Client Presentations in Nairobi

02.21.2011 – The team is excited, as we are finally able to present our statements of work to the clients.  We started the day by meeting with the IBM Kenya General Manager and are provided an overview of IBM East Africa, which has been experiencing phenomenal growth after some recent Services signings.  As we head closer to the business district of Nairobi, the downtown area is bustling with crowded streets and the sounds of an economy eager to grow.  Due to little public transportation, traffic is at a standstill, and people are crossing at random parts of the street is a rush to complete daily tasks.  Also, traffic here drives on the other side of the road as Kenya was once under English rule.  Our meetings with the client go well; however, we do get conflicting opinions on how open to change our client has been in the past, but through our research, we hope to provide recommendations on what is needed to grow the business while providing more efficient services to the people of Kenya.  You can definitely sense the respect and authority the client has for the Permanent Secretary as he enters the room and speaks.  Consistent with tradition in Kenya, we are offered lunch by the client after our meetings, which where I am introduced to Samosas, or small fried pork/beef/vegetable appetizers.  Upon departing the last business meeting of the day, security pushes us off to the side as the President of Kenya is returning to the office.  For once, the streets are clear and quiet as the President’s motorcade passes by, but then just as quickly as security cleared the streets, it turns back to gridlock.  The team celebrates a successful day by heading out for dinner, and oddly enough, the restaurant/bar that we head to has a built in car wash, which I have never seen before.