Rented prestige

Forget the hassles of setting up an office, today you can actually just walk in, sign up and get a completely functional office instantaneously for even an hour, writes Kiundu Waweru

John is a broker. He knows who sells what and who offers whichever service you may need. He also tenders for big parastatal projects with his registered company, never mind that he does not have an office.

He operates from the boot of his well-maintained Toyota AE100 car, the prestigious address and a paid parking lot near the GPO. Luckily, his many cell phones make him mobile, as compared to the days of the phone booth when he would be chained to one, waiting for calls from his clients.

ESBC’s boardroom equipped with video conferencing facilities.

Getting an office space today is an expensive affair. Property owners will demand goodwill and a deposit equalling the monthly rent. This is in addition to the cost of partitioning the office, furnishing it, buying equipments like computers and hiring personnel.

A property manager in Nairobi told Home&Away that in prime locations like Nairobi’s Kimathi Street, an office space covering 985 square feet on the fourth floor of a building would attract Sh40,000 monthly rent. This is about Sh408 per square foot. In the same building, a 49 square feet area goes for Sh612 per square foot.

cheap alternative

Realising that most start ups could not afford an office, shrewd businessmen, borrowing a leaf from developed nations, rushed to fill the void and as early as 2005, business centres sprout up. Starting as work stations, where one could rent a desk with a computer with an Internet connection for a paltry sum, the centres have evolved to contain serviced, virtual, partial or short-term offices.

The business centres are designed such that you can walk in and start operations as they are equipped with a computer, Internet connection, phones and you also have a receptionist, cleaner, messenger and tea girl at your disposal. Also provided are meeting rooms and or boardrooms, fully equipped with state of art videoconferencing facilities.

For serviced offices, you are charged according to the number of desks you require. An office with one desk attracts about Sh40,000 per month in Westlands area and Sh30,000 in the Central Business District.

Business centres

For the past for one and a half years, Edwin Ndungu has been operating from home, trading in online Forex and also training people on the same, and also on portfolio management.

A client enjoys the services of a serviced office at ESBC Eden Square. Photos: Kiundu Waweru/Standard

"But working from home was hectic and clients would ask where my office was, of which I had no answer since I could not afford one," explains Edwin.

Last year, his answer came in form of a workstation at Professional Solution Centre at Hazina Towers.

"For Sh12,000 a month I got a desk, a computer with internet connection and the services of a receptionist. I also have access to meeting rooms where I meet my clients," Edwin enthuses.

And this is the story all the beneficiaries tell. Cecilia Mbau works for an Australian company, GRM International, where she heads the East African regional office. Her office is in a prestigious location, along Chiromo Road and even though she works alone, she is not lonely.

She occupies a serviced office at ESBC, Eden Square of which she says; "It is my first time to work in such an environment, which I must say is quite an experience because even though I am the only GRM employee, the ESBC professional staff supports our business greatly."

Cecilia only walked in with her laptop and everything else was catered for. Her calls come through the receptionist, who serves all the other clients; "At the switch board, the caller ID identifies the company being called, and the receptionist may either connect the caller to the office, or take the message if they are away," explains ESBC General Manager, Maria Wamakonjio.

They also have a business hub, offering printing, photocopying and IT services to the clients.

A workstation at the Space International

Next to the Biz Hub is the virtual office, fitted with workstations targeting people who need an address but are not always present.

Rich ambience

"You see, a sales person may need an office for two hours, or maybe someone is in Nairobi briefly and in need of an office, thus, a virtual office is what he needs," explains Maria. Charges ranges from Sh40,000 (US$500). A deposit of Sh40,000 is also required for a virtual office, henceforth paying monthly according to the usage.

One of the standing feature of the business centres is the rich ambience, that gives the impression of professionalism and attention to detail; "It is all about, image," avers Maria, "No one will take you seriously working from home, or from a shady address."

And the business centres are situated in up market addresses, and also in streets seen as third world (Tom Mboya Street). On Chiromo Road is Regus, an international company with a network of 1,000 business centres world wide and serves mostly international clients working in Kenya and who might need office solutions by day, half day all hourly bases.

In the CBD, there is the equally glamorous International House Business centre, at International House on Mama Ngina Stree, whose Marketing Officer, Alice Kanina, believes they were the pioneer of this concept in 2004 before other operators duplicated the concept. Genius Kenya, at View Park Towers, is also accredited with incubating many start up businesses, before the entrepreneurs expanded and moved on.

Down town

Speaking of atmosphere, Tom Mboya Street, going down to River Road, has never been an ideal spot for offices. But a brave developer is set to change all that, as she has erected a state of the art business centre, Space International, at El Roi Plaza, smack at the noisy Odeon Cinema. The ambience is elaborate, cool, rich and welcoming giving an out of Tom Mboya experience. The offices are available on long term, short term to hourly access.

Receptionists at ESBC Eden Square along Nairobi’s Chiromo Road

"We want to give entrepreneurs affordable office solutions in a serene atmosphere. In Nairobi, office space is measured in square footage, unfortunately people are paying as high as Sh400 per square foot, whereas the ideal price should be in the range of Sh150- 200," says Francis Nderitu, Manager Rank Global, the company managing Space International.

They also offer virtual offices. "There are businessmen who may not be in Nairobi, but would like to maintain their presence. We handle all their communications on their behalf and their clients will never notice their absence," says Nderitu explaining that ‘dedicated’ is a term meaning one will use the offices for a specified number of hours per day.

Vetting

Virtual offices allow one to have an office for a short time, which means that unscrupulous people could use the opportunity to con people before escaping into thin air.

Here Nderitu says they vet people who need the office; "We will need to see their identity cards or passport, certificate of registration, or incorporation, and details on the nature of their business."

Space International has upped the game. On the fifth floor, they have constructed luxury furnished penthouses that will enable travelling business executives to retire to bed in style, even having a 24-hour access to the offices down stairs.

And even though the concept is catching up in Kenya, Maria of ESBC, which has four branches including in Kisumu, all operating the same way, says that most people are unaware of the business centres.

"In other countries, business centres are very popular. But Kenyans are catching up quick and our clients include students, researchers, business executives and start ups."

She is upbeat that with the opening of East African Community, and the commissioning of a new railway line, Kisumu and the regional market is ideal for investing in business centres, for people are seeking office solutions.