On 15th July 2016, Kenyatta University will be
celebrating its 40th Graduation ceremony at its main campus located
on Thika road, and few kilometers’ from Kenya’s capital city , Nairobi. Time
has come that scholars have formed a unified approach to research and study in
order to make solutions that can provide solutions to the challenges the
community is experiencing. Some of the major challenges that the society is
facing include and is not limited to cyber-security which America has declared
the fifth war frontier. Others include climate change and which has a direct
bearing to food security for our country, Democratic governance and peaceful
elections is still uncommon since we still experience a lot of civil unrests
and many people lose lives due to politics,, Gender inequality and
discrimination against the girl-child.
It is a major requirement in most courses whether in
diploma, degree, masters or Ph.D. that the students do research projects. It is
really encouraging and you find that many a times the comrades spend a lot of
money either from their own pockets or from their parents .The projects always
are meant to provide solutions to major issues affecting the society.
The unfortunate event in all this noble mission is that
despite the amount of efforts the comrades and their lecturers put in writing,
editing and re-editing this projects, few are ever implemented. That is why it
has become imperative that comrades become discouraged and some involve
themselves in ‘theft’ of exams since they no longer get inspired by the efforts
they are making since they believe that the projects are merely meant to pass
examinations and not to alleviate societal challenges .It is important to note
that there is need for all stakeholders involved to come together and help
comrades realize the dream they always have when drafting, carrying out their
projects. Other Universities in Kenya are already shivering because they know
the speed at which KU is growing is so rapid. University of Nairobi, Moi
University,Mount-Kenya, JKUAT, Pan-Africa, Great Lakes University, Jaramogi
Oginga Odinga, Laikipia University to mention but a few but Kenyatta University
still leads the park.
Kenyatta University is like a rare gem, those who have
discovered it are saved. Academically speaking.Only we need to spend on not
only writing our noble projects but also implementing them, with this Kenya and
Africa and the whole world will never be the same again !
Kenyatta University is privileged to be led by powerful
leaders and with Professor Wangari Mwai as the new Deputy Vice-Chancellor for Administration,
I believe the sky can only remain to be the limit.
Intriguing tale of Mandera boy who found fortune in Coast
Growing up in the rough and dry terrains of the remote village of
Girissa Rhamu in Mandera County, Saeed Abdirahman’s life appeared set
against all odds.
Tuesday June 14 2016
Saeed Abdirahman, Mombasa business man. PHOTO | DICKENS OGANGO O.
In Summary
“I saved consistently for three years. Every month, I would
set aside between Sh8,000 and Sh10,000. By the end of 2009, I had
Sh300,000 in savings,” says Mr Saeed.
He travelled to Mombasa
and got a job as a driver. “I rented a single room a few kilometres from
my place of work. In order to save, I preferred walking to work instead
of using matatus,” he says.
His business dream began to take
shape when he registered his own logistics business, Sidoman, offering a
wide of range of services such as clearing and forwarding, sea and land
freight, warehousing and cargo handling.
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Growing up in the rough and dry terrains of the remote village
of Girissa Rhamu in Mandera County, Saeed Abdirahman’s life appeared set
against all odds.
The fifth born in a family of eight could
hardly imagine that he would one day walk away from the ravaging poverty
to become a multi-millionaire businessman.
Today, at the age of
34, Saeed is the owner of the Mtwapa Coast Breeze Hotel and the founder
and chief executive officer of Mombasa-based logistics company Sidoman
Limited.
Although his sleek Range Rover may not betray the
hardships Saeed has overcome to be where he is today, the road to
success in business and personal life has been anything but a stroll in
the park.
As Mr Saeed told Money, it has taken hard and smart work, and a firm determination to succeed.
“We
were not wealthy. My mother owned a few cattle which she traded in to
see us through school,” says Saeed, a father of three boys.
After
sitting for his Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education in 2000 at
Sheikh Ali High School and attaining a mean grade of C (minus), Mr Saeed
enrolled for a diploma at the Kenya Technical Teachers training
College.
