The covid-19 pandemic has had a significant effect in the economy since the first case was reported in the country back in March 2020.

The restrictions and guidelines that followed in a bid to manage the spread of the disease led to closure of business, schools and other major sectors that drove the economy of the country.

Small Micro-Enterprises were affected too, people lost jobs, others were forced to take unpaid leaves with others forced to retire early.

For 24-year-old Purity Akinyi who used to sell ladies shoes at the Kongowea market, a directive issued by the County Emergency Response Team on Covid-19 to close the market for 30 days last year had a huge impact to her business.

The ban on night travel and the partial lockdown of some counties especially Nairobi hit her business hard.

“I get my items from Nairobi especially Gikomba and Eastligh, when the covid-19 restrictions were put in place especially the night travel ban and locking Nairobi, my business suffered a lot,” said Akinyi.

Akinyi said that the number of her clients drastically went down forcing her to close shop as people feared to go out to gatherings.

“I had to close my stall because I was paying rent yet it’s only a few people who were coming for fear of contracting the virus, furthermore the closure of the market threw the business out of balance for a while,” said Akinyi.

It is amidst the pandemic that she realized that people were spending most of their time online, that’s when the idea to use social media platforms to advertise and sell her products developed.

Ever since, she has created her online brand ‘Sucre collections’ diversifying the products she sells from shoes, earrings and perfumes.

She remains optimistic that with the lifting of the curfew and easing of restrictions, the future looks bright because more opportunities await her.

“I have been using social media to sell my products, I receive orders and deliver to all my clients, it has opened up the market for me because I am able to sell to people outside Mombasa,” said Akinyi.

She recently began offering mobile nail polish services, with a phone call she says, she goes to where her clients are and do their nails.

Venturing into business amidst pandmic

For 26-year-old Felix Birongo, venturing in business during the pandemic proved both a challenge and an opportunity for him.

Birongo, an accountant by profession and having worked in the corporate world for 4 years, decided to venture into business towards the end of 2019.

“I was undecided on what to do, I wanted to open a barber shop or a carwash or a motor bike repair shop, after consulting widely, I settled for the motorbike repair business,” said Birongo.

In January 2020, he finally opened Silcah Ventures, a motor cycle repair shop specialized in TVS brand spare parts located in Kongowea Karama Stage, Mombasa.

The first two months he described as being low because he didn’t do much as he was still learning the trade.

As soon as things began to move up after securing a trusted mechanic to work in the shop, the first positive case was reported in the country in march 2020, what followed was a ban on importations from China where he gets most of his spare parts.

“The directive came as a blow though it did not affect the business much, I could get some of the parts from Nairobi so the business managed to remain afloat,” said Birongo.

The order to reduce the number of passengers using public means of transport meant that bodaboda business was going to boom and as such more repair works for him due to ware and tare.

“I can say that I got a bit lucky in my line of business because motorbikes were reaping big because passengers most people were pessimistic to use public means opting to use bodaboda instead,” said Birongo.

New Opportunities

The advice by the ministry of health to minimize cash transactions also presented him with an opportunity to open Mpesa services alongside the business.

Birongo who is currently working as an auditor, said that the pandemic made him change his perspective about getting into business.

He believes that opportunities present themselves when you least expect and one should be bold enough to grab it.

“I am a strong believer of making use of an opportunity once you see it, they come to you once so hesitate when one presents itself to you, garb it and make the best out of it,” said Birongo.

He recently opened Kibarazani Bistro, a food joint located just adjacent to his motorbike repair business.

“The previous owners of the place had defaulted to pay their rents for several months and were evicted by the agents administering the premises, I saw this as an opportunity since there was ready market and took it,” said Birongo.

Through his business, he has managed to employ eight people in total even as he thinks of venturing into more areas of business.

With president Uhuru’s order to lift the Curfew during his Mashujaa Day commemoration speech Wednesday, Birongo hopes to run his businesses on a 24-hour basis to increase his profits margin.

