Experts call for regional branding

Nov 23, 2007

ORGANISATIONS and individuals doing business in the region should build an East African brand, a former finance minister has said. While chairing a networking lunch hosted by the Kenya Commercial Bank at the Commonwealth Business Forum, Gerald Sendaula said building brands would help the region deve

By Peter Kaujju

ORGANISATIONS and individuals doing business in the region should build an East African brand, a former finance minister has said. While chairing a networking lunch hosted by the Kenya Commercial Bank at the Commonwealth Business Forum, Gerald Sendaula said building brands would help the region develop and stand out.

“We need to tackle branding from a macro-economic point of view. Kenyans have invested much in branding and we Ugandans have a challenge of catching up.”

Martin Oduor-Othieno, the chief executive officer of the Kenya Commercial Bank, said they were pushing to make the bank a Pan-African brand, with a presence across the continent.

“We are expanding across countries and we want to become a pan- African bank.

“We are the largest commercial bank in the region with branches in Kenya, Tanzania, Sudan and recently Uganda.”

The chief executive added that the bank was investing heavily in infrastructural development and human resource.

The bank that opened its first branch in Kampala recently, is planning to launch two more branches in two weeks time and another 10 across the country in six months, before moving to Rwanda and Burundi, he explained.

Othieno said the bank would offer mortgage products on the Ugandan market, an area that experts say is still unexploited.

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