a number to call and the unclamping team then comes within 10 minutes, you pay them the fine and they unclamp your car with the receipt that they have given you the one that you put on your dashboard. Monthly parking is charged at Kshs. 1,000.00
When I went to pay for a new water meter and connection, I expected much worse but I was pleasantly surprised to finish the whole process in less than 30 minutes and for my water to be connected within 24 hours of application in my case by the next business day Monday as I had only paid for the services on Friday. No follow up, no delays, no rudeness just pure efficiency. What a breath of fresh air when compared with other places I have applied for water! The electricity meter is a prepaid meter that you pay through MPesa so no horrible queuing there either.
Housing in Nyeri for middle class is also readily available and on my first foray with an estate agent I learnt that a two bedroomed house would be yours for a monthly rent from Kshs. 10,000.00 to Kshs. 15,000.00. What I got however is slightly more expensive and to put it into perspective would probably command a rent of between Kshs. 45,000.00 to Kshs. 80,000.00 per month (dependent on location) in Nairobi. It is in a block of 12 units with a common entrance, 24 hours guarding services, razor wire atop a stone wall surrounding the property, wi-fi enabled and with DSTV connection so the premium that I shall pay is well worth it. I am now working towards furnishing the apartment ready to recieve my first guests in due course.
People also tend to be friendlier here and my Nairobi bad manners will soon have to go assuming that I have any!! Also no traffic jams here though the town is a beehive of activity with many small and medium businesses operating throughout the day. Many of the big banks, insurance companies and service providers also have a presence in this town as well as a smattering of indigenous SACCO’s and businesses. The supermarkets (three in total) also stock most of the household and domestic items that you shall find in any of the giant chains of supermarkets in the country today and are always full of shoppers looking to buy anything from a fridge to a GOTV decoder.
For now I am on a mission to understand the business environment in the town so as to better market our product offering when we open for business in a few days’ time. It looks promising because in the short period that I have been in Nyeri many people have been walking in and enquiring about our products and services and promising to open new accounts when we are finally open for business.
I hope to be able to continue blogging in the New Year once things settle down.
