HUSTLE E.A MAG JUNE 2019 by Hustle E.A

HUSTLE ISSUE 003

VOLUME 019

JUNE 2019

EAST AFRICA

Africa's business magazine for the entrepreneur

INSIDE How do we raise resilient children? Budding events manager rises to prove that disability is not inability

Lawyer tries poultry farming and finds it viable

Enterprising woman driving the coffee industry to prosperity

Tried and tested solutions for natural hair

Visionary

Women

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When it comes to business and leadership, women are taking the bull by its horns

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CONTENTS 12

WELCOME..............................................................................7 QUOTES.................................................................................8

BRIEFS •Crown Paints unveils new products with eye on affordable housing...................................................................................9

OPINION

• How do we raise resilient children?................................10 • How to get more women into leadership roles ..............12

MAIN STORY •Visionary women...............................................................15 •Joyce Gachugi Waweru: Walking the talk in PET plastic recycling...........................................................................16 •“Women make good leaders because they are versatile and adaptive to change” ..........................................................18 •‘Go for it!’ - Mugure Njendu, President, Architectural Association of Kenya..........................................................20 •Tried and tested solutions for natural hair........................22

•“Not everyone is cut for entrepreneurship”- Mugethi Gitau.................................................................................24 •Winning against odds......................................................26 •Enterprising woman driving the coffee industry to prosperity..........................................................................28 •“I bake cakes to spread joy” -Carol Musyoka ....................30 •“Passion cannot run your business, you need to do more,”Carol Musyoka ............................................. ....................32 •Why Mentorship is an essential aspect of leadership........34

FARMING •Lawyer tries poultry farming and finds it viable................36

Experience More. Kibo K250 HUSTLE EAST AFRICA

www.kibo.bike

WELCOME MANAGING EDITOR: Amos Wachira WRITER: Jeff Korir Supram Goswani CONTRIBUTORS: Prof Bitange Ndemo Martin Koinange Vincent Muasya Maria Dima MARKETING MANAGER: Wangare Riba BUSINESS EXECUTIVE: Steve Angwenyi

“If your actions create a legacy that inspires others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, then, you are an excellent leader.” -Dolly Parton Dear Reader,

ILLUSTRATIONS: Stanislaus Olonde

eadership, whether in business or in the C-Suite, has been dominated by men. For many years, men have taken the lion’s share of leadership positions in all spheres of our lives, delegating women to second best. This is not to say that women have kept a low profile and accepted the turn of affairs. Nothing can be further from the truth. Even in early civilizations, there were women who stood out by taking up leadership roles, mostly after defeating great odds stacked against them. The spirit is still alive in Africa and Kenya. For the last decade, we have seen women breaking the mould and vying for the highest seats in politics. Think Hillary Clinton, who rolled up her sleeves and dared men for the most powerful position in the world and almost clinched it.

PUBLISHED BY:

Locally, we have a pride of 11 women leaders who steer the ships of some of Kenya’s largest businesses, listed on the Nairobi Securities Exchange.

SUBSCRIPTION & CIRCULATION: Bill Karani DESIGN AND LAYOUT: Mark Gikonyo

Other daring women had gone before her. Trailblazing women like Wangari Maathai crashed the proverbial glass ceiling and showed that it’s doable. Such women stand tall and are constant reminders to women that whatever they set their mind to do, they can achieve it. Devan Plaza - 6th Floor Crossway, Westlands P.O BOX 12542-00400 NAIROBI CELL: +254 720 806488 EMAIL: info@hustlemag.co.ke

In this issue, we critically look at the barriers that stop women from pursuing leadership positions. We sampled a few women who have beaten odds to rise to their crest. Women who chose to walk the road less traveled. They share their invaluable lessons on how to go for it, and how to succeed in business and in the C-Suite. Read on to get inspired by their stories.

HUSTLE E.A IS PUBLISHED MONTHLY. Views expressed in this publication are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the position of the publisher. ©2019 Elite Craft Ltd. All rights reserved. Material may be reproduced only by prior arrangement and with due acknowledgement to HUSTLE EAST AFRICA MAGAZINE.