“With the lifting of the curfew , I see big opportunity to grow, I’m looking at operating the bike repair shop at night too so that the bodaboda people who operate at night can get services if their bikes stall, as they get serviced they can also enjoy a cup of tea to beat the cold,” he said.

Small businesses play a great role in the Kenyan economy. For a country that already cannot meet the 50% employment needs of citizens, these small businesses provide temporary and permanent employment for the workforce. Unfortunately, small businesses suffered a big hit from the pandemic. In order to survive a lot of changes had to take place- but change as they say is the most constant thing in life and life has to go on.

Vivian Achieng’ started her online women's bags in May 2019 and things were just starting to look up when the pandemic unfortunately struck and things deteriorated.

“The beauty market in Kenya is as large as you can imagine. But there is always a market as long as you are doing your marketing well and strategize. And I took the time to research the market space well before I got into it. I import the classy bags from China and when the pandemic hit two things happened very fast. " she shares.

Adding "Borders were closed and we could not get goods as before. I had to work on clearing the stock I had. And with people worried about the economy, women just stopped buying bags as compared to before. Everybody was focused on food and sanitation and right out survival. Things got hard, for my personal life I was mentally disoriented. I decided to start a food business. I cook from home, and deliver to people’s homes because restaurant restrictions made this the most available option,” shares the entrepreneur,”   

Bella Zawadi- of Zawadi Cakes runs a small business within Ruaka Estate, Nairobi, she bakes and decorates cakes for all occasions, and she stocks up cake accessories and also does cookies. As she shares, the pandemic affected her emotionally, socially and financially.

“Covid-19 affected us because it took a lot of things back. Emotionally, lockdown brought a lot of pressure and stress. Working from home also made us non-productive and the mind got engaged in helpless thoughts and fears and it was so stressful. It was a torture because you can’t meet your set goals. Missing my goals messed me up emotionally.  With no sales there is no income, the bills are there still. Bakers and caterers make money at events and no events mean no work, but you still have to pay your bills just as before.

 With guidelines and regulations, business had to change. If you are in a small space, you can’t host the same capacity. Initially it was worse because people couldn’t even eat there, then after that the number of people had to reduce.  We had to ensure the sanitations were in place to wash hands and sanitize,``shares the entrepreneur.

In addition, she got into an unrest state. Nobody knew what was going to follow next after the restriction, or when the thing was going to end. She became insecure on whether she would be able to retain her customers.  Wondering what they were suffering on the other end or if they were safe.

“There was a big disconnect, not being in touch with my customers, unable to do business with people I used to, unable to tell if they had contracted the virus or not, there are others who lost their lives and loved ones. So things are just not the same. Depression also hits because of the worry, over and over, not knowing what is coming after it. It has not been easy but things are picking up slowly and hopefully,” she shares.

In order to keep up with the changing times, She has restructured the shop differently, organizing seating to ensure social distancing, and has adjusted costs because prices went high for raw materials so adjusted prices for her cakes too while trying to retain consistency.

Economic Analyst, Odhiambo Ramogi shares that the economic crisis for small businesses is a situation that comes with situations such as what is going on with the pandemic and definitely there is a lot of rethinking that will have to be done. For instance; they will have to either expand their businesses to other areas that they were not exploring, in line with the same businesses, or the other option, which is a total pivot.

“For small businesses which have limited capital, they might have to go for the total pivot, which means they have to completely stop the business they were previously doing, for instance if you were selling women’s handbags…people are in an economical crisis and things like this are seen as luxuries. So pick something completely different but what people need at the moment. Focus the little resources on something that is more beneficial,``says Ramogi.

In addition to that,  the economist advises the small business owners to do strategic linkages in order to survive the hard times.

“When business people work together they become more resilient and generally have a bigger market when they are united. There are a lot of associations like that all over that support groups rather than individuals. There is no saying when the economy will recover fully because at the moment it is at about 6% with most sectors still under that, it will be important for small business owners to think long term rather than short term,” He advised.