“I graduated in 2006 with a diploma in IT,” he says.
During this time, only a mere 5 per cent of children made it to college
in the Northern Kenya.
“Graduating was a milestone for me, my
family and village. It gave me the assurance and confidence that I could
break the ceiling and achieve much more,” he says.
His heart was in business and he knew that’s what he would eventually do.
“I
could have opted to look for an IT-related job, but my eyes were
trained on becoming a top businessman, and to achieve this goal, I had
to move from my mother’s nest,” he notes. Walking to work
He
travelled to Mombasa and got a job as a driver. “I rented a single room
a few kilometres from my place of work. In order to save, I preferred
walking to work instead of using matatus,” he says.
In mid-2007, Mr Saeed quit his job as a driver and started working for shipping and logistics firms at the Port of Mombasa.
“I was first paid in commissions before getting a job as a regular worker,” he says.
However what stood him in good stead for success in business was that he saved almost religiously.
“I
saved consistently for three years. Every month, I would set aside
between Sh8,000 and Sh10,000. By the end of 2009, I had Sh300,000 in
savings,” says Mr Saeed.
However, saving faithfully every month
for 36 months was not an easy task. “I had to sacrifice a lot. I
couldn’t afford the same luxuries that my working age mates could since I
had to pay rent for a single room and cater for all my daily bills.”
His
business dream began to take shape when he registered his own logistics
business, Sidoman, offering a wide of range of services such as
clearing and forwarding, sea and land freight, warehousing and cargo
handling.
“I was convinced that there was enough space for me to thrive in the shipping and logistics business,” he says.
Interestingly, although the Sh300,000 he had saved was not enough to
put his new start-up on a solid foundation, he did not take a bank loan
to boost his business.
“I had problems getting adequate capital
when I started, but taking a bank loan was not an option. Neither has it
ever been for me,” he says.
Mr Saeed’s Islamic faith prohibits him
from taking bank loans that attract interest. He therefore opted for
small debts from his fellow Muslim friends which he would pay without
interest.
“These (loans) enabled me to stay afloat and continue looking for business,” he says.
In the early months after starting his company, the entrepreneur operated from his briefcase and mobile phone.
“I
had no office or car with which to run my business. Sometimes I would
get a good deal and due to my limited resources, I would refer it to
established logistics businesses in exchange for commission,” he says.
However,
in 2010, Mr Saeed set up his offices in Mombasa town as his business
started looking up. And Since then, the sky has been the limit for him.
In
2014, six years after starting his logistics business, the businessman
decided to diversify into the hotel and catering industry. He bought the
Mtwapa Coast Breeze Hotel in Kilifi County at Sh75 million and
renovated it to be the sparkling facility it is today. The two-star
hotel has 34 furnished apartments.
Mr Saeed has employed 30 people at his logistics firm on a full-time basis, and another 20 workers at the hotel.
He says to get the best from employees, you have to motivate them and impart in them virtues such as hard work.
“My
former employers taught me virtues of instilling work discipline and
motivation in employees, and these are the ideals I strive to pass on to
my workers so that tomorrow, they can walk in my shoes,” he says.
Interestingly,
at a time when many people are avoiding from the tough road of
painstakingly building wealth in favour of get-rich-quick schemes or
corrupt dealings, Mr Saeed says that he has had zero scandals or court
cases on his path to business success.
“Above all, I am happy to be a clean book so far,” he says with a smile.
For me an Entrepreneur, in the purest sense, is the
person who identifies a need—any need—and fill it. It’s a primordial
urge, independent of product, service, industry or market.
Entrepreneurship is about the future and sustainability, an entrepreneur
identifies a gap and creates a lasting solution and not just for money
but for the future generations benefit and sustainability.
On the other hand, a business person is that person
who identifies a weakness and capitalizes in that just to make profits.
For example a typical business person is that who while in a pub
drinking and discussing stuff, notices another person is doing well in
what he/she is doing and rushes to do it without doing any research or
getting to know the hurdles involved. who opens a butchery near another
does that because he knows probably customers are complaining about the
other butchery’s services. He gets into the business to make money. And
that the primary principle of a business person.