In this issue, we also talked to a passionate natural hair enthusiast who struggled to find the right hair care products for her hair. An innovative woman, she decided to be the solution. She is one of the few manufacturers of natural hair products, and aspires to give African women their natural aura. She says that no woman should be forced to straighten their hair, just because there are no hair care solutions designed and made specifically for their natural hair. Read on to get her invaluable tips and lessons on business. Happy reading! editor@hustlemag.co.ke FB: hustle magazine Twitter: @hustlemag1 www.hustlemag.co.ke HUSTLE EAST AFRICA

THOUGHT LEADERS

7 8

“Women have always believed that it is men who are supposed to do that ... so for me what we can do is challenge the women to think further and to believe that we can do even better than men.”

“There’s nothing worse than having uncertainty with regard to the currency, because every one of us uses that currency day in day out. It’s important for every Kenyan to have that assurance.”

Tabitha Karanja, founder, Keroche Breweries.

CBK Governor Patrick Njoroge.

“Inspire other people with your story, and share your journey as an entrepreneur. I want to be a good example to other young ladies, telling them how I started at the age of 17 and now 11 years later, I have my own space. We can be more than we can imagine, and we can run the world!”

“My aim was to start a juice processing business, not just small scale like the market vendors, but a real factory. My mother had taught us to process local fruit and I’d done a certificate course in food science, so I had the technical background. I could see there was a gap in the market.”

Iris Munguambe, entrepreneur, Mozambique.

Julian Omalla, founder, Delight Limited (Uganda).

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hustle briefs

Rakesh Rao, CEO, Crown Paints

Crown Paints unveils new products with eye on affordable housing

rown Paints has launched two new products to tap into the Government’s affordable housing agenda which was unveiled by President Uhuru Kenyatta as part of the Big Four in 2017. The new products dubbed “Crown NGAO” range have specially been designed for low cost housing. Chief Executive Officer Rakesh Rao said Crown NGAO range is designed for interior application and offers Products – Emulsions, Gloss, and Varnishes Primer. “We believe that the NGAO range of paints will play a significant role in spurring growth of the affordable housing as the cost of painting will drastically reduce while maintaining quality,” Rao noted. The NGAO Emulsion and Gloss Paints are available in wide variety of colours, he added. Another product, Crown Rangeela Putty, a Cement Based Colour Wall Putty with added advantage of shades like Pink, Yellow, Green and Off-White, has also

been introduced as a base coat to provide smooth finish on plastered surfaces. The CEO said the new product is ideal for expensive paint application while saving paint by to up to 50 percent. It contains finest quality minerals, polymers, white cement and pigments. It can also be used as a final finish for low end application such as basement parking lot. “Crown Rangeela Putty is a special product which allows designing variety of texture finishes for walls and improves the aesthetic value of homes but with affordable prices,” Rao said. Since the Government unveiled the Big Four agenda various sector players in the market are designing products and services to enable them tap into the Big Four and create employment opportunities for the country’s growth and development. ”We believe that these low cost paints we’ve unveiled will play a significant role in spurring growth of the affordable housing sector which will spillover in supporting increased manufacturing which is also

another pillar under the government’s Big Four agenda,” Rao added. The Government rolled out the plan to facilitate the construction of half a million low-cost houses by 2022 funded by the taxpayers. During the 2018/2019 budget speech, National Treasury Cabinet Secretary Henry Rotich made a case for raising funds to set up the Kenya Mortgage Refinance Corporation. It is estimated that the country’s urban centres face a shortage of 200,000 housing units annually and this deficiency will rise to 300,000 units by the year 2020 on current policies. Crown Paints has been innovating new products that meet the modern day consumers’ demands who are far more aware of aesthetics and want their homes and offices to be an extension of their personality and to also reflect the same. They have been increasingly looking for interesting fashion finishes, special effects and specific colours, all at an affordable price. HUSTLE EAST AFRICA

opinion

By Prof. Bitange Ndemo

Research by Psychologists say that we must never accommodate every need the child demands. They say that overprotecting children only fuels their fretfulness.

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PARENTING

How do we raise resilient children?

or the first time in the history of the world, half of the World is in the middle class or wealthier. Africa too is making progress. What we have not paid attention to are the consequences of wealth and raising resilient children. Many of the emerging wealthy people are known to swear that they will never allow their children to experience the kind of life they grew up in. Such statements undermine long term sustainability of the family. While I have seen parents protecting children as old as 15 years from boarding a matatu to some destination in Nairobi city, at 14 I could travel from Kisii to Nairobi, and change buses to my final destination in Nyeri for secondary education. I then stayed the entire semester in school and somehow showed up at home without ever communicating to my mother if I got to Nyeri in one piece (there were no mobile phones at the time and landlines were rare). I know that my mother loved me but she wasnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t modern enough to be highly protective of me with her love. In her own way, she was modelling resilience in me.

