NAIROBI, Kenya, Sep 7 – A new survey tool that will provide businesses and governments with comprehensive information on consumer trends, market performance, political climate and societal issues has been launched.
The CEM Economy-Kenya report, facilitated by Danish research company CEM Institute, Strategic Research Africa and the Danish Embassy in Kenya, is a product of the partnership that gives quarterly results on the Kenyan market.
Unlike other research tools in the market, Strategic Research Africa CEO Caesar Handa said CEM Economy-Kenya offers real time information on consumer statements, index data and statistical calculations.
“The Economic Survey will be presented every quarter. Each organisation that is subscribed to the system can bring questions that will receive results on a daily basis on what is happening in the country,” he said.
Using software system Catglobe, the CEM Economy-Kenya report that can be accessed online allows subscribers to cross-tabulate data for specific results and also gives market forecasts.
The survey has seven categories ranging from the economy and demographics to politics and media.
Over the last four months, 1800 participants were interviewed representing different regions, socio-economic groups and age groups in Kenya.
Speaking during the launch, Danish Ambassador Geert Aagaard Andersen said the survey will spark confidence among foreign investors wishing to infiltrate the African market.
“This goes a long way in ensuring a democratic process in Kenya and the continent will stay on track. What we get is a background, which is not manipulated that can be used to build businesses and political parties,” he said.
The survey revealed unemployment as a dominant security factor in Kenya with 78.8 percent of Kenyans expressing concern on future job prospects, with 84.9 percent of participants worried by the increasing inflation and prices.
Also present during the launch, Ministry of Finance Economic Secretary Geoffrey Mwau said Kenyans’ low expectations do not come as a surprise with an ailing economy, however he asserted that with favourable climate forecasts, the economy should slowly bounce back.
“Going forward we expect to see rains in the month of October and that means Agriculture which is the largest sector in the economy will start picking up. That will translate to lower prices of food and lower inflation,” he said.
He added that tools like the CEM Economic Survey will help the government learn the concerns of the public and provide better services based on results.
The CEM Survey service requires an annual subscription fee of €11.39 (approximately Sh1,500 at current exchange rate) for full access to the information database.