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them.
“KIBAKI
TOSHA!” The words from then and current opposition leader Raila Amollo
Odinga in a declaration at Uhuru Park, Nairobi, in 2002 that united the
then opposition and became a game changer ending the 24-year long
autocratic leadership of retired President Daniel Toroitich Arap Moi.
Odinga is by all means an enigma in the Kenyan political arena, and
has been for a decade or two, inheriting his father Jaramogi Oginga’s
political kingdom, especially in the Luo Nyanza. That is not in doubt,
his presence always being felt whenever he speaks about a matter he is
passionate about.
However, his supporters and strongest critics agree that the Raila of
2016 is not as energetic and charismatic as the Raila of 2007. He has
lost some glow and is fast losing his appeal that propelled him to the
gates of State House in 2007 before his dream of ascending to the
country’s top most job fell flat; instead only landing a post as Prime
Minister in a negotiated grand coalition government headed by President
Mwai Kibaki.
Can the son of Jaramogi get his mojo back ahead of 2017? Can
he re-invent himself politically fast enough to challenge and floor
President Uhuru Kenyatta and his deputy William Ruto in the 2017 General
Elections?
Raila finds himself in a precarious position with a not-so-dazzling
future, as far as trouncing Kenyatta is concerned given the
circumstances he finds himself in. Holding no elective post, the
opposition leader finds himself in an awkward situation where he cannot
confidently marshal his troops to influence directly the approval or
rejection of laws in the National Assembly.
This means he has to rely on Parliamentarians’ goodwill, and
especially those in the opposition, to get his way in the August House.
CORD MPs have been unable to sniff, make noise and reject
controversial laws that have been passed on the floor of the House, with
the recent being the Miscellaneous Amendment Act 2015 that includes,
among other things, the Judicial Service Act 2011 empowers the President
to expressly appoint a Chief Justice.
Opposition troops have performed dismally in the National Assembly,
always being caught flat-footed and using the “Tyranny of numbers”
excuse in press conferences to “oppose” controversial clauses that
escape their “hawk-eyed” notice. This is a sign of lack of clear
direction from CORD’s Minority Leader in Parliament Francis Nyenze and
his deputy Jakoyo Midiwo.
MPs under CORD’s parties, ODM, Wiper and Ford Kenya have been
embroiled in financial and bribery allegations with embattled ODM
Secretary General Ababu Namwamba losing the chairmanship of the Public
Accounts Committee (PAC) amid accusations of receiving bribes to doctor
the watchdog committee’s controversial graft reports.
At some point, Midiwo was also forced to ward off claims by Ugunja MP
and ODM Director of Political Affairs Opiyo Wandayi that he was working
with the Jubilee Government and getting tenders from the National Youth
Service.
Wiper, headed by former long serving Vice President Kalonzo Musyoka,
is on the other hand also grappling with internal turmoil, key being the
Ukambani region supremacy war between Musyoka backed by Machakos
Senator Johnstone Muthama and Machakos Governor Dr. Alfred Mutua, who
recently launched his Maendeleo Chap Chap movement.
This points to a sign of a identity and integrity crisis within CORD
with those harbouring higher ambitions like Budalangi MP Ababu Namwamba
and Mutua et al being christened as moles.
Raila’s co-principal in CORD Kalonzo Musyoka does not seem
enthusiastic about being in the opposition, always seeming bitter about
Jubilee and how he was short-changed for the top seat by Kenyatta and
Ruto in the run up to the March 4th, 2013 General Elections.
How many times do you see Musyoka come out strongly on the opposition agenda? Raila recently issued a hard-hitting ‘State of The Nation Address,’
a crucial statement for the opposition, yet Musyoka was conspicuously
missing. Am convinced the former VP’s lacklustre performance in the
opposition simply means he has not accepted the fact that he is in the
opposition as he has never been out of the government.