Singer Brown Mauzo has just released a new album titled 'V'.

According to the singer, the album which has 12 songs is a dedication to his partner Vera Sidika who gave birth to a baby girl Asia Brown, on Wednesday.

"Dear my wife Queen Vee Bosset, this is an album that i recorded and deidacted to you and our daughter. You have been instrumental in my life since day one and I wanted to award you with something timeless..This are my thoughts about our relationship." posted Mauzo.

On Wednesday, Vera took to social media and revealed to her followers that their daughter was born at 10.21am and she could not hide her joy as she began her motherhood journey. 

“20.10.2021 at 10:21am…A princess was born Asia Brown…You will always be the miracle that makes our life complete,” wrote Vera.

Vera had earlier planned to deliver the baby abroad but changed last month saying she will deliver in Kenya due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

"Btw, I almost travelled to give birth in USA. Since my 5 year USA Visa still valid. But this Covid pandemic isn't fun. Then again couldn't handle the idea of being away from family and friends during my pregnancy for 4-6 months." she noted

Kenyans have been urged to double efforts in tree planting in a bid to mitigate the current effects of climate change.This was said by  Zellipah Githui Founder and Director of Gitzell FairTrade International. Gitzell FairTrade is a Pan-African organization working with artisans across Africa. She observed that the increasing heat and recurrent droughts in the country are some of the indicators of the change in the climate.

“Kenya’s agriculture sector is susceptible to these climate changes and extreme weather events. Planting of trees is one way of helping save the sector and will boost food security,” said Githuli, adding that it’s time for Kenyans to walk the talk and take action to diminish these effects.

Githui spoke while leading a group of Nairobi-based artisans who are in partnership with Gitzell Fairtrade International, in a tree planting exercise at Thirime Primary School in Kiambu County. The exercise was undertaken in conjunction with Miti Alliance, a social enterprise whose focus is to plant and grow trees in schools.

“We are partnering with the Artisans to Cultivate Environmental Stewardship. This is to ensure that resources are not depleted and there is the sustainability of the raw materials that are used by the artisans. As craftsmanship is an art passed from generation to generation, we want to train on replenishing natural resources like trees.” Githui added. 

The group planted over 100 indigenous trees which will also act as an educative tool for the students as well to know their scientific, English, and vernacular names, as well as uses. 

“Through working with schools, Miti Alliance is nurturing the next generation of environmentally conscious individuals that will always be aware of the effect of their actions on the environment. We have so far worked with 200 schools countrywide planting over 200000 trees,” said Michael Ng’ang’a, Founder & CEO of Miti Alliance.

In closing, Githui noted that there has been increased outcry by farmers about July weather switching to August and the delayed October rains but noted that few are talking about the solutions to these changes emphasizing that "Gitzell Fairtrade  is committed to striking a balance between Artisans prosperity and environmental awareness."

Kenya's very own fine dining restaurant, Mawimbi Seafood Restaurant & Cafe, is in the global limelight for winning the coveted award as top Seafood Restaurant at the 6th Annual World Luxury Restaurant Awards 2021 held in Mauritius on 8th of Oct 2021. 

This impressive feat comes in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic as Mawimbi opened its doors February 2020 just before Covid hit. They however braced the difficult times by staying open to cater to their global audience while respecting Covid protocols.

The World Luxury Restaurant Awards is a recognized global organization where the public including international travelers votes across a diverse variety of award categories.

The award ceremony inspires excellence while igniting healthy competition in the luxury restaurant industry.

Being recognised by World Luxury Restaurant Awards is a pinnacle achievement as the award comes from earned respect from guests and industry players alike. 

Elated by the global award, Mawimbi's Executive Head Chef, Carlos Espindola shares, “We are very happy and proud to receive this award. This is an achievement not just for a few, but for all the chefs, waitresses, waiters, management, our collaborators and all our fishermen alongside the Kenyan coast. The whole team has been working hard with us for our first two years,”

Adding, “ This is the result of hard work by team members that constantly think out of the box. We always wanted to reach our guests with sincere cuisine and flavors - that’s why our cultural footprint will always be in our dishes.” 

