“Consumer or stakeholder education on corporate governance has only just begun.”

On a chilly Tuesday morning, we sat with Mr David Kinyua, the former Regional Managing Director of Stanlib East Africa, (formerly Stanbic Investments East Africa). He left banking 8 years ago to found Esham Park, a project transaction advisory firm offering advice on project financing. The firm offers turnkey solutions to building and infrastructure projects at both start-up and mid-level stages. 

What was your favorite subject in school? 

History. I’m a very curious person. Curious about facts. Current history can’t be written fast enough so I look into the past.

What kind of things are you curious about? 

I’m curious about things like why the Egyptian empire phased off. (Smiles)

Shocker, I expected you to say mathematics! 

No! (Chuckles) I studied anthropology at the University of Nairobi and later on became interested in finance and did further studies on the same. I think it is important to continuously challenge yourself and develop new interests. You might have studied geography and yet, still work in finance.

What led you to start Esham Park?

It was always clear to me that I would need to work for myself at some point. The question was, what would the business be? My career path was a building block to that effort.

What are your values as a company leader?  

We are very transparent in how we work. We have a work smart and not a work hard culture. We are not defined by working hours. If you have nothing to do, then do something else. However, that also means that if a document is required on Sunday at 4pm, you must get it done. We are very clear on honesty. Disappoint someone immediately, not later. If you can’t do it, say so.

What challenges have you faced as an SME? 

Firstly, getting into the rhythm of managing people. Luckily one of my partners is keen on business operations whereas I am keen on business development. So that worked well. Getting word out on what our business can offer was a slog and that took up to three years. You have to keep knocking on doors relentlessly.  In addition, being clear that every six to seven years, we need to re-engineer. Either you should leave a business that is doing well and let someone else bring in a fresh perspective or change what you are doing if it’s not going well. However, it’s a challenge to keep that discipline.  Lastly, access to credit and funding was also an issue at some point.

Do you have a board that you consult on the various challenges of being an SME?

 We do not have a board in our core company. We have boards in our investee companies. For the former, it was intentional as we felt that as a startup it would be difficult to align ourselves with external parties who may not share the vision. It would bring an extra level of administration that we do not need at this point.

At what point do you think SMEs should create a board?

 It depends on the maturity. Ironically, I am invested in some companies where boards were set up early and I have even gotten to chair some of them. There was a lot of external investment, so it made sense to have a board as there were many stakeholders. Thus, it depends on the nature of shareholding in the company.

As a board chairman, what are the challenges that you face? 

Aligning management and board members to what the clear deliverables are. The challenge is aligning the board on what is expected of management and aligning management on what is expected of the board.

What are your thoughts on the development of corporate governance in Kenya?

It is only just becoming a key pillar in current working environments. Its importance has not been well attributed.

It is such a broad topic that some would think that having a board is corporate governance. It is only until you sit in a room and go through theory that you realize there is so much more. I only properly learnt about Mwongozo last year in a classroom. (Editor’s note: Mwongozo is the corporate governance code for state corporations) Consumer or stakeholder education on corporate governance has only just begun.

 The topic of corporate governance is increasingly becoming a topic of much discussion. With information on corporate governance regulations easily accessible, it is now clear what legal responsibilities leaders at the forefront of organizations should adhere to. SMEs are increasingly creating boards and adhering to good corporate governance practice. However, David Kinyua raises an interesting point that creating a board may not be the right step for all SMEs. The strength of your team, nature of shareholding and age of the business should be considered before one makes decides to create a board.  

The Inquisitor