Construction industry in Kenya

The Fundi Mjanja Concept

Posted By: Fundi Mjanja on 3rd of October 2012

The construction industry in Kenya is strewn with all sorts of structures. From the picturesque village church on a hill built at the turn of the century, to the humble 3 bedroom cottage built hurriedly in the outskirts of the city before the last rains. From the swanky apartment developments in Riverside, to the single bedroom developments in Ngara and Eastleigh. The architectural landscape is changing and new buildings with varying designs will continue claiming their rightful place on the Kenyan landscape. No one can predict how the skyline will look 20, 10 or 1 year from now. Heck, I don’t even know whether the mound of quarry stones that are piled in the empty lot behind my house will transform into a shack or castle or whether they will be the fodder and ammunition that feed the next riot. Roads are opening up more than any other time in our country’s history; the Thika road superhighway, East & Central Africa’s finest highway is taking shape and it is a sight to behold. One thing is certain though, the Kenya skyline is transforming. Kenya is blessed by an abundance of skilled and energetic youth, most of whom are trained either formally or vocationally in varying trades such as masonry, carpentry, plumbing, glazing, interior decoration, painting, landscaping, carving etc. Another section of entrepreneurship that Kenyans have ventured into is the business of building material supply and logistics. This includes sourcing, extraction, transport and supply of river sand, ballast, quarry stones, mazeras, makuti, timber...the list is endless. As this happens our institutions of higher learning continue to churn out graduates in the fields or architecture, civil engineering, quantity surveying, interior decor and environmental management, equipped with cutting edge information destined to make a difference in our society. They are ready to design and transform the skylines and countryside’s of our counties with enduring, safe and aesthetic buildings. Sadly a huge chasm exists between the Clients, the Building Professionals, the Material Suppliers and the Tradesmen commonly referred to as Fundi’s aka the handymen. The professionals are only engaged to work on the upmarket apartment developments in Riverside, Windsor and the like. They also work in construction projects financed by the corporate sector, government or donors. You will hardly ever see an architect setting up the humble abode in Kamulu or Ruai, yet this is where the masses reside. Nature abhors a vacuum and this lack of professionals is quickly filled up by swindler contractors who double up as architects, material suppliers, tradesmen and real estate agents. They hurriedly put structures that are eyesores, unsafe and over budget. They are motivated by quick profits and will only follow building codes when they are demanding payments. The Fundi Mjanja concept intends to fill the gap between the Clients, the Professionals, the Material Suppliers and the Handy Man or the Fundi. We have even gone a step further and engaged a team of top notch professionals to contribute their wealth of knowledge by writing blogs and offering building advice for free. Tradesmen from masons to mural painters, from Landscape Architects to Environmental Experts complete with telephone contacts can be found in the Fundi Categories section of the website. This means that a client can visit www.fundimjanja.com get contacts of a local qualified professional like an architectural technician, from the Fundi Categories section of the site who can advise him/her according to the specification of his/her project. The client can then get further advice from the Forum section by reading the articles and comments or by asking questions directly in the blogs. The client can also visit the Building Material Prices and compare the prices of building materials so as to get acquainted with the cost of construction materials before he embarks on the project. All these services are free and are readily available on the website. At the construction stage, the client can visit the site and choose to order materials via the Building Material Section. Clients can also opt to use this section to compare prices with whatever prices they are getting from local suppliers in their area. This ensures that the clients are informed before they make a commitment to purchase building materials. This service is of invaluable help for Kenyans and Investors in the Diaspora who are undertaking construction projects or repair works anywhere in the country. Payments can be made via Credit and Visa Cards and M-pesa service. At this stage Fundi Mjanja processes the orders and relays the same to Pre-Qualified Building Material Suppliers, located in different parts of the country. Fundi Mjanja then contacts the clients and gets the exact location of the site and the contact person on site. The delivery is then made to the site to the satisfaction of the client. Fundi Mjanja has a place for everyone; building material suppliers can visit the building material section and if they feel that they are capable of matching or offering better prices than the ones on offer, they will be engaged as suppliers. They will of course be vetted to ensure that they can actually deliver and that they adhere to ethical business practices. This includes strict adherence to weights and measures which means that we will ensure that when our clients order and pay for 30 Tonnes of river sand they actually get 30 Tonnes of the same and not 26 tonnes of quarry waste and sand mixture which is the common practice among-st unscrupulous material suppliers. Fundi Mjanja will also ensure that we offer the latest industry news and government policy relating to the construction industry as well as what’s happening in different parts of the world. So welcome and karibu to the Fundi Mjanja community. Enjoy, contribute and share the service. Feel free to give us feedback as we continue to offer you quality service. This will ensure that when you put up your dream house, it will stand the test of time and be part of the ever changing Kenyan skyline even up to the turn of the next century, just like the picturesque village church on a hill.