Strathmore Business School to host Food Safety Summit Africa 2015

Strathmore Business School (SBS) will this week host the Food Safety Summit Africa Conference & Expo at Strathmore University Auditorium to discuss food safety issues in Kenya and Africa.  

The two-day forum that kicks off this Thursday May 28^th to Friday May 29^th, 2015 will bring together international and regional service and product providers and policy makers; regulatory agencies, entrepreneurs, managers and professionals from the food agro industries in Sub-Saharan Africa for an intense dialogue on food safety matters. 

Commenting on the forum, Strathmore Business School Dean, Dr. George Njenga said: “Africa is faced with many challenges, including inadequate human capital and infrastructure – required to produce, harvest, store, transport, and process the bulk of its produce.  This often leads to huge losses and of course, an increase in unsafe food ending up on the table of millions of unsuspecting consumers.”

“Food poisoning is today a major health issue that costs families and households huge sums of money in treatment and in some cases leading to deaths. But the problems of unsafe foods does not end there, the rise in lifestyle diseases like cancer, hypertension and heart disease can also be linked to the consumption of unsafe food,” he explained.

According to the Dean, the Food Safety Summit Conference & Expo will serve as an important forum to engage the Government, NGO’s, food value chain players and the public to build upon the continent’s goal to “not only feed itself through agriculture and agro-processing, but also to produce safe food and horticultural products for local and export markets.”

The Conference will focus on current and emerging food safety issues in Africa in the face of changes in regulatory environment in the continent and its key export markets. Discussions at the conference will take the farm-to-table approach - covering the entire value chain from production, handling and storage, processing, retail and distribution of food, beverages and agricultural produce and will cover the latest information on food safety issues, from sanitation issues to the latest technological breakthroughs in an open and informative manner.

Organizers say the Food Safety Summit Africa 2015 provides opportunity for the continent and Kenya to start looking for African solutions for its unique food safety challenges, while working with the international community, suppliers, Governments, researchers and academia.

The Food Safety Summit Africa Conference & Expo is an annual event that focuses on current and emerging food safety issues in the continent in the face of changes in regulatory environment in the continent and its key export markets.

Key business leaders across Africa to discuss the continent’s economic trends

Selected business leaders and policy makers from across the African continent will this weekend converge at Windsor Golf & Country Club in Nairobi to discuss the mega trends in Africa. 

The forum organized by Strathmore Business School (SBS), business leaders among them Kenyan Industrialist Dr. Manu Chandaria, Keroche Breweries Chief Executive Officer, Ms. Tabitha Karanja and Prof. Reid, Whitlock, Chief Executive Officer, Tony Elumelu Foundation, will discuss the growing trends in key economic sectors and prospects for the African continent with a view of providing insights for the continent’s growth in the next decade.

The forum which will have a panel discussion, is mainly drawn from the SBS Alumni, will explore the empirical prospects of the recent developments in the ICT and energy sectors, which are projected to change the fortunes of the continent in the wake of increased investment.  

Announcing the event, Strathmore Business School Dean Dr. George Njenga said the forum is a one of the many forums that the business school is exploring as an avenue to share knowledge and experience drawing among key leaders and policy makers. 

“We want to provide an opportunity for leaders to share insights and chart perspectives for both governance and business leadership in Africa. There are countless precedents in Africa and many ground-breaking innovations that have heralded a new frontier of economic sustainability,” said Dr.  Njenga. 

“We recognize that Africa is quickly shaking off stereotypes of receiver of aid and sufferer of famine, and looking to build a brighter future of sustainable economic growth, investment, and growing democratic prospects,” he noted.

Other leaders expected to speak at the conference are: James Mworia, Chief Executive Officer, Centum Investments Company Limited, Theopista Ntale, Head of Wholesale Banking and Head of Women’s division at Development Finance Company of Uganda. 

Already, the African continent has registered positive results, with several nations joining the ranks of the top ten fastest growing global economies. By 2050, the continent is predicted to have the world’s second largest population, which leaders are hoping to leverage on the global trade stage in manufacturing, services and agriculture. 

The recent discovery in rich oil fields and natural gas reserves has transformed the region into an important player and a key “target” in global oil and gas production.

Similarly, developments in the ICT sector have also transformed lives on the continent with new great cases being recorded in Kenya and other countries on the continent.   In Kenya, ICT has played a major role country's growth of financial inclusion, where active bank accounts have increased from 2.5 million in 2007 to more than 12 million in half a decade. 

This forum comes at a time when SBS is celebrating its 10 years of success since its establishment in 2005.

This event comes ahead of the Global Entrepreneurship Summit that will be co-hosted by US President Barack Obama in July 2015 in the country.

Strathmore Business School to invest more in health, agribusiness and public sector programs

Leading business institution, Strathmore Business School (SBS) has today announced plans to invest more in impactful and relevant health, agribusiness and public sectors programs in the next decade.

According to the institution, there is a growing need of students and other individuals that are taking up more and more of health, agribusiness and public sector programs. So far, the institution has trained over 180 healthcare professionals across 15 counties in over 50 different institutions that include hospitals and regulatory boards.

Established in 2005, SBS has achieved key milestones that have continued to see its students transform through coaching on governance, leadership in the health, agribusiness and public sector areas.

Speaking at the School’s celebration of its 10 years anniversary, SBS dean, Dr. George Njenga noted: “This is a significant milestone not only for the institution but also for business schools in Kenya and Africa. Through the decade, we have seen an uptake of agribusiness, public sector and health programs amongst Kenyans. This means that more and more Kenyans want to learn entrepreneurial skills to grow their businesses. 

He added: “Business program offerings are evolving over the years. The key factor to take our country to the next level is through offering executive programs that are target specific. As an institution, our commitment is to coach more and more people in these sectors so that we transform our country.”

Over the years, Strathmore Business School has coached opinion shapers including Emeritus Chief Executive Officer; Kenya Commercial Bank, Martin Oduor, James Mwangi, CEO Equity Bank, Governor of Turkana, Josphat Nanok, Governor of Wajir, Ahmed Abdulahi and Chief Government Pathologist Johannsen Oduor among many other executive leaders.

The institution offers various business executives programs that target individuals who have just stepped into employment scaling to chair company boards including – New Managers Leadership program, Program for Management Development, Senior Management Leadership Program, Advanced Management Program, the Effective Director Program and Leading the Board Program. 

This comes at a time when the institution has launched a Doctorate Scheme aimed at enhancing access to graduates who have an interest to pursue a doctoral degree with SBS Partner Schools. These schools include IESE Business School, Barcelona(Spain), Sauder School of Business, Vancouver (Canada), St. Gallen Business School, St. Gallen Switzerland and Nanyang Business School, Singapore.