Kenya's new constitutional dispensation and the East African Community common market offer a positive momentum for growth. This "momentum" however, has its accompanying pain and spasms. At the constitutional level, it entails overthrowing the old order that bred paternalism, suffocated the market place and divided the country in terms of perceived natural capital. It demands that the ship changes course to focus on innovation, wealth creation, collaboration (not "my people" politics), meritocracy and microeconomics among others.
 
While sharing growth strategies with Small and Medium Sized (SME) business operators recently, I witnessed great synergy play out between government and private sector. While Kenya's East Africa Community economists were at hand to explain the legal issues and the current bottlenecks surrounding the regional market, officials from GroFin, a growth finance firm had its one question: "Do you require financing of $50,000 to $1 million to meet your business needs in the counties and East Africa Community?" The growth momentum is here; Kenyans must not allow the heat generated by war against graft and attempts to seal economic leakages to divert them from the ultimate prize of prosperity.

Ideas are a place to get started. Take for example, an idea such as ensuring that each of the 127 million East Africans takes your branded cup of coffee each morning. In an idea format, one would rake in Ksh 1.3 billion every breakfast time! Combine this with the current era where one can order products online and hurray! We all smile to the bank. In the growth economy, one need not lobby the government to legislate that people must consume his/her coffee (the easy path); the individual needs to invest in time, research of the supply chain, marketing, cooperation with other supporting companies (cup makers, motor vehicle, media, etc) and the consumers themselves among others. To rake in billions, you will have to sink in time, money (financiers); follow regulations (government policy) and satisfy your customer (suppliers, employees and consumers).

As SMEs take advantage of the growth momentum, it's important that policy makers promote both an inward and outward approach. The inward approach may focus on the supply side and manufacture of popular goods on demand. The outward focus should promote sectors that may not be yet popular, say in mining. Kenya can grow mining sector SMEs to take advantage of mineral rich neighbors that fly miles on end in search for investors. In other words, Kenya must take the lead in redefining an "investor" in the region – by investing in SME sector. 

To keep the momentum, both government and SMEs must shun the old system that relied on "natural factors." For example, because western Kenya is rain fed, SMEs in that region will be largely agro-based; in the era of "greenhouses," such an approach will not be sustainable. Another example is on tourism; the coastal people may sleep soundly knowing that Kisumu people have no sandy beaches - in an era where customers are keen on serenity, ambience and back-to-nature, Mombasa beaches would be surprised to experience tough competition from inland counties.  

Kenyans should take pride in the revolution initiated by the new constitutional dispensation to create wealth. They should not wait for the 15% central government budgetary allocation but take advantage of a demystified government system and an eager private sector. In fact, it would have been better for the government to promote inter -county competition; where regions that show most innovation would get extra over the 15% package in the following financial year (assuming KACC will stay awake). Kenya is a growth zone; an institutional model to growth! 

By James Shikwati.

The author [email protected]  is Director of Inter Region Economic Network (IREN)