Skylark Group makes list of Top 100 despite post-election setback

Skylark Group of companies managing director Vinod Patel in his office in Kisumu. Photo/Jacob Owiti

By Ramenya Gibendi,


IN SUMMARY
Investor joins the league of Kenya’s leading entrepreneurs in spite of Sh50m loss.

As the dust settled on the country’s worst post poll crisis since independence in 2008, Mr Vinod Patel had accumulated a loss he estimates at Sh50 million due to arson and looting.

He was staring at the imminent collapse of a firm he had built from scratch for about 20 years, armed with nothing but passion and desire to do things differently.

“I sat down with the banks and our suppliers and told them we have only two options —  close shop, or go back to business with their support. They opted for the latter,” says the director of Skylark Group.

Desperate not to disappoint his backers, he ensured that the firm was back on profitability track in 2009.

That year, he joined the Kenya Top 100 mid-sized companies survey which targets firms whose annual turnover ranges between Sh70 million and Sh1 billion and are not listed on the securities exchange.

“In 2009, we were position 33 out of 100, but the good thing is that accessing loans and credit became so easy as banks and suppliers judged us basing on the Top 100 logo,” said Mr Patel.

Skylark Group, which comprises Skylark Construction and Skylark Creative, was ranked at position 26 in the 2010’s Top 100 survey but dropped to number 84 in 2011 on account of an ambitious expansion drive.

“During expansion, so many resources are committed and in the long run the bottom line is negatively affected, thus affecting the ranking,” he says. Last year, the company bounced back to position 30.

The Skylark Creative Products Ltd, a marketing arm of Skylark Group was launched in 2005 to brand and market the products of Skylark Construction, the flagship company.

After the first ranking, the entrepreneur says, his company obtained an ISO certification in a record three months, which he attributes to being part of the Top 100 mid-sized companies survey.

Skylark Group deals in general construction, interior finishes — both products and services, building material supply as well as a PVC manufacturing unit, which are all based in Kisumu.

The family business incorporated in 1995, employs an average of 250 people depending on the volume of work.

Even though Mr Patel admits the construction sector in western Kenya lags behind Nairobi, he banks on devolution to boost the sector he says has big potential.

According to the Skylark group director, who is also the chairman of Federation of Kenya Employers Nyanza region, being rated amongst Top 100 firms means a company’s accounts have been audited by reputable audit firms.

The Top 100 companies find it easy to loans from banks and deal with suppliers. Skylark Group, with a Sh400 million net worth, was established with a start-up capital of Sh3,000 in the early 1990s after Mr Patel quit a storekeeper job at a construction company to pursue  what he terms as personal growth.