1.

Akamba Bus Service

Public Transport is a highly used service in Kenya. Most Kenyans utilize the public transport system for
their inter-county movement which is used for both personal as well as for business-related services. The
Akamba Bus Service was among the most popular bus service companies in East Africa.

The Akamba Bus service was formed in the 1950s by Sherali Nathoo in the county of Machakos. The
company was first headquartered in Machakos County however later on they moved operations to
Nairobi County. The Bus service was well known for its reliability and transportation service within
different counties and its road safety measures. The Bus service opened up a parcel distribution service
as well which increased its popularity.

At its business peak, the firm was the biggest intercity transport company in East Africa with more than
100 buses serving more than 50 destinations within Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania. The death of the
founder in the year 2000 pushed the company closer to the brink of collapse. It was also noted that there
was poor succession management within the company that contributed to its downfall. Further, the
declining road infrastructure and security situation had a heavy toll on the company.

Conclusion

From the review of the Akamba Bus service history and operations, we can deduce the following as the
reasons why the bus service failed in its operations in Kenya and East Africa.

1. Poor Succession of the company lead to mismanagement of the company which in turn affected its
operations and eventually lead to the downfall of the bus company.
2. The poor road infrastructure within the country also contributed to the downfall of the company due
to the operational costs of maintenance of the buses
3. Competition from other companies also contributed as well. More Bus companies such as Easy
Coach entered the market and provided more comfortable buses and reliability for travelers.
4. The Brand Image of the company had also diminished due to the mismanagement of the company
which lead to issues with employees and creditors and eventually affected the image of the company.
5. The external environment particularly the security status of the country also affected the operations
of the Bus service company.

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 2. Castle Lager
Castle Lager was a beer brand introduced into the Kenya Market by the South African Breweries
Company – SAB Miller. Its main competitor in the beer industry was a product from East African
Breweries Limited(EABL) i.e. Tusker. Castle lager was introduced into the Kenyan market in October
1998.

However, in 2002 SAB Miller closed its operations in Kenya citing high importation costs as its reason
for closing operations in its operational plant based in Thika, Kenya. However, there are also reports that
SAB Miller stopped production due to the marketing war between themselves and East African
Breweries. (Business Daily Africa, 2013)

The two manufacturers seem to have come to an agreement on the areas of operations which saw SAB
Miller exit the Kenyan Market while East African Breweries exit the Tanzania market. (Business Daily
Africa, 2013). The deal also included the sale of the castle brewing plant based in Thika Road to East
African Breweries Limited.

Conclusion
According to (Kazi, 2013), the below are the reasons why SAB Miller pulled its production of the Castle
Lager and its operations in Kenya;
1. High competition from competitors
2. Lack of trained staff
3. Lack of outsourcing of some of the business functions which eventually leads to high costs

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References

Business Daily Africa. (2013, February 24). Retrieved from

https://www.businessdailyafrica.com/bd/corporate/companies/eabl-sells-castle-plant-
land-in-thika-2025920

Kazi, M. C. (2013). Foreign Market Strategies and challenges faced by South African Breweries
Ltd in the Kenyan Market.

Okoth-Odollo, L. 1. (2014). Attaining Market Competitiveness through the Judo Strategy: The
success case of the Easy Coach Company in Kenya.

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