"CEOs can't wait to read Sunny Bindra's articles every week."

An unusually dressed man passed through Kenya this past week. His flowing white robes and long hair and beard marked him out as an Indian sage. But this extraordinary man is not a religious leader. I had the privilege of interviewing him, and what he had to say is worth recording during this season of […]

CSR – three letters that have become very important, very common, even very fashionable in the common discourse of business people. Companies now seem to need a special corporate social responsibility strategy, special positions in the organisation dedicated to CSR, and a whole menu of special events laid on during the year to show the […]

Address given at Ufadhili Trust CSR East Africa Conference, Safari Park Hotel, 29 November 2006 Ladies and Gentlemen Thank you very much indeed for inviting me here. It is a privilege to address this very important gathering – the more so because you are drawn from all over East Africa. CSR – three letters that […]

As I waited for the world to descend on Nairobi to debate climate change, a couple of names from my past loomed up in the international headlines. And both, remarkably, were enlightening the world about the vexed issue that is climate change. The first name was that of John Hawksworth, once a colleague when I […]

You’re working on a very important report, and you’re behind schedule. An e-mail marked ‘urgent reply needed’ pops up on your computer screen. You start reading it, and see that it does indeed need your immediate attention. You start working on a response. There’s a knock on the door, and a colleague walks in. You […]

If you are in Nairobi and happen to be in the State House area, you may notice a freshly painted bright yellow line in the middle of State House Road. You may also notice another thing: the line is crooked. Why am I telling you this on a Sunday morning? No, I haven’t run out […]

Muhammad trained as an economist, and obtained a scholarship to study the subject further in the United States. After returning home with a doctorate, he began teaching at a local university. But he lived in one of the world’s poorest countries, and something was bothering him: he engaged in intellectual repartee with his fellow academics, […]

There is a fable that is widely heard in Kenya. This fable has two versions, depending on who’s telling it. If it’s a Kenyan South Asian doing the recounting, then it goes like this: Kenya’s Wahindi are born business-people. Excelling at business is in their genes. They can make any venture work, and can wring […]

‘S’ works at night as a watchman. He was on his way to work one evening, when a frantic neighbour caught up with him and told him to rush back to his home – a one-room shack in Dagoretti – because it was on fire. S pedalled his bicycle like a madman, weaving amongst all […]

We are still very traditional in our approach to business in Kenya. Most enterprises are owned by families; most look to the eldest son in the family to take the reins as the first line of succession. Anything wrong with that? It’s a time-honoured practice across the world: the eldest son must always assume the […]

Which is the best country in the world in which to do business? You may be surprised to learn that it is not the world’s largest business-centred economy, the United States. No, top ranking in the World Bank’s recently released report, ‘Doing Business 2007’ actually went to Singapore. New Zealand was the runner-up; the USA […]

We love mega-conferences in Kenya, do we not? We take great pride in the arrival of thousands of delegates from all around the globe, assembling in our land to debate the great issues of the day. Whenever one of these shows is rolling into town, we get all excited: we spruce up the city, flatten […]

There is a serious crime that most of us have committed at some point in our lives. I have done it and, in all likelihood, so have you. It involves stealing from others; denying people their rightful livelihood and pocketing it for yourself. Not guilty, you shout? Don’t be too sure. I am referring to […]

Mention the word ‘activist’ in Kenyan corporate circles, and watch all the chief executives head for the nearest exit. In business, activists are persona non grata at best, dangerous hotheads at worst. There is nothing to be gained from associating with these people, who seem to get high on tear-gas and are only truly alive […]

I wrote last week about the lamentable state of customer service in Kenya, and I appear to have touched a nerve. I received an avalanche of e-mails, mostly from very angry people wanting to share their own dreadful experiences with Kenya’s leading companies. So it is perhaps worth keeping this topic going for another week. […]

The customer, we are told as children, is king. Anyone who has spent some of his or her life in Kenya could be forgiven for screaming at that fanciful notion. Here, the customer is a serf, a pauper, a desperado. Are the following sad tales not the common experience of anyone trying to buy goods […]

We are impressed, are we not? Many had doubts and misgivings about what a visiting American senator could do for us. Many of us feared that Kenyans would take the visit of ‘one of their own’, and an influential one at that, as an opportunity to line up and plead for assistance. But Senator Barack […]

These are interesting times in world business. In the early part of this year, the international corporate community was gripped by the audacious bid by Mittal Steel, the world’s biggest steelmaker by volume, for Arcelor, the second-biggest producer. Arcelor’s strongholds are in Europe; Mittal’s are in emerging markets and in America. So the two companies […]

A couple of weeks ago, I wrote about the remarkable charitable efforts of the world’s two richest men, Bill Gates and Warren Buffet. In particular, I enthused about the new business-like and systematic approach to philanthropy being pioneered by the Gates Foundation. I almost regret writing that article. My in-box has been inundated with mail […]

Patriotism is back on the agenda. We are at that stage in our evolution where we need to define what a ‘Kenyan’ is. Nations only prosper when its people possess common cause and unity of purpose. But what, exactly, is a Kenyan? Is it something defined by your passport or ID card? Your domicile? By […]

So our five tumultuous by-elections are done. Did we learn anything, and are we moving forward? I am afraid the answer to both questions may be “no”. Like a tape running on rewind, we may actually be unlearning what we know whilst driving backwards. How can we be said to be moving forward when we […]

The man who amassed the biggest fortune in history is going to devote the rest of his life to giving it away. The man who amassed the second-largest fortune in history is joining him. If there was bigger news than that this year, I must have missed it. This is remarkable stuff. Bill Gates, the […]

Last week this column highlighted the issue of transparency as a key weapon in the war against corruption. Here’s some more evidence. Researchers recently set up a secret experiment at the University of Newcastle in the U.K. Work colleagues were asked to put money into an ‘honesty box’ to pay for their hot drinks, rather […]

The World Bank likes to conduct a little test. Imagine you are the last person to leave work late in the evening. You approach your vehicle in the secluded car park. You see a white envelope lying on the floor. You pick it up and find that it contains twenty $100 notes. No one is […]

The facts so far: two “brothers”, both calling themselves “Artur” arrived in Kenya some months ago. They were purportedly “investors” – something that was confirmed by senior government officials. Later, we discovered that these “Armenians” seemed to have all sorts of amazing powers in this country. They appeared to have the freedom to do whatever […]

Every four years Africa goes to football’s World Cup. Every four years Africa returns empty-handed. Perhaps it’s time to ask why. The first rays of hope emerged in Italia 1990, when Cameroon arrived at the tournament with a bang. They managed to progress beyond the group stage – from a group that contained holders Argentina […]

In which language do you think? When I was ten years old, it became clear to me that I generally think in English. Many years later, the repercussions of this seemingly innocuous discovery became apparent. Since then I have tussled with the idea of ‘my’ language, and its loss. ‘My’ language is Punjabi. But Hindi, […]

Last week Mr. Amos Kimunya was the youngest Finance Minister in my memory to present the country’s annual budget. And it showed. KPMG Kenya’s Richard Ndungu, writing in The EastAfrican, entertainingly described Mr. Kimunya as our Chief Plucker – a play on the meaning of his name in Kikuyu. And the Minister certainly proceeded to […]