Text Book Centre opens 12th branch in Kisumu
From left: John Owiti, CECM Education Kisumu County, Rosemary Birenge, Director of Education Kisumu County, and Sachin Varma, CEO Text Book Centre during the opening of the bookshop's new branch in Kisumu city.
What you need to know:
- Text Book Centre’s diverse range of services, including retail, wholesale, and e-commerce.
- The outlet has been playing a pivotal role in the education sector through distribution of educational books.
Text Book Centre has opened a branch at the United Mall in Kisumu, bringing its total number of branches in the country to 12. The new outlet, Text Book Centre’s first branch outside Nairobi, is expected to help create more than 20 direct jobs and many more indirect jobs.
In recent years, Text Book Centre has experienced remarkable growth, establishing itself as the leading bookstore chain in Kenya.
The educational, cultural and technological content and products distributor has continued to play a pivotal role in the education sector by distributing educational books, to primary, secondary and tertiary students and individuals, garnering substantial recognition in-store, corporately, and online, particularly during the primary back-to-school season.
“As Text Book Centre, we are happy to provide more than just educational books with stationery, art and tech. We offer genuine computer items, with after-sales service and parts giving you peace of mind that whatever you purchase from us will work well and serve you well,” said Text Book Centre CEO Sachin Varma.
Diverse range of services
Kenya’s socio-economic growth and development is mainly driven by agriculture, tourism, services, and manufacturing. The current global shift to knowledge economies/societies accentuates the need for an effective and quality Human Resources Development (HRD) system that links with the labor market.
The country needs to develop the capacity to not only achieve its development agenda but also exploit the new opportunities that arise. Consequently, the provision of meaningful and adequate education and training is fundamental to Kenya’s overall development strategy.
This requires considerable expansion and improvement in the quality and relevance of education and training. The education sector this year received the largest share of the national budget, with a total allocation of Sh628.6 billion for the 2023-24 financial year, representing 27.4 per cent of planned national expenditure
Text Book Centre’s diverse range of services, including retail, wholesale, and e-commerce, has continued to help the company extend its reach across the country, ensuring the distribution of educational books and related materials to diverse regions.
Education ecosystem
“As the publishing landscape in Kenya has undergone transformative changes, Text book Centre can take pride in celebrating the improved state of book publishing. The collaborative efforts of authors, publishers, and literary enthusiasts have fostered a more vibrant and inclusive industry. This positive trajectory promises new narratives, fresh voices, and a sustained commitment to the written word,” Sachin said.
Meanwhile, John Awiti, the CECM for the Department of Education, Technical Training, Innovation and Social Services in Kisumu, welcomed Text Book Centre to Kisumu City, as new stakeholders in the larger education ecosystem within the county.
“As the county in conjunction with the Kisumu First lady Dorothy Nyong'o, we have been running a project in ECD to help encourage learning and reading from an early age and now with this new TBC branch, the availability of relevant books will be a thing of the past,” Awiti said.