Bungoma Senator and CORD co-principal Moses Wetangula, on the other
hand, is facing the biggest tests of his political career with the
Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) set to determine
on whether to strike him off the voter register over allegations of
bribing voters in 2013.
This leaves Odinga exposed and weak, vividly exposing the nakedness
in his opposition brigade that he intends to rely on to propel him to
presidency in 2017.
Raila should groom another king for post-2017. He has seemingly become the Kingmaker who would never be king given the short time to the next poll and the odds he faces against Uhuruto.
He should critically consider modelling a king for 2022, when Ruto is also eyeing the State House position.
Raila made Kibaki king, and inadvertently made Ruto Deputy President,
but he should realize he has a scrawny team in CORD currently that
might deny him his presidential dream in 2017, which pundits see as his
last shot. Who will fit his shoes should he fail to marshal a dream
team to oust Kenyatta in 2017?
How will he handle a possible loss in 2017, given that he has not yet
groomed anyone to inherit his political kingdom and how will he deal
with such a loss? Crowning another king might be the only way Raila will
become the President of Kenya, albeit indirectly. No?
In
event at George Washington University in October, USAID Administrator
Shah highlighted some innovative ways the United States is helping
improve food security and nutrition around the world. Watch a recording of his talk to learn more and click on each of the innovations below to explore examples of each in action. Innovations:
Women and girls with disabilities must not be left behind
Date: 13 June 2016
The ninth session of the Conference of the States parties to the
Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) taking
place in New York from 14 to 16 June 2016, will focus on “Implementing
the 2030 development agenda for all persons with disabilities: Leaving
no one behind.” UN Women is calling for strengthened partnerships with
women and girls with disabilities and their organizations to address the
barriers to their participation and decision-making.
This year marks 10 years since the adoption of the Convention, with
gender equality a key principle of the Convention. Furthermore, Article 6
of the Convention calls for actions to ensure that women and girls with
disabilities are able to enjoy and exercise their human rights.
The Sustainable Development Goals
(SDGs) offer an unprecedented opportunity to drive lasting change for
all women’s rights and equality, including women and girls with
disabilities. Making this agenda come to life needs programmes and
policies that are informed by high quality and timely data,
disaggregated by sex and disability. Supporting the collection and
analysis of disability statistics will be a central feature in UN
Women’s new Flagship Programme Initiative on gender data and statistics.
Marie Bangura. Photo: Laura Cook/Laura Cook Photography
Nearly one in five women live with disabilities [1].
However, disabled women and girls remain at the margins of
decision-making and their specific needs were largely invisible until
recently, both to advocates of women’s rights and disability rights. In humanitarian contexts,
women and girls with disabilities face even more discrimination, adding
to an already heightened risk of violence and exploitation.
- See more at:
http://www.unwomen.org/en/news/stories/2016/6/women-and-girls-with-disabilities-must-not-be-left-behind#sthash.16UqsSAl.dpuf
Women and girls with disabilities must not be left behind
Date: 13 June 2016
The ninth session of the Conference of the States parties to the
Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) taking
place in New York from 14 to 16 June 2016, will focus on “Implementing
the 2030 development agenda for all persons with disabilities: Leaving
no one behind.” UN Women is calling for strengthened partnerships with
women and girls with disabilities and their organizations to address the
barriers to their participation and decision-making.
This year marks 10 years since the adoption of the Convention, with
gender equality a key principle of the Convention. Furthermore, Article 6
of the Convention calls for actions to ensure that women and girls with
disabilities are able to enjoy and exercise their human rights.
The Sustainable Development Goals
(SDGs) offer an unprecedented opportunity to drive lasting change for
all women’s rights and equality, including women and girls with
disabilities. Making this agenda come to life needs programmes and
policies that are informed by high quality and timely data,
disaggregated by sex and disability. Supporting the collection and
analysis of disability statistics will be a central feature in UN
Women’s new Flagship Programme Initiative on gender data and statistics.
Marie Bangura. Photo: Laura Cook/Laura Cook Photography
Nearly one in five women live with disabilities [1].
