In Ofwono Opondo’s words:

There are many advantages of taking quality enterprises to the countryside. Firstly, they are highly ranked, at least regionally and take with them big capital, best practices, systems and business ethics which they will use to mentor the locals. The model should entail that the quality they take to the rural areas should be the same from the parent companies. There should be provision for on-job training and transfer of workers to acquire better work culture. This will slow down rural-urban migration and retain skills in the rural areas.

Given the lower costs of land, food, accommodation and utilities, there are no valid reasons why ‘rural areas’ should not be attractive to the industrial production ecosystem, more so as businesses find it more expensive to invest in new facilities. There should be a rewarding system for small and medium firms that create jobs beyond set targets.

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