Brace yourself for Fast and Furious 8

Shark team, Sheetal Ahir, the Chief Admin Officer, Shark Energy Kenya (left) and Romana Chaudhry Kamal, the Chief Marketing Officer Shark Energy Kenya oozing confidence during the premiere of an adrenaline packed Fast and Furious 7.  

Shark Energy Drink Kenya honoured the memory of Paul Walker by sponsoring the premiere of the adrenaline charged “Fast & Furious 7” movie at the IMAX 20^th Century movie theatre. In attendance was the Shark Energy Kenya CEO, Thakoor Raj; the Chief Administration Officer, Sheetal Ahir and the Chief Marketing Manager Romana Chaudhry Kamal. Also present to sample Shark Energy mixed cocktails were Uganda’s AY and Uganda’s Chameleone. However, even before the buzz triggered by the premiere settles, Vin Diesel has revealed that a sequel to the mega-successful is in the works. 

Loaned decoder comes a million shillings fortune for mother

After staring on a dark screen in her living room for more than a month, Nancy Mudecha, 35, a green grocer from Musasa village in Chavakali, decided to borrow five hundred shillings to top-up and buy a set top box.

“I had only five hundred shillings and so I borrowed another five hundred from a friend as it was getting boring in the house without a television. I was only listening to radio but missed TV news and programmes,” said Mrs. Mudecha.

On 24^th March 2015, the mother of five went into a friend’s shop and asked for the decoder on credit as she didn’t have the total amount of Sh1, 399.

“I talked to the shopkeeper and he allowed me to take the decoder and pay the balance later,” Mrs. Mudecha explained. “I had overheard on radio a discussion that was promoting GOtv saying it was the best for local and international channels,” she said.

The shopkeeper allowed her to take the decoder home after she paid Sh1, 000 and allowed her to pay promised to pay the balance of Sh400 in two weeks’ time.

“He helped me register the decoder using my mobile phone and also connected it,” she said.

 However, it was an unexpected call from GOtv that surprised Mrs. Mudecha who explains that her husband could not help her pay up the debt due to other family commitment.

“I was called on Tuesday by GOtv staff and informed I was the lucky winner of Sh1million. I was shocked and couldn’t believe it,” she said excitedly. “They explained to me that it was true and helped me book a bus to Nairobi to receive the cheque,” she added.

When asked what the money will be used for, Mrs. Mudecha explained, “God comes in various ways. I will first buy a bigger flat screen TV. Then I will buy a bigger shamba, build a house and educate my five children.”

Mrs. Mudecha, who’s already fond of her GOtv programming, likes it all but identifies local news and comedy programmes as her favourite shows.

She becomes the fourth Kenyan to win a million shillings in the 8 weeks competition of GOtv’s ‘Dunga Milli’ competition which launched four weeks ago. The competition coincidentally has seen 3 previous winners who are all winners, will see Kenyans rewarded for going digital with GOtv, while enjoying the instant benefits of increased choice in local and international content.

In addition to the one million prize money, there are also daily draws where every GOtv buyer stands a chance to win prizes of Sh15, 000, airtime plus a chance to win annual GOtv subscriptions.

“Congratulations to Mrs. Mudecha for going digital. As we near the worldwide June digital migration deadline, GOtv has been consistently making set top boxes affordable in order to give more Kenyans access to experience the digital revolution. We are helping Kenya to GO digital with GOtv to enjoy the best quality programming, comments GOtv Kenya General Manager, Felix Kyengo.

“As a true migration partner and a leader in the digital arena it is important that we play a pivotal role towards accelerating Kenya’s digital migration process. For a special price offer of only Sh1, 399, including 2 months GOtv Plus subscription, Kenyan’s can enjoy the best international and local programming”, added Mr Kyengo.

GOtv subscribers are spoiled for choice with a selection of channels including news, children’s programming, documentaries, series and movies. GOtv channels are carefully selected to cater for a variety of different tastes and family viewing needs.

Channels include; Africa Magic World, Africa Magic Swahili, SuperSport Select 1 and 2, One Gospel, E! Entertainment, eTV Africa, ZEE World, Disney Junior in addition to local channels such as KBC, NTV, KTN, Citizen TV to mention but a few. 

GOtv now covers over 30 cities in its pursuit to enable the government to achieve a speedy migration from analogue to digital broadcasting.

For more info on GOtv’s exciting ‘Dunga Milli” campaign and prizes or to find out where to buy your GOtv decoder visit our website on www.gotvafrica.com.

Kenafric feted for energy efficiency

Kenafric Industries, one of the largest manufacturers of confectionery, food, footwear and stationery has bagged the Energy Savings Award (EMA) in this year’s Energy Management Awards.

The annual Awards recognize enterprises that have made major sustainable gains in energy efficiency through the use of innovative energy management principles and practices.

Rising cost of energy pose a growing challenge to businesses as they endeavour to bolster competitiveness of locally manufactured in comparison to imports.

Kenya Association of Manufactures (KAM) estimates that the inefficient use of energy, especially within industry leads to wastage of between 10 to 30 percent of primary energy input.

According to the manufacturer one of Kenafric’s milestones in Energy management was the implementation of an Online Energy Management system (EMS), in which we have the facility to monitor the individual machines energy usage instantaneously.

“Over the years, we have won 16 awards in different categories in which we stand 4 times Overall Energy Management Awards winner with a Runners UP in the same.”

The cost of energy has significant impact on economic activities particularly those that are energy intensive such as cement, steel, pulp and paper production. In a liberalized market such as Kenya’s, energy prices are a significant determinant of competitiveness of locally manufactured goods relative to imports.

In this regard, high energy prices impact negatively on domestic wealth creation, balance of payments and employment creation since consumers opt for cheaper imports. Kenafric Industries is all too aware on the impact of fluctuating energy prices on enterprises as the manufacturer chose to go into footwear at time when plastic shoes were the in thing.

However, an oil crisis in 1992 prompted a paradigm shift in the company’s strategy after oil prices skyrocketed, this led Kenafric Industries to venture into confectionary business after inputs prices shot up denting profit margins.

An increase in the cost of crude oil directly affects the cost of resin — a by-product of oil which is the major raw material in the manufacture of plastics.

The company family acquired its first bubble gum machine from Taiwan to kick start small scale production. In the succeeding 10 years, Kenafric Industries built a strong brand and distribution network taking its sweets and bubble gums countrywide.

The significance of energy management and conservation measures in business cannot be overemphasized, it is estimated that the average energy saving potential in Kenyan industry is over Ksh2 billion per annum.

Challenges to implementation of energy efficiency and conservation initiatives include lack of awareness of the benefits and methods of conservation, apathy, limited technical capacity and inadequate data

The manufacture says it has a standalone energy management policy which is communicated to the staff and customers. EMA is managed by the Kenya Association of Manufacturers through the Centre for Energy Efficiency and Conservation (CEEC) and is aimed at recognizing best practice in energy efficiency and creating awareness about the benefits of energy efficiency.