This archive report was first published on 4 December 2019.
On December 4, 2007, Kenya was on the brink of chaos following the post-election violence that left a trail of destruction and loss of life. The economic impact was severe, with foreign investors dumping their stocks in a panic, causing the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE) to crash.
As the head of schemes and business development manager at Octagon Pension Services, Simon Wafubwa was at the forefront of the crisis. He recalls the day as his worst experience in the industry, with widespread violence causing panic among investors.
"That was a very sad day for us because we had to tell our clients exactly how the situation was without sugarcoating. Our next step after that was telling them the initiatives we were taking to make sure that we mitigated the effects of the ugly situation at the time," Mr. Wafubwa told Business Today in an exclusive interview.
Despite the dire circumstances, Wafubwa and his team convinced some investors to stay the course, and their patience was rewarded with a 27% return after the country rose from the ashes following a peace deal brokered by the late former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan.
Wafubwa credits his team for playing a big role in helping clients to be patient during the crisis. "The employees played a big part because they were part of the stakeholders. They played a big part in helping our clients to be patient," he added.
