According to Africa News, Kenya is eyeing a complete re-opening of the country this December. After nearly two years of Coronavirus-enforced disruption, the Kenyan government is looking to revitalise the economy through the easing of restrictions.

It is still unclear how much of a relaxation we can expect to see within Kenya. However, considering how the economy shrank by 0.2% in 2020, government officials must be anxious to get back to running things as normal

This announcement, reported on by the online broadcaster, comes off the back of a variety of different news pieces that suggest at a reshaping of the Kenyan economy.

Earlier in 2021, many East African news outlets also reported on a perceived evolution to Kenya’s relationship with Tanzania. The Presidents of East Africa’s largest economies met in May and are reported to have discussed a strengthening of the business ties between the two countries.

What’s more, from an international perspective, we are seeing a global reimagining of business. The COVID-19 pandemic, the restrictions it brought about and the changes to consumer habits that it allowed us all to consider, have prompted many re-adaptations within the business world.

Globally, entrepreneurs have been using the time of restricted movement to consider the future of their businesses. Here in Kenya, that has occasionally been necessity enforced. Some areas of industry suffered as a result of movement restrictions or reduced tourism. As a result of livestock markets closing down, for example, the women featured in this news article switched to the production of masks to keep them afloat during the pandemic.

This story is symptomatic of a broader trend being experienced worldwide. The pandemic has given people the chance to reflect. In that reflection, many have also began to ask questions of the old way of doing business.

We cannot hope to see the full scale of these new modes of thinking for some years to come. However, there are many within the business world who have long been calling for changes to the way things are done.

With environmental concerns growing, there are increasingly vocal calls for greener practices and whether more environmentally-damaging products or services shouldn’t be reimagined. With the emergence of more efficient communications technology, even the necessity of office workspaces is being called into question. These are just two of the most obvious areas of business that are currently under new study.

Kenyans, as all of us local to this country know, have a well-embedded culture of entrepreneurial spirit. Big business is increasingly coming under the control of locals to this country. (If you want to read more about two industries in which this is evident, take a look at our deep dives into the insurance and banking industries).

Small businesses, our informal Jua Kali sector and more formalised enterprises, have a long history of being adaptable and quick-moving. As a result of this incredibly adaptable business culture and the other factors we listed previously, we believe that 2022 will see a huge influx of new, modern and forward-thinking businesses emerge.

Our readers may even be thinking of their own new venture and, as document archivists, we thought it pertinent to give any potential new business starters some advice.

Records management for new businesses:

The better the state of Kenyan business, the better news it is for Kenya’s third-party records management companies. As Kenyan businesses grow and change, they generate records and those records require storage and safe-keeping.

We, at the Filing Room, are very excited for this potential, rejuvenating wave of Kenyan businesses. Our industry stands to benefit regardless of whether all of these new businesses decide to store their records with a third-party document storage company.

Increased activity always benefits B2B businesses just like ours, even if its indirectly, and, as a result, we have some advice for new businesses with regards to record and document management. This advice goes for those that will seek to create an in-house system and those who will look to out-source their document storage.

Records management is a systematic process or series of processes that can be set up entirely in-house. All it requires is a well thought out plan, a carefully controlled process for record generation and storage, clear objectives and someone (or a few people) to oversee the process.

There are many benefits that can be found by a small, new business if it implements an efficient records management system. There are also many risks or negatives met by new businesses that don’t immediately set up an effective storage and safekeeping system.

If you want to read our full break-down of why records management is essential for small businesses and start-ups, you can do so here.

We strongly recommend you read the above article if you are entering into a new business venture. If you haven’t the time, however, suffice it to boil down those benefits to these three points. Efficient, effective records management:

  • Frees up resources
  • Reduces costs
  • Achieves compliance