By this I mean the capacity in me to adapt successfully to the challenges that threaten the survival, or future development of myself as a person. Without it, I will never have been who I am today. Although many of our parents then had little or no education, they were great parents that natured us into useful creations not as eminent psychologists but by wisdom. Through my own observations, we are failing spectacularly in parenting. In fact, some children have started dictating instructions to their parents and often throw tantrums whenever they are denied their way. Research by Psychologists say that we must never accommodate every need the child demands. They say that overprotecting children only fuels their fretfulness. At some point even when they become grownups, it becomes difficult to reverse laissez faire privileges of running the family unfettered. The Swahili say Mtoto akililia wembe mpe (When a child cries for a razor, give it to him/her). The import of the saying is that a burnt child dreads fire. We invariably learn from experience or what we live. Hence, parents should never eliminate all the risks from the lives of their children although it is our responsibility to keep them safe. My mother once exposed me to danger but it was the best

learning experience that I have ever had in my life. VILLAGE BULLY There was this village bully called Mathayo (Kisii for Mathew) who always bullied me. With his many fights and a couple of teeth gone from his mouth, he looked mean and not someone you want to be nearby. One day he chased me to our home. I thought my mom could intervene. She didn’t. Instead she told me that she gave birth to a boy not a coward. “Get out here and deal with that Mathayo boy,” She ordered me. I had no option but to face him. I decided to pursue him back but instead of running away, he patiently waited to see what I would do. Like a raging bull, I wrestled him to the ground and gave him a few blows to his face. With his nose bleeding, he panicked and took off. Since that time Mathayo developed some healthy respect for me. I loved that for once I had the independence to deal with any eventuality. Unfortunately, that feeling of independence is not widespread. Most of us were trained for employment but we have not changed gears to foster independence in our children to be curious and creative

to create their own jobs. We can educate our children to PhD level but if we cannot teach them soft skills like self-motivation, how to relate to other people, responsibility, problem-solving, decisiveness, negotiation, ability to work under pressure and time management, they will continue to be dependent. This can be achieved by not providing all the answers to children. There is a chance that if you let your child manage the food budget in the house for one week that they will make mistakes. We’ve all made mistakes but it is the best source of learning on how to do things better. We are often fast in punishing children for the mistakes they make. Our reaction dampens curiosity, an attribute we need to investigate if we want to improve our lives for the better. ENCOURAGE CHILDREN Our cultures sometimes assume that our children have no emotions and as such we fail to address or help them manage their emotional development. It is important to ensure that children understand that all emotions are normal and we should work through such emotions as part of our lives. The desire to be loved by teenagers is

real and we all went through the period. They also must know that to be rejected is part of life. In the recent past some young people have taken their lives simply because either they were rejected by those they are infatuated with or their English Premier League team lost. Life is an ensemble of sadness and happiness. In most cases we fail to explore talents in our children and make blunders in comparing them with those of our neighbours or friends. Such omissions can lead to serious consequences since we are not all created equal. I could be a gifted musician but I do not have to excel in academia in order to pursue my dreams. We usually end up doing exactly that because of our socialisation of placing paper qualification above all other attributes that make us successful human beings. Raising children is a complex matter that we should constantly revisit and redesign in a changing environment that has far greater implications than what we ever experienced before. The writer is an associate professor at University of Nairobi’s School of Business

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opinion

LEADERSHIP

How to get more women into leadership roles By Rhett Power

The call for gender diversity is about being inclusive and profitable. Following these strategies could lead to success on both fronts.

hen people call for more women in the workplace, it may sound as though they’re just trying to meet a quota. Gender diversity, though, could be the key to any company’s success. Diversifying a variety of top positions, specifically executive roles, is more than a movement to level the corporate playing field -- it’s about using the best resources to maximize every organization’s potential.

