Flashy office spaces at pocket-friendly charges

Shared offices, commonly referred to as the “virtual offices”, are slowly catching up among start-ups and medium-size businesses in Kenya’s major towns. Some established businesses are also resorting to virtual office spaces as the rental rates for conventional offices skyrocket.

A report released last year on Nairobi’s office space segment by Knight Frank, in their property market outlook, indicated that rent for prime offices in Nairobi’s prime areas remained expensive with most of them renting at Sh2,100 per square meter per month. This has been way above the asking rent for this commodity in the entire market and equally proving unaffordable to many interested in renting office space.

This has, however, not stopped those who want to have business-friendly work spaces. Enter virtual offices. Typically such offices provide flexible work spaces giving small businesses a chance to own a reputable address at a fraction of what you would spend on a more conventional address of the same profile.

Esther Muchemi, the CEO of Samchi Group of Companies, says that virtual office space is offering an alternative for start-ups, boosting their organisational image and allowing them to play in the same league with established businesses.

At one time, Muchemi operated from a virtual office in the United Kingdom (UK). She says clients do not care whether one is operating from a virtual office as long as they are satisfied with the services. “I first learnt about the virtual office idea when I was in the UK for a number of months where we shared office space with other people. We also lived in the same place that these services were,” she says.

This was the time her company, Samchi Telecom, was in the initial stages of growth in a competitive telecoms industry. She didn’t have the financial muscle to rent a fully-fledged office.

“It was not possible for me to rent an office in the UK because I was temporarily there. I was introduced to the virtual office idea. We shared space with other people and got accommodated in the same area,” she recalls.

Pierina Guantai, the a manager of Space International, one of the companies offering virtual office space for rentals in Nairobi’s central business district, says since they started the business in 2013, they have served as an incubation centre for medium enterprises with limited financial muscle to rent conventional offices.

“Currently, I have 16 clients; many have come, operated their businesses and later moved out after expanding,” says Guantai.

Located on Nairobi’s Tom Mboya Street, Space International has seen an influx young business people keen on boosting image and branding of their businesses.

“I am always comfortable with bringing in my clients to my office compared to when I used to meet them in hotels to sell my products,” says Njoki Wainaina, a director at Hemaya Consultancy, a tours and travel company operating from a shared office at Space International.

Njoki says sharing the office with other companies has enabled her network and save on related office expenses like customer service, catering, telephone calls, printing and photocopying services, internet, and boardroom services.

Njoki says she has saved on the human resource capital which she could have invested in if she had decided to go independent.

“Although some of the office services are normally factored in the money you pay for a virtual office, the costs are shared among those you share the office with, making it cheaper,” Njoki says.

One of the latest entrants in Kenya’s virtual office business is Regus.com, which is opening a number of office spaces in a number of prime city locations, charging Sh1,300 per day per person. Regus advertises their virtual office as: “The right image for your business, with a professional address, telephone answering, mail handling, and use of an office.”

Their website gives potential clients  a choice of seven locations located in business hubs that include the Nairobi Central Business District, Westlands, Kilimani, Riverside, Museum Hill and the Village Market.

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