MICE has put Kenya top on the global map

In the past one year, Kenya has hosted three major global conferences namely the Global Entrepreneurship Summit, United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD14) and currently the Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD VI). Two others are lined up later this year; The Indo Africa ICT Expo and the 5th Annual East Africa Oil and Gas Summit to be held in September and November, respectively. Each of these conferences comes with direct and indirect benefits to Kenya. The direct benefits accrue from the negotiations, deal making and resolutions of which Kenya is party to. On the side-lines of such conferences vibrant entities such as the Kenya National Chamber of Commerce and Industry have facilitated their members to actively engage and network with their peers from across the globe. The indirect benefits have also been through hospitality, forex earning and tourism.

Hosting such meetings comes after intense lobbying and negotiations. The Presidency and Ministry of Foreign Affairs should be applauded for this. The country’s foreign policy has been revamped especially since CS Amina Mohammed took office through actively engaging all countries of the world. And indeed one can see the results of these efforts. Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Exhibitions (MICE) seem to have become a well-crafted strategic response to redeem the country’s glory after the terrorism challenges we faced in the recent past.  Notably, the MICE are hosted by Kenyatta International Conference Centre. The Centre has steadily enhanced its viability and relevance to global standards since becoming a state corporation in 2003. The Centre can now successfully bid for any international event because of its well organized governance and management structure unlike the days it was used as KANU headquarters and managed by politicians.

Moving forward, the National together with the County Governments of Nairobi, Kiambu, Kajiado and Machakos should hasten the design and construction of metropolis transport system more specifically the light rail system. The presence of an event in the CBD should not affect productivity of the rest of the City in any way. Cities such as Manchester host matches at Old Trafford which have more than 75,000 fans attending. But it can take exactly 15 minutes to empty the filled to capacity Old Trafford without causing any traffic snarl-ups in Manchester due to the well-organized public transport.

Other County governments such as Nakuru and Homabay in conjunction with KICC should invest in facilities that can enable them bid for such global events. These counties already have serene natural environments which can enable participants dovetail MICE with game drives and safaris. Finally, most of the global meetings are extremely high level. It is important that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs recasts its communication strategy to include breaking down the proceedings and resolutions in more digestible versions for the Kenyan population.

 

Dr. Walter Ongeti is a Strategy and Governance Scholar and Consultant