It’s time for women to start their own businesses and begin to invest in new ones that are diverse

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Effective but Underrepresented “If women ran the world, there would be no wars.” It’s an old stereotype, but there’s something to be said for the effects of more women in leadership positions. In fact, according to a Morgan Stanley report, “more gender diversity, particularly in corporate settings, can translate to increased productivity, greater innovation, better products, better decision-making, and higher employee retention and satisfaction.” Despite the observed benefits, however, company leadership around the world remains unbalanced, with women accounting for less than a quarter of management positions globally. The disparity is even greater when it comes to higher-level management positions. 24/7 Wall St. analyzed data compiled by the research group LedBetter and discovered that of the 234 companies that own almost 2,000 of the world’s most recognized consumer brands, only 14 of the companies had a female CEO, while nine of them had no women at all serving in executive positions or on their boards. It’ll take more than just a motivated resistance to overturn years of systemic inequality and create opportunities for more female executives. But by employing a few key strategies, everyone from business leaders to individual employees can help combat the gender gap and move our workforce toward greater leadership balance. 1. Promote a Welcoming Culture Creating more opportunities for women starts with creating a more inclusive environment. Any specific efforts to recruit women to leadership roles in corporate settings are useless if companies don’t

encourage a work culture where they can succeed. According to Anu Mandapati, founder of IMPACT Leadership for Women, some initial steps to creating this culture are to focus mainly on education and experience in the hiring process, offer salaries based on the market rate rather than salary history, and start rewarding outcomes achieved instead of hours worked. Each of these guidelines could build the foundation for gender equality in the workplace, thus creating an environment where women can thrive in leadership roles. 2. Invest in Companies That Champion Diversity The business community can also have a positive impact on female equality by investing in companies that are pioneering this change. Christine Alemany, CEO advisor at Trailblaze Growth Advisors, claims it’s not enough to rely on existing, male-centric corporations to promote equality. “It’s time for women to start their own businesses and begin to invest in new ones that are diverse,” Alemany notes. According to Alemany, there are a handful of venture capitalists and private equity firms that see diversity as a priority and focus on companies with diverse executive teams as part of their investment

More gender diversity, particularly in corporate settings, can translate to increased productivity, greater innovation, better products, better decision-making, and higher employee retention and satisfaction

strategy. The firm 112Capital, for instance, has invested in female-led tech com-

panies, while the JumpFund focuses on female-led ventures in the southeastern U.S. If more firms embrace this objective, a new wave of female executives will emerge. 3. Make the Results Public Improving the opportunities for female executives at your own company is one thing, but inspiring other organizations to do the same is where the real battle lies. One way to do that is by making women leaders visible. When Emily Culp, CMO of Keds, is invited to industry events, she shares her invitation with her female colleagues. Culp raises the visibility of her entire team by encouraging them to partake in public speaking events and activities outside of work, such as serving on a board or volunteering. She explains the value: “Real business opportunities come out of these events, but you have to be present to network.” Creating a more inclusive culture takes time, but with cooperation from companies around the world, gender equality in upper-level management may be closer than ever. The writer is a head coach at Power Coaching and Consulting -Inc.com HUSTLE EAST AFRICA

COVER STORY

VISIONARY

Women By The Hustle East Africa Team

When it comes to business and leadership, women are going for the crown. Gone are the days when they could sit back as men dominated the C-Suite. A great deal has been written about the barriers to women’s advancement into leadership positions. Concepts such as the glass ceiling and career labyrinths have received significant attention in research and popular media. Historically, leadership positions have been skewed towards patriarchy. However, every society or civilization has had women who stood out, against the grain, to become leaders. Think Wangari Maathai, Queen Victoria, and Cleopatra among others. The recent advancement of women into key leadership roles in business, higher education and government are seen by many as a positive sign of change. For example, Kenya’s corporate scene is warming up to more female leaders than ever before. As of June this year, there were 11 women serving as CEOs, managing directors or chairpersons of Nairobi Securities Exchange-listed firms. Many others are leading private companies and a good number is into business. One thing that stands out with women leaders is that they make a mark when they take the helm. Take the case of Julian Omalla, the Ugandan entrepreneur who rose from humble beginnings to found a multimillion fruit processing company. Julian started out as a fruit trader, hawking her fruits using a wheelbarrow. Tired of the small margins she was getting as a fruit trader, she could board a bus to Kenya to pick fresh produce and fruits, which she could sell at a huge margin. After making a breakthrough, she was dreaming big. She opened a fruit processing plant and painstakingly grew it to a multi million behemoth. Delight Uganda Limited, which manufactures the ‘Cheers’ brand of juices, is Uganda’s largest fruit processor. Once she achieved success, she never settled. Julian took advantage of

