Digitalisation and setting up in Kenya: interview with Augustin Bonniol

How do you analyse the impact of the Covid crisis on business tourism in Kenya?

Augustin Bonniol - The pandemic has had the same impact on Kenya as on Africa and the rest of the world, with the first case of infection recorded on 12 March 2020. The Kenyan government reacted immediately with a number of strict measures from 15 March 2020: closure of borders except for Kenyans and residents, suspension of air traffic, closure of schools, teleworking, and so on. The result is that economic dynamism has come to a halt insofar as no more work permits were issued by the authorities. Nevertheless, Kenya bounced back fairly quickly: the waves of the epidemic were brought under control and the airport reopened on 1 August 2020 with a gradual reopening of the government offices on a half-gauge basis. For four months, the country was closed: there was no more business travel, no more business start-ups and no more expatriate workers. But in the end, rather than a complete loss of activity, the health crisis caused more of a mothballing and generated a postponement of economic activity. It should be noted, however, that many subsidiary directors left in the summer of 2020, but unlike in previous years, some positions have not been renewed since then. From August 2020 onwards, we have seen a strong rebound in economic activity thanks to the recovery in air traffic, the arrival of new expatriates, the resumption of investment projects, and so on. We are now back to pre-Covid figures. In my opinion, Kenya's gateway roles role as an economic hub with access to the countries of East Africa has played a decisive role here.

The crisis is not really affecting Kenya's economic dynamism, but its impact is hampering international travel in Africa

Yet travel in the region has not returned to normal?

A. B. - A PCR test and a QR code are always necessary, and all of this requires a great deal of preparation and generates a lot of costs. a lot of stress in the run-up to any international trip. For example, I recently had to travel to Uganda via Nairobi. The Ugandan authorities drew up a list of ten countries - including Kenya - for which additional checks were compulsory: if you weren't vaccinated, you had to have a PCR test on departure as well as on arrival. So a 48-hour business trip with the prospect of spending half a day in a Covid test centre becomes very complicated. The crisis is not really affecting the country's economic dynamism, but its impact is hampering international travel in Africa, even though Kenya has been efficient and clear in its air travel standards and the country is doing rather well when it comes to business travel.

How have companies responded to the crisis?

A. B. - Many start-ups and SMEs have taken advantage of Covid's time with teleworking to carry out catching up on their digital transformation. In Africa, many SMEs still rely on more traditional communication systems, such as email, WhatsApp or Word and Excel documents. A number of companies have invested to improve their internal procedures and find themselves coming out of the crisis with new product innovations and better solutions to offer their customers. Our company, ABC Expathas invested in a new digital platformThis is a major investment that we have been working on for six months and which will enable our customers to manage their set-up and development projects in Africa entirely remotely with information available at all times. We're not alone: in Kenya, many companies have turned to investing in innovation during the crisis.

How have you seen the needs of the customers you help set up in East Africa evolve since your company was founded in 2015?

A. B. - There is still a fundamental need to access a potential market. Many companies understand the potential of the Kenyan and African market, but Kenya, like Africa, has certain codes that are necessary to do business and succeed. Access to information, networks and expertise are the three main obstacles facing foreign investors in Africa. Immigration procedures, for example, change very regularly, and it is very difficult for companies to find their way around. We have seen in recent years that most set-up failures are linked to the choice of local partners who do not have the necessary expertise, integrity or global vision, and end up creating a new barrier to entry. It's easy to set up in Kenya and East Africa when you have the right information, the right networks and the right expertise. We offer organisations wishing to set up in the region a professional support service based on international standards to build bridges between cultures and people.