However, disabled women and girls remain at the margins of
decision-making and their specific needs were largely invisible until
recently, both to advocates of women’s rights and disability rights. In humanitarian contexts,
women and girls with disabilities face even more discrimination, adding
to an already heightened risk of violence and exploitation.
- See
more at:
http://www.unwomen.org/en/news/stories/2016/6/women-and-girls-with-disabilities-must-not-be-left-behind#sthash.16UqsSAl.dpuf
Friends are starting to plan their summer vegetable gardens. Some get
an early start by planting seeds indoors where they can control the
conditions and provide the best environment for sprouting. After the
danger of frost has passed, they will transplant the seedlings outdoors.
Once the garden is planted, the work of weeding, feeding, watering, and
guarding against rodents and insects begins. Producing food is a lot of
work.
Moses reminded the Israelites of this before they entered the
promised land. While living in Egypt, they had to do the hard work of
irrigating crops by hand (Deut. 11:10), but in the place where God was
taking them He promised to ease their work by sending spring and autumn
rains: “I will send rain on your land in its season, both autumn and
spring rains” (v.14 niv). The only condition was that they “faithfully
obey the commands” He gave them—“to love the Lord your God and to serve
him with all your heart and with all your soul” (v.13 niv). The Lord was
taking His people to a place where their obedience and His blessing
would make them a light to those around them.
God wants the same for us and from us: He wants our love to be
displayed in our obedience so that we might be His light to people
around us. The love and obedience we have to offer, though, is far less
than He deserves. But He is our provider, blessing us and enabling us to
be a light that the world will notice.
Loving God doesn’t make life effortless, but having His strength makes it easier.
Former Kenyan banker driving to success in car hire business
Dan Njoroge
Uber, the world’s largest taxi company, owns no vehicles.
Neither does Lesus Executive Car Hire, a vehicle hire company in Kenya.
Lesus provides chauffeured cars ranging from luxury sedans, sports
utility vehicles (SUVs), stretch limousines, vintage cars, and also
chartered helicopters and motorbike escort services to both individual
and corporate clients. Dan Njoroge has run the company for the past
three years.
In 2011 the journey of firsts began for him. Besides being the year he left the cushion of a promising career in finance at one of the leading banks in Kenya,
it was also the start of a search for a more challenging job. Having
been in banking for four years, he was confident of finding another
opportunity, but to his surprise no doors opened.
By mid-2012, with his savings exhausted, he was forced to sell all
his belongings and move out of his apartment while he figured out his
next move. During this period he decided to try supplying stationary to
corporates. He did so for the next six months earning him an average of
just $10 a day, not forgetting the hard labour entailed given he had to
at times trek over long distances carrying heavy supplies.
Frustrated and faced with lack of a reliable income, Njoroge decided
to try out leasing his friend’s luxury 4×4 as he wasn’t using it. After a
few days, someone offered him a job to chauffeur at a wedding followed
by subsequent jobs, one which lasted two weeks.
This was a windfall given his meagre earnings at the time. “Getting
payment for the two weeks’ job marked my defining moment. I figured I
could also run an executive car hire business, add more cars and
ultimately earn more. This, coupled with my passion for cars, birthed my
business,” he says.
Penetrating the market
The initial market penetration strategy for the company involved
catering for weddings, which still comprises 70% of its business. This
was mainly driven by referrals as well as online marketing through the
website and social media.
The company also offered its vehicles for free to a leading media
house during one of their events, which offered Lesus mileage in the
form of publicity.
Creating a database of well-maintained luxury cars requires good
contacts with high-value individuals as well as other executive car hire
companies. Njoroge has managed to grow his network by being a trusted
and reliable provider, which in turn made vehicle owners trust him with
their cars as well as recommend others to him. Iconic events catered for
The company was among the service providers for the 2015 Global
Entrepreneurship Summit, which was headlined by US President Barack
Obama. More recently, it catered to a Turkish government delegation.
According to Euromonitor International, the demand for car hire in
Kenya continues to increase, driven by the growing number of business
travellers. Challenges present new opportunities
In a business largely driven by trust, the huge challenge has been to
deliver to clients even when vehicles suppliers let him down.