the South Sudanese market. She was among the first Ugandan business people to pitch tent in South Sudan after the war. Today, she exports up to 50% of her products to South Sudan. When she won the Uganda Woman Entrepreneur of the Year Award in 2004, she decided to help other women get ahead economically. She became part of the Uganda Women Entrepreneurs Network, forming a gender coalition made of seven women groups. The coalition advocated for better regulations for businesswomen. Their mission was successful as they managed to set up a women’s tax desk at the Uganda Revenue Authority. Additionally, it created a one stop center for business registration, licensing and other business related services at the Uganda Investment Authority. Closer home, our women have shown that “women mean business”. Tabitha Karanja, the founder of Keroche Breweries, is one such woman. She has overcome great obstacles to found one of Kenya’s largest indigenous breweries. Other than these, hundreds of other women are making a mark in their respective fields. One of these is Mugure Njendu, the current president of the Architectural Association of Kenya who believes in mentorship as a way of sprucing up the next generation of women leaders. “I mentor 4 young women. I can say from my experience, that I learn as much from them as they do from me. Mentorship is a cyclic value for mentors and mentees and anyone who can intentionally do so, should try and mentor.” Country manager for PETCO Kenya, Joyce Gachugi says women have unique qualities that make them great leaders. “Women bring a different set of thinking into leadership. It’s our nature to nurture. We are also good in pioneering ideas. To be a pioneer, you need to be someone who rolls up their sleeves to get dirty.” Rain or shine, the tide has turned, and the world is warming up to more women leaders. HUSTLE EAST AFRICA

MAIN STORY

RECYCLING

JOYCE GACHUGI WAWERU: WALKING THE TALK IN PET PLASTIC RECYCLING By Amos Wachira

ike Wangari Mathai, Kenya’s passionate environmentalist, Joyce Gachugi Waweru lives and talks environmental sustainability. From an early age, she knew she wanted to make a difference. While growing up, her life was centered around helping people. Fittingly, she chose a career in environmental science. “I felt that environmental sciences were all-encompassing; helping people and the environment.” As a sustainability practitioner, she has worked in the environmental conservation space for 12 years, juggling demanding dockets like climate change, renewable energy, sustainability, waste management and packaging. Environmental sustainability has many facets and plastic waste management is one of these. It’s a recurring problem that’s troubling governments and cities across the globe. If statistics are anything to go by, plastic waste could be a global menace in coming decades. According to a Guardian report, around 8.3 billion tons of plastic have been produced since the 1950s. Of these, only 9% has been recycled. The same report shows that over 480 billion plastic drinking bottles were bought in 2016 across the globe, up from 300 billion bottles a decade ago. Unfortunately, less than half the bottles bought in 2016 were recycled, with just 7% of those collected turned into new bottles. The rest ended up in landfills and oceans. Although the government of Kenya moved with speed to ban plastic bags in 2017, there are loads of plastic waste

lying around. Joyce believes that all these bottles could be recycled, cleaning the environment and creating many jobs for Kenyans. As the country manager of PETCO KENYA, the first producer responsibility organization in Kenya representing manufacturers, brand owners, bottlers retailers and converters of PET Resin, she has big plans for the industry. “We have a triple bottom line approach. We are pursuing a win-win situation for the environment, business and for the people,” she says. Petco Kenya is a member based organization that was founded in 2017 to spearhead recycling of plastics. It’s members include manufacturers of PET plastics, collectors and recyclers. The organization mirrors the ideals of Petco South Africa, a widely successful recycling lobby. PET(Polyethylene terephthalate) is a polymer of plastic that makes plastic bottles for packaging a variety of products, including soda, soft drinks, water, liquid detergents, among others. To make any significant progress in the industry, she says the government needs to declassify plastic bottles. At the moment, used plastic bottles are considered a waste, and not a resource. Yet, they can be turned into www.petco.co.ke

