On behalf of the Board of Directors and Staff, Kenya National Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Mombasa chapter, I want to thank you for your continued support accorded to the Chamber.
If you are like me, and like many others, as we say goodbye to 2021 and hello to 2022, we make our annual New Year’s resolutions. Resolutions for both personal growth and business success. Unfortunately we finding ourselves in the midst of another Covid storm which is not what any of us imagined for this New Year. I hope this is just a temporary setback, just another to add to the list of immense challenges Mombasa businesses and our employees have faced over the past two years. Despite all this it is certainly in our nature to always find fresh cause for optimism. The various trials and tribulations of the past 12 months have demonstrated that our business community, and our people are incredibly resilient and will rise to any and all obstacles put in front of them.
That spirit of renewed optimism which many of us felt in August to December 2021 as the country looked to have COVID-19 relatively under control, and after many restrictions on businesses were lifted earlier in the year, finally unleashed the pent-up consumer demand in the economy and put Mombasa’s Transport , Logistics, Tourism and Entertainment Sectors on a rapid path back towards sustained economic growth.
To every sole trader, small and medium sized business and multinational corporate in the Kenya National Chambers of Commerce Network, thank you for your dedication to keeping your customers, clients, suppliers and employees safe, for helping to protect jobs and for innovating through technology to keep our economy buoyant.
The private sector couldn’t have done it alone though and our heartfelt thanks go out to essential frontline health workers who have been repeatedly asked to go above and beyond over the course of the pandemic.
Innovation and willingness to collaborate and to try new things without a fear of failure allowed business to play a critical part in supporting the economy, reviving global trade and advancing sustainability. Challenges of course lie ahead for the business community in the next 12 months, but so do enormous opportunities. Businesses successfully managed to adapt to the rapidly changing world around them before and they can certainly do it again.
The Kenya National Chambers of Commerce and Industry, Mombasa Chapter, which I’m delighted to represent as Chairman, will lead the way again, to ensure an economic recovery that works for us all is achieved in the coming months. Let us transform every challenge into opportunity, let us convert every idea into reality, let us work hard for an inspiring positive year.
Happy New Year to all.