“I once had a client request for a good number of luxury 4x4s, which I
knew were hard to come by – but I let them know well in advance I’ll
try my best but the cars were not readily available. However a few
anxious hours and multiple calls later, I’d gotten hold of the requested
number of vehicles, ready for the event starting the next day. Both my
client and I breathed a sigh of relief,” he recalls. Needless to say
this opened more opportunities and repeat orders from the same client.
For now, Njoroge is concentrating on growing his brand. In his words:
“I dedicate 90% of my time and money to build my brand and leave only
10% to myself. I’m living the concept of delayed gratification, because I
know that once my business is able to stand on its own, I can then
focus on living the life I’ve always wanted.”
Behold the Boss: Hassan Bashir, CEO and Founder, Takaful Africa insurance Group
Hassan Bashir
1. What was your first job?
During the school holidays when I was in class three (third year of
primary school). In my neighbourhood there was an orphanage that was
building a secondary school. So I got a job moving building blocks to
the construction site using a wheelbarrow. I was moving one block at a
time. At the end of the month I earned Ksh.150, a third of which went to
my father, and some of the remaining paid my boarding fees for the next
school semester. I also bought my first pair of shoes and my first set
of a shirt, pants and vest. 2. What parts of your job keep you awake at night?
It is often different things, maybe an HR issue or a model that is
not working. But when that happens I get out of bed, grab my laptop and I
try to write down that item. I have realised that when an issue is
bothering you, the night is when the most ideas come to you. I generally
wake up at 3am, so I do much of my reading around that time. 3. Who has had the biggest impact on your career and why?
If you asked for an institution I’d say the United States
International University – Africa (USIU Africa). As a kid I used to
dream about going to university. (Bashir did not attend secondary
school because his parents could not afford tuition. After primary
school he did odd jobs for nearly a decade to raise enough money to sit
for secondary school exams, and pay tuition for the first two semesters
of university.) So somewhere towards the end of my undergraduate
studies at USIU I thought I had achieved my childhood dream but didn’t
know what else might follow. I had reached the ceiling of my dreams. I
told one professor at USIU my ambition was to go to university, and I am
in campus, so I am done.
Prof. Afrifa Gitonga then lectured me about the attitude of failure. I
was surprised because I was a kid who didn’t go secondary school yet
here I was in university. What more could I have done? He told me that I
had set a ceiling that was too low and advised to me to set my ceiling
on something that has not been achieved by anyone else. He lectured me
for about two hours.
4. What is the best professional advice you’ve ever received?
This was from Nelson Kuria (a retired veteran insurance manager and former CEO of Kenya’s CIC Insurance Group).
He told me, “Go rest, take this week off, we will pick up next week”.
CIC is one of the shareholders of [Takaful] and Kuria was one of our
founding directors. This journey took us from 2002 to 2011. We had to do
knowledge gathering, draft a business plan and get regulatory approval.
From 2006 we started engaging the regulatory body and it took us up to
2011 to get the licence. Every time I came close to giving up Kuria
would say: “Bashir go to Mombasa, take a break, let’s meet next week.” I
would come back the next week fired up, having totally forgotten the
disappointments we had encountered.
5. What are the top reasons why you have been successful in business?
I think I appreciate that assets without human input will fail. You
can assemble all the money you want and put together all the equipment
and tables and computers – but if you don’t work with the people, you
are bound to fail. The systems and tools are good because they enable us
to spend our time more intelligently rather than on basic brute
functions. But it is people who make your capital work. I think I work
well with people.
6. Where’s the best place to prepare for leadership? Business school or on the job?
I think business school is needed because it gives you tools. I am
now writing a paper on the review of the theories of leadership (Bashir is a PhD candidate)
and I see the 200-year argument of ‘born’ or ‘made’ when it comes to
leadership. I personally like a leader who can pick the average
performer and turn them into a confident, excellent person. Some
leadership qualities are inborn, but we have also seen potential good
leaders who lack basic tools to be able to deliver. So I think business
school is critical.