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a variety of useful materials. For instance, PET bottles can be recycled into fibre. In Europe and Americas, recycled PET has many uses, including as geotextile materials. Interestingly, some countries are making better use of PET plastic waste; by building roads. Locally, recycled PET could boost the manufacturing sector as it’s an ideal source of raw materials for end use manufacturers Who make disposable cutlery and other utensils. Other than this, most EPZ manufacturers import fiber materials that could be sourced locally through recycling of PET plastics. “Recycling fits well in the country’s big 4 agenda. The industry can create hundreds of thousands of jobs for our people.” Petco Kenya identified recyclers and adds some resources to enable them to collect more bottles. The University of Nairobi graduate reckons that if the company continues to incentivize the recycling value chain, they will get more collectors and the industry will grow. A passionate sustainability practitioner, she envisages that the organization will push recycling rates to 70% by 2030, up from the current 5%. The goal might seem lofty, but she says it can be done in Africa. It has been done before. “In South Africa, we found out that their recycling industry is well structured. They have a bigger economy, well-developed recycling infrastructure, policy and legislation. Kenya is slightly behind South Africa as far as recycling goes,” she says. Joyce adds that they banked on top lessons from their South African counterparts to set up the local chapter. One of the takeaways, she says, was to incentivize the recycling value chain. With a solution at hand, the company kicked off a campaign aimed at putting value on the plastic bottles to enable more collectors and recyclers to do more. However, spearheading recycling in an industry that was fragmented was not going to be a smooth sail for Petco Kenya. Joyce and her team soon realized the industry was largely informal and lacked structures. Besides, no technical data existed on the number and capacity of recyclers, collectors and PET manufacturers. “Without data, it was hard to create a strategy,” she says.

Locally, recycled PET could boost the manufacturing sector as it’s an ideal source of raw materials for end use manufacturers Who make disposable new bottles, strapping and fibre

The company then commissioned a baseline study that could help it create guidelines and strategy. The preliminary results for the study were released in March this year, giving the company a basis for launching its ambitious recycling plans. Their efforts are paying off. At inception, Petco Kenya membership stood at seven. It has now doubled to 14 , barely two years later. The company has also made recycling attractive across the entire value chain, with more recyclers and collectors joining in. Given the benefits that recycling brings, it’s not a surprise that this industry is growing tremendously.

Joyce says the global plastic recycling industry is poised to grow significantly in coming years. “Plastics come from petroleum. For us to make new bottles, we use more fossil fuels, increasing the carbon foorprint. There’s a paradigm shift. The world is moving towards recycling. Locally, consumers are calling for recyclable packaging.” Despite Petco’s bullish outlook, Kenya’s plastic recycling industry has its fair share of challenges. For instance, some plastic products that are in use locally are hard to recycle. According to Joyce, coloured plastic bottles are the hardest to recycle. “The darker the color, the harder it is to recycle them,” she says. Her organization is advocating for development of PET plastics that can be easily recycled. For a start, they are asking water bottlers to consider using clear bottles. For such a significant paradigm shift, Petco needs to work closely with over 900 water bottlers spread across the country. The company intends to embark on a recruitment drive to enroll more members. There’s no denying that Petco has laid the ground work and built the momentum in the plastic recycling industry. It’s now setting its sights on the next phase of growth. “In future, we want to promote plastic collection in residential areas. This is a quick win, although it will need lots of consumer awareness,” she says. The company also plans to partner with high-capacity recyclers. Unfortunately, Kenya doesn’t have high-capacity recyclers. “In Kenya, we only have small and medium recyclers. These need to be incentivized to scale.” Joyce says there’s also a need to create an industry position for plastic management. On this front, there’s progress as Kenya Association of Manufacturers has developed a committee on plastic waste management. Joyce is keen to make the country cleaner and greener, while creating a conducive environment for businesses to thrive. She wants to steer Petco to great heights, driving its triple bottom line agenda of conserving the environment, helping businesses and creating jobs for the people.

www.petco.co.ke HUSTLE EAST AFRICA

MAIN STORY

Q&A

“Women make good leaders because they are versatile and adaptive to change”-Joyce Gachugi Waweru, Country Manager, Petco Kenya

hen it comes to the C-Suite, the scale is skewed against women. Few make it to the highest levels of management. But there’s hope. A number of women are climbing the corporate ladder with sheer aplomb, defeating great odds staked against them. Joyce Gachugi

Waweru is one such woman. For the 12 years she has been in the environmental sustainability space, she has learned great lessons on leadership. She now heads Petco Kenya, a recycling lobby based in Nairobi. What makes women leaders stand out? And what is the role of mentorship? www.petco.co.ke

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She talked to Hustle East Africa about her role in a male dominated industry. Excerpts. Briefly tell us about yourself I’m a sustainability practitioner, an environmental scientist with a passion for environment conservation and sustainability.

