Perhaps I have been a bit lucky in business but what I have found is that I feel that it is a much better use of my intellect, money and time precisely because I have a lot more control. It's the difference between being a spectator and standing on the sidelines, versus getting in the game yourself.

The good thing about the mistakes I've made in business is that I get better over time as I learn to avoid those mistakes. So it's something that has taken moving through a lot of failure to eventually get to success.

People are taught to be eternal optimists but you have to understand the fundamental forces that affect the NSE. It's not a pendulum that just goes back and forth without any reason.

Companies are real entities; they can go bankrupt and go to zero in value e.g. Mumias Sugar. I pity the shareholders who assumed that the company would come back simply because it was listed in the NSE. There are more real fundamental forces such as profitability and good governance which affect the direction that the markets take.

Let's take the example of Centum, their management have received perhaps billions in bonuses while shareholders have lost value. So you've got companies being run for the benefit of management not shareholders. This dichotomy relationship in an area with low trust and accountability is what makes the NSE a particularly more dangerous place to play in.

The NSE has stagnated over the past few years for some reason. No new companies are joining the NSE while a number of listed companies are practically dead or have delisted.

In Kenyan investing, it seems you can lose money no matter what you do

Keep it in the bank, and the bank shuts down ala Chase and Imperial

Keep it in a money market fund and you risk a 30% haircut courtesy of Nakumatt bond.

Go to NSE, crooks all over the place.

Try start a biz, kanju regulations, lazy dishonest employees etc etc

Invest offshore and Kenyan inflation will gobble up your 3-4% usd gains per annum while intermediaries feast on whats left.

Do real estate and have to deal with approvals systems that are just gravy trains for the powers that be.

Yenyewe, bora uhai.

In Kenyan investing, it seems you can lose money no matter what you do

Keep it in the bank, and the bank shuts down ala Chase and Imperial

Keep it in a money market fund and you risk a 30% haircut courtesy of Nakumatt bond.

Go to NSE, crooks all over the place.

Try start a biz, kanju regulations, lazy dishonest employees etc etc

Invest offshore and Kenyan inflation will gobble up your 3-4% usd gains per annum while intermediaries feast on whats left.

Do real estate and have to deal with approvals systems that are just gravy trains for the powers that be.

Yenyewe, bora uhai.

I wonder what you people will be posting once the bull run returns... We are closer to the bottom than before!

The NSE is like any business... There are good and bad times unfortunately these are the bad times at the NSE... Stay strong...