7. How do you relax?
I spend a lot of time with the kids. I have five children – four
daughters and a son. I try my best to go home early before they are
asleep. I also like going to national parks with the family, which is
fairly unusual for my community [where] a lot of people, with a lot
money, don’t find the time to go to parks. I like to leave Nairobi on
Friday afternoon, spend the weekend at a national park and return on
Sunday afternoon. I do quite a bit of that. It is fairly relaxing and it
gives you time with the kids.
I read a bit too. Right now I am also forced to read because I’m
doing a doctoral programme. My area of interest is leadership, and
business and management – so I read a lot on these.
8. By what time in the morning do you like to be at your desk?
I leave home around 6am to drop my kids at school. Then, as I’m
generally near the office, often having a first meeting by around
6:20am.
9. Your favourite job interview question?
Why did you choose to apply to us? You can assume that this person
has been jobless for years since graduation and is willing to take any
opportunity, but that could also be false. There are graduates who might
choose a company to work with for specific reasons. These days
information about companies is available on the web so you can screen a
company and say: “No, I don’t want to work here.”
So I am always curious to hear people’s answers even though the
question is not a determinant on whether or not they’ll get the job.
Sometimes you hear things about your company you had never ever heard.
One candidate told me he wanted to work with us because he’d heard our
company is Shariah-compliant, and as such it would have a certain
working environment (different from other companies).
10. What is your message to Africa’s aspiring business leaders and entrepreneurs?
First, current leaders should influence how business is done, and try
and improve the morality and ethics of business. It saddens me that
because of the systems we have built over time, business in Kenya
has lost its soul. We have taken everything to a dubious level. We need
to do business on a platform different from the one we are doing.
Right now… there’s a lot of corruption that is done by business. This
actually makes it harder for people who are aspiring to be business
leaders and entrepreneurs. If you are coming into an environment where
business is bought, and you are running a start-up with limited capital,
how do you survive? Hassan Bashir is CEO of Takaful Africa Group. In 2011 Bashir
founded Takaful Insurance of Africa (TIA), the first fully
Shariah-compliant insurance company to be registered in Kenya. The
company has since expanded to Somalia.
Meet Ericka Copening Sr. Recruitment Officer and Program Manager, World Bank
Ericka Copening is a Talent Acquisition professional with 17 years
of experience working in the Management Consulting, Technology and
Government service organizations holding various positions such as
Recruiter, Team Lead, Sourcing Specialist and Recruiting Supervisor. In
her current role as Sr. Recruitment Officer/Program Manager with the
World Bank Group, Ericka leads a small team focused on attracting and
recruiting diverse talent across the organization. In addition to her
work in the corporate space, Ericka has also held the position of
Adjunct Professor with the University of Maryland Robert H. Smith School
of Business, teaching “Career Strategies in Business.” Ericka holds a
Master of Public Administration with a Human Resources concentration
from Virginia Commonwealth University.
The truth will out #hatespeech #KUAilingGovernance #MaishaJioni #KTNLeo #artandEnviro254Expo. Wakenya Msilale, bado mapambano. @DickensYuleMoja.
this was the tweet hashtags of the day 13th june, 2016, Nairobi , Kenya. Twitter dont lie.
One thing that I have learnt from conventional wisdon is that most youth spend their creative lives on social media, Facebook, instagram, messenger, pinintrest , whatsapp ,linkedIN, Gmail, twirra just to mention but a few.Infact there is also one called viber which is popular in china.
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Media captionCar alarm hacked via wi-fi
The alarm on Mitsubishi's Outlander hybrid car can be turned off via security bugs in its on-board wi-fi, researchers have found.
The loophole could mean thieves who exploit the bugs gain time to break into and steal a vehicle.
The vulnerability can also be used to fiddle with some of the car's settings and drain its battery.
Mitsubishi recommended that users turn off the wi-fi while it investigates the issues with the system.
Helping thieves
Security
expert Ken Munro said the investigation started when he was waiting to
collect his children from school and noticed an unusual wi-fi access
point pop up on a list on his smartphone.
