London games provided Brand Kenya great opportunity

http://www.ntv.co.ke
Although Kenya's outing at the London Olympics was way below par judging by the medal haul of our athletes, there was a bright spot in terms of the achievements made by the country in terms of advertising itself. The Kenya House was one place where foreigners and Diaspora Kenyans alike who wanted to know how to invest in the country could find relevant information to bridge their knowledge deficit. And as Alex Mwangi reports, the Kenya House helped raise the country's profile as an investment destination even as athletes were sweating it out for medals inside the stadiums.

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  News & Politics

[karuitha]

Kenya busy bodies n joyriders missed the point of the games with this Kenya hse. Of course other countries like the US, Dutch, Russians had their own houses n they always do in every Olympics but the purpose of such things is not to sell holidays or conference venues but it is meant for diasporans of these countries n people from other nations to come meet their athletes plus they r fun filled places. Kenya hse was not olympic themed otherwise why wasn't Kemboi n Rudisha not showcased here?

[karuitha]

I didnt know the place existed and it wasn't even advertised to the Kenyans here. This was just an excuse for the politicians, other officials and their girlfriends to come enjoy a free holiday. The Kenyan delegation was booked into the London Hilton hotel for 2 weeks. Kibaki spent 8 days here n so did Raila. The best advertisement for Kenya would have been on the track but the officials stole the kit meant for the athletes.We flopped on the games so did our image.

[JOmondi1]

Indeed. This was a complete waste of tax payers money. President, PM, Ministers, PSs, etc all were there, but the "Kenya House" itself was in a location only a few Kenyans who knew about the place would take time to go to. It was in Stratford, but not anywhere near the venue so I am still convinced many foreigners didn't even know about it except for the few who bumped on the place by chance or were invited by their Kenyan friends for a cup of coffee and Kenyan tea. A WASTE ON TAXPAYERS MONEY!!

[Harrison Murbi]

Shameless advertisement -- this is not reporting but mouthpiece advertisement by this journalist. And he ends it by saying, "during the olympics, the Kenya House received important guests like President Mwai Kibaki and Raila Odinga" ... so the Kenya House was to market to the principals?

[Maweresistance]

Waste of taxpayer money. Foreigners do not trust of government and will partner with international travel and business agencies or reputable local agencies when dealing with Kenya. We need to stop these good sounding but largely ineffective investments that waste taxpayer money.

[JOmondi1]

Everything said; Ms Mary Kimonye did a good job marketing Kenya to Kenyans in the UK and abroad. She was eloquent, knew her substance well and speeches were clearly stimulating. I am not sure though, to what extent they marketed Kenya to foreigners as Kenya House was just the place for that rare beer and tea and a chance to meet Kenyan politicians. Indeed many people feel politicians were there for holiday and Per Diem rather than selling Kenya.

[slytheron]

0:37. Odiero with a tusker in hand on the streets of London. Now that's good marketing.

[karuitha]

They talk of marketing Kenya to the world yet the roads to the Mara are a mess. Instead of spending millions of shillings on such things why not use that money sorting the problems at home first. Or was this just another way of government officials to give themselves an expense paid holiday thanks to the poor Kenya tax payers.

[karuitha]

I have more better things to do with my than galavanting around. 

[joseph opiyo]

@0.06 did i saw Karuitha?