Mawimbi Seafood Restaurant & Cafe located along Kijabe Street within the heart of Nairobi continues to provide a serene and luxurious spot, perfect for all meals from brunch, lunch, straight to dinner; with their Cafe upstairs open early for breakfast, with a private area perfect for intimate meetings, events or business meetings.

Mawimbi’s modern interior aesthetic is designed to simulate a tropical vacation, and every moment you spend inside will leave you feeling totally relaxed. With seafood as Mawimbi’s focal point, the aroma in the air is always unmistakably exquisite with the preparation being a fine balance between craftsmanship and art.

Winning the World Luxury Restaurant Award will not only inspire the confidence of guests and retain a loyal clientele in the highly competitive market, but it will also stimulate continuous growth and development of the restaurant.

General Manager of Mawimbi Seafood Restaurant & Cafe, Cecilia Kamau, says “We would like to thank all our clients and fans for the great support, our team for the hard work and commitment to deliver the Mawimbi experience that has put us on the world map. We endeavour to deliver personalized experiences and top quality consistency that we thrive on.”

Nigerian sensational artiste B-Red has released, a new single which he titled 'Lady.' The record features sultry vocals from Mama Africa herself, Yemi Alade.

Watch : https://youtu.be/X0ZQCHB8hVQ

Lady by B Red was produced by Teekay Witty and released in September, and Stanz directed the visual which was released on the 15th of October.

Lady is a follow-up B-Red’s last single titled ‘Lekki Roundabout‘, and it comes with a lovely jam lover would indeed find interesting.

Bio

Adebayo Adeleke, better known by his stage name B-Red, is a Nigerian singer and songwriter. He was featured on two tracks from Davido’s debut studio album, Omo Baba Olowo. He is Sina Rambo’s sibling and a cousin to Davido.

B Red and Davido have been together right from their days at HKN before they move on to start DMW.

Ugandan socialite Zari Hassan has shot down rumours that she was secretly married to a popular Zimbabwean prophet identified as Edd.

Through a video message, Zari calls on her fans and social media users to ignore the ongoing rumours.

The stories started doing rounds after photos of the two in what looks like wedding attires surfaced online.

According to Zari the photos are from a video shoot.

With the 2022 64^th GRAMMY Awards nomination announcement set for Tuesday, Nov. 23, 2021 the Recording Academy has gone ahead to announce the 3rd annual "Behind The Record" initiative to continue to give credit to creators in music.

In the third annual Behind The Record initiative, the Recording Academy is giving credit to the creators behind our favorite records and is educating lawmakers in the process.

Now, artists are getting in on the movement to #GiveCredit to creators and among the artists highlighted this year are BTS, Jonas Brothers, Jennifer Hudson, Common, Kenya’s Victoria Kimani and Gabiro Mtu Necessary among others.

Even though singer Victoria Kimani already had her album AFREAKA for a GRAMMY consideration in 2020 it is evident that her efforts in her latest album Spirit Animal are already paying off with the album receiving rave reviews from music lovers across the globe and also from the GRAMMYs. Being her 4th album & arguably her best work to date the East African gem features stars like Yemi Alade, Bella Shmurda, Kidi, Peruzzi and Kenya’s boy band H_art The Band in this summer infectious 16-track album.

Also getting rare and surprising recognition in this years Behind The Record initiative is Kisumu based independent singer, songwriter and rapper, Gabiro Mtu Necessary who is steadily becoming a household name in Kisumu, Kenya and beyond.

Having released his new EP dubbed Jenesis a week ago he is already getting recognized by the Recording Academy making him the first artist from the lakeside region to ever be on this prestigious platform.

Earlier last month Gabiro announced his decision to quit music in an Instagram post that has since been deleted before he came back this month and renounced his comeback with a new EP.

