Cortell brings business analytics to Kenya in partnership with Impax Africa

Cortell Corporate Performance Management has extended its African footprint with the opening of a full regional office in Kenya in partnership with Impax Africa, aimed at delivering a full range of business intelligence (BI) and business analytics solutions to the Kenyan market. Impax is a Kenyan-based organisation with an existing local presence and knowledge of the market. The company has taken on a co-ownership role in Cortell Kenya, as both an investor and business partner.

“Local businesses and multinationals operating in the region have invested heavily in core applications, however in order for organisations to leverage their information, analyse data and present this data for sound decision-making, business intelligence and analytics tools are required. There is therefore a huge opportunity in the Kenyan market for these tools. Cortell has the experience in BI and analytics as well as sound references, and were therefore a good match for a partnership,” says John Mwaura Thuo, CEO at Impax Africa.

Kenya has seen extensive development over the past five years, and the landing of several undersea cables has made Internet connectivity more freely available. While this connectivity remains unaffordable for small and medium sized organisations, large enterprise can now take advantage of numerous opportunities.

“These opportunities have presented us with a gap in the market. Having Kenya Airways as an existing blue chip customer in the region which opened doors for us, and the more we visited the country the more interest we discovered in BI and analytics solutions. We realised there was a need to collaborate with a local company to grow this business, and Impax was the ideal partner,” says Greg Bogiages, Director of Cortell.

Cortell Kenya will be focusing on three core sectors: manufacturing, banking and insurance. This strategic decision will enable the new organisation to deliver its services to sectors that are ripe for BI and analytics offerings. Cortell has extensive experience servicing these markets in South Africa as well as into other African countries.

“Education is a key component to growing this business in Kenya, and we will need to create strong references from the start. We expect that growth will be slow at the outset but that we will see a sharp increase in business by our second year of operation,” says Thuo.

“We are looking forward to working with the team from Cortell in a mutually beneficial arrangement. With our business experience in East Africa, our physical presence and our existing client relationships, we will enable Cortell Kenya to effectively operate in the region. Cortell has the experience in BI and analytics, and will be able to transfer skills and knowledge to the local team, helping to create sustainable business operations,” he concludes.