He realised it was on a
nearby Mitsubishi Outlander that belonged to a friend who then showed
him the associated app and how it could be used to control some aspects
of the vehicle. Image copyrightMitsubishiImage caption
About 100,000 Outlander hybrid cars are believed to have been sold
"I got playing with it and soon realised it was vulnerable so I stopped," he told the BBC.
Mr Munro then bought an Outlander and set about investigating how the car's owner communicates with their vehicle via the app.
Many
other car makers use a web-based service that supports apps for
connected cars so owners can lock them remotely or otherwise control
them. Typically, commands sent to a car pass through these servers
before being sent to the car over the mobile network. Image copyrightKen MunroImage caption
Replaying commands let security researchers turn off the car's alarm
By contrast, Mitsubishi has decided to only let apps
talk to cars via the onboard wi-fi. Unfortunately, said Mr Munro, there
were serious shortcomings with the way the wi-fi has been set up.
To
begin with, said Mr Munro, the format for the name of the access point
on the car is very distinct. This has led to the location of many
Mitsubishi hybrids being logged on websites that gather the names of
access points.
"Some were spotted while driving and others when
parked at their owner's house," wrote Mr Munro in a blog outlining his
findings. "A thief or hacker can therefore easily locate a car that is
of interest to them."
Short-term fix
Although
Mr Munro owned the vehicle, he and his colleagues at Pen Test Partners
security firm carried out their investigation as if they had no special
access to it. This involved using well-known techniques that let the
researchers interpose themselves between car and owner and watch data as
it flowed between the two.
The team used this access to replay
commands sent to an Outlander allowing them to flash the lights, tweak
its charging settings and drain the battery.
Mr Munro said he was "shocked" to find out that he could also turn off the car alarm via this replay attack.
A
thief who is sure the alarm could not go off would have plenty of time
to use other techniques to unlock a car and gain entry, he said.
A history of car hacking
The Mitsubishi Outlander is the latest in a series of cars that have been found wanting when it comes to security.
Chrysler's
2014 Jeep Cherokee, the Tesla Model S and the Nissan Leaf have all been
shown to be vulnerable to hack attacks of different degrees of
severity.
The most startling was the attack staged on the Jeep
which allowed the researchers to take control of the vehicle remotely.
The discovery led to 1.4 million vehicles being recalled for a software
update.
Security researchers fear that the more cars get connected to phones and the web, the more holes will be found.
But
car makers are always playing catch-up when it comes to security as it
takes far longer to develop a vehicle than it does to find, expose and
share the flaws in their onboard computer systems.
"Once
unlocked, there is potential for many more attacks," he said. "The
on-board diagnostics port is accessible once the door is unlocked."
Access
to the diagnostics port could allow thieves to connect customised
hardware that would let them start the car, suggested Mr Munro.
A
demonstration of the problems with the on-board wi-fi was given to
Mitsubishi in the UK on 3 June where the bugs were shown to still work
on the latest version of the app.
Mr Munro said he had been
impressed by the cooperation he had received from Mitsubishi in
exploring the bugs and seeking ways to fix them.
In a statement, Mitsubishi said: "This hacking is a first for us as no other has been reported anywhere else in the world." Image copyrightNissanImage caption
In February bugs in apps for the Nissan Leaf were exposed by security researchers
It said it "took the matter seriously" and was keen
to get Mr Munro talking to its engineers in Japan to understand what he
found and how it could be remedied.
It added that although the
bugs were "obviously disturbing" the hack only affected the car's app
and would give an attacker limited access to the vehicle's systems.
"It should be noted that without the remote control device, the car cannot be started and driven away," it said.
While Mitsubishi investigated it recommended that owners deactivate their onboard wi-fi via the "cancel VIN Registration" option on the app or by using the remote app cancellation procedure.
A longer-term fix would require some action from Mitsubishi, said Mr Munro.
"New firmware should be deployed urgently to fix this problem properly, so the mobile app can still be used," he said.