He stated that his main reason for changing his mind was to keep the spirit of his deceased father alive by continuing the work they both started together before his demise in 2019.

He gives credit to his father as the production coordinator and executive producer in his latest album.

Mtu Necessary as is known by his fans and followers is already commanding a solid and huge social media influence with his style of music that comes with humour and hilarious metaphors as seen in his songs “Atago” and “Pop Star” that are both in his new EP.

Jenesis EP comes days after the Kisumu star hit a milestone with his music by garnering a total of 500,000 streams on Boomplay and another 300,000 streams with his last release on the same African music platform.

Grammy Post - https://www.instagram.com/p/CVG_R8Tshwk/

Atago - https://youtu.be/9cZv07Kyn60

President Uhuru Kenyatta has sent a message of condolence to the family, friends, relatives and colleagues of veteran State House photographer Henry Muriithi Nyaga who passed away on Saturday evening.

The award-winning Nyaga, 56, was until his demise a principal State House photographer attached to the Presidential Strategic Communication Unit (PSCU).

In his message of encouragement and comfort to the family, the President mourned the late Nyaga as a reliable and devoted top professional whose service to the country shall be dearly missed.

“I have received the sad news of the sudden death of Henry this morning with utter shock. Henry was a highly gifted photographer whose award-winning work made him one of the best in his field.

"He was a humble and amiable person whose virtues of hard work and dedication to duty will remain an inspiration to his colleagues and all those that interacted with him,” the President mourned Mr Nyaga who passed quietly in his sleep at his Embu home.

The Head of State said it was due to Henry's commitment to duty and excellent service that he rose through the ranks over the years to become a Principal Photographer at State House.

“Having interacted with him extensively in the course of his duty, Henry exemplified diligence and deep commitment to duty, and always worked hard to exceed the expectations of his assignments.

"It is because of his commitment to duty that he rose through the ranks of the public service to become a principal photographer at State House. Indeed, we will forever be grateful for the excellent service the late Henry rendered to this country over the years," the President eulogised.

The President noted that the late Henry Nyaga contributed immensely to the development of photojournalism in Kenya having won several prestigious international awards and recognitions.

“We appreciate that as a public servant, Henry Nyaga earned our nation great honour by winning several international awards among them the prestigious CNN Africa Photojournalist of the Year Award in 1999 while working with the Kenya News Agency (KNA). A devoted Christian, Henry also won two International Catholic photojournalism awards, which were presented, to him in Bangkok, Thailand and in Switzerland," the Head of State noted.

Mr Henry Nyaga has left behind a widow Mrs Lucy Wanjugu Muriithi and three children.

On his part Deputy President William Ruto described him as a creative, talented and patient with an eye for detail.

"We will fondly remember him as a brilliant storyteller." said Ruto in his condolence message.

Seems like Coast based singer Nyota Ndogo is closing off the year in a big way, by laughing all the way to the bank.

The 'Watu na viatu' hitmaker just landed herself a big endorsement deal with maize meal brand, Raha premium a product of Joy millers limited.  She is the new brand ambassador.

The excited singer took to social media to share the news with her fans.

"Kwanza Nichukue Nafasi Hii Kumshukuru MUNGU.. Pili Niwashkuru Nyie Mashabiki Zangu wanaonipenda na wasionipenda nyote ni wangu na Nawapenda sana... Hili Sio Jambo Dogo kwangu Na Nitoe Shukrani za Dhati kwa Joy Millers Limited kwa Kuniamini na Kunichagua.... Kwanzia Sasa Wateja Wangu wa Nyota Ndogo Jikoni hawatalalamika tena kuhusu Ugali maana Natumia Unga Bora Kenya Nzima @raha_premium #Kavaraga Unga huu sasa unapatikana Mombasa na Pwani kwa Ujumla...."

Nyota Ndogo also runs a restaurant in Voi.

Few months ago, celebrity couple Bahati and his wife Diana Marua were also unveiled as brand ambassadors for the brand which seeks to penetrate in the market.