Introduction
Business is an important percept of the twenty first century. Most industries such as energy, manufacturing, service have greatly expanded less than sixty years ago. Although, the vicious gap between the rich and the poor continues to expand rapidly. In Kenya, you need to have a net worth of twenty thousand dollars to be among the one percent (you know, the who-is-who). According to the latest World Bank report, 46% of Kenyans live below the poverty line. Earning less than a dollar a day. For those living in the concrete jungle, affording two meals in a day is an underrated blessing. The question is, where and how does food get to your table?
Agribusiness is the in thing
Agriculture is the backbone of our economy. Not many years ago, we made roads, connected power to the most remote places, we built a port, just to name a few developments that have made our country more economically attractive. The diplomatic ties that we have been mending since independence, they have opened doors for business ties and exchange programs. Business in agriculture is a broad subject as it cuts across all fields of professions. Be it directly or indirectly, agriculture is both a product and service that is constantly on demand. From running a farm, packaging, transport, value addition just to name a few channels that bring in the aspect of money into agriculture. The young people in Kenya are the largest consumers; that equals to having a high purchasing power. Our spending habits are affected by the interests we have picked up over time. The diversification of culture and beliefs have shaped how society conforms to itself.
Being in an era of technology and information, we are in the process of defining our generations.
Millennial’s aka Generation Y are those born between 1981 and 1996. Gen Z, pretty much between 1997 and 2012. Millennials would probably be those born in the era of great wall televisions and cute baby pictures at Uhuru Park. Generation Z are a bit dramatic but cool. First, there had to be an Elnino to welcome their grand entourage. Secondly, the first woman candidate ran for president when the endorsement of multi-party politics happened, pretty lit huh. That is just a glimpse of the creamy top.
Our generation has a different ‘flow’. We want to express ourselves authentically. This means, one’s dreadlocks, tattoos, piercings and dirty jeans is not a hinderance to make one useful at the workspace. We want flexible jobs, hours, and routines to have enough time to catch up at the local for two cold ones with the girls/ squad. We created a language, Sheng, a balance of Kiswahili, English and a lot of mother tongue into a cocktail of linguistic preference.
In our country, being a young person can be both a good and bad thing.
According to the constitution of Kenya, chapter seventeen, – general provisions-, ‘youth’ means the collectivity of all individuals who – a.) have attained the age of eighteen, but b.) have not attained the age of thirty-five years. The conversation around our leaders, those who are accountable and responsible for the well-being of all citizens, is not loud enough among youth. The concern by the government does not reflect so.
In 2010, the constitution of Kenya reconfigured the balance of power by devolving power and responsibilities from the national government to 47 elected county governments. Among the priorities of devolution, it was meant to reduce the rural- urban migration especially by youths. Training institutions and collages were strategically placed in certain counties to assimilate young people who were manufactured by the secondary school phase. Majority of GenZ and millennials went through the Kenyan 8-4-4 system. An investment of sixteen years that a good lot is yet to see the benefits in terms of jobs, government support and sanity in the society at large. A big challenge our generation is suffering is mental health. In one way or another, everyone is fighting silent battles. Leave alone the Instagram posts of enjoyment every other weekend, and the bright smiles in selfies that cover up broken people. Suicide and homicide cases are on the rise, the global pandemic stretches to noetic domains.
But again, those that were lucky enough to beat the system, was it really luck?
Here, we will look at how agriculture, business, youth and government are and can be intertwined to create better living conditions for the average Kenyan. How can we expand our local and international markets, incorporate more young people into agriculture? What are the financial dynamics that control and balance consumerism and entrepreneurship?
We will demystify all that and so much more; stay tuned, plug in.
Young. Prime. Conversations.