What does your current job entail? I’m a champion of environmental management. As the current country manager for Petco Kenya, my mandate is to spearhead plastic recycling efforts within our members, who include PET manufacturers and beverage makers, and a host of other companies. To do this, we are modelling a triple bottom line approach. We are not only pushing a cause for a cleaner environment, but one where businesses thrive, the environment is safeguarded and the people are happy. As a girl, what were your career aspirations and did that change along that way? I wanted to be in a career where I could help people directly. As a girl, I wanted to be a doctor. However, that changed when I enrolled for university education. I found environmental science to be all encompassing. Why are you passionate about conserving the environment? I believe the environment is the basis for all of us here on earth. The principles of the earth are based on reciprocity. If I don’t plant a tree today, I don’t expect rainfall tomorrow. That’s what gives me passion. I know we have to play our part for us to get something back. I also like the fact that I can translate the impact directly. For instance, if we recycle PET bottles today, we can have clean streets tomorrow. I believe that the change I want to see starts with me. How was Petco received? It hasn’t been an easy journey. Petco Kenya was founded in 2017 by a number of companies that felt they needed to manage their used PET plastics. Given that most of our members are big players in their respective industries, there was a lot of scepticism. The other challenge was bringing together competitors and having them speak in one voice. I’ve really had to re-center the discussions. The other challenge is we don’t have

high-capacity recyclers in Kenya. Even if we wanted to recycle 100% of our PET plastics, we can’t do it as we do not have the capacity. We are working tirelessly to have more recyclers pitching tent in Kenya. What makes most women shy away from pursuing the C-suite? First, I would say its the reality of leadership. For many years, men have dominated leadership positions. It’s not everyday that they pick a woman to lead an organization. Some women also have the fear of the unknown. They fear how they would be perceived. The kind of support system also matters. Some women fear they could destabilize the things as they are once they rise to the highest level of their careers. I’m fortunate that I have a good support system that pushes me to deliver. What is PETCO Kenya doing to make sure there is a balance between women and men in leadership? The manufacturing industry is male dominated. It’s not surprising that I’m the only woman in my board of directors. Petco appreciates the role of women in leadership. We are trying to see how we can attract more women into leadership positions. Women bring a different set of thinking into leadership. It’s our nature to nurture. We are also good in pioneering ideas. To be a pioneer, you need to be someone who rolls up their sleeves to get dirty. In my current position, I find myself going to the dumpsites, slums and interacting with recyclers and collectors. Women are versatile and adaptive to change and this makes them great leaders. What are the challenges that you face at the workplace? I get to hear people doubting if i can go to the dumpsites. Yet, that’s where my job takes me. Most people tend to challenge the abilities of women. Fortunately, I have a very supportive board that believes in me and my abilities. Do we still have quality mentors in the

country and are they playing their part to nurture the next generation of women leaders? In Kenya, there are many role models. For me, my mum is my role model. She taught me that beauty without brains is useless. She always encouraged me to be myself, to present my ideas and thoughts confidently and not to fear from standing out. Professionally, there are women who inspire me. Wangari Maathai us one of these. She is the epitome of sustainability. She pushed her agenda in a hostile environment and came out a winner. Globally, there are many role models. Folorunsho Alakija comes to mind. She rose from a secretary to one of the few women in the oil industry in Nigeria. Hillary Clinton is my personal favorite. When I look at her, I see the feminist agenda. Do you think young girls have people they can look up to? There are so many role models out there. Unfortunately, our value systems have changed. We have young people looking up to people who are making quick money. It’s more about image than great ideals. The sad reality is that these people are more accessible to the youth compared to the real mentors. What would be your advice to any woman who wants to be a leader? I believe leadership is 80% natural and 20% taught. For starters, you need the drive and desire to lead. You need to be bold and to desire to effect change. Once you have that drive to be a leader, you can learn the other bits like governance, structures and implementation of strategies. Women have to naturally wear many hats and lead busy lives. How do you unwind? I try to create a balance between my work and my private life. Many are the times when my work will take up lots of my time. I try not to work over the weekends. Over the weekends, I create time to be with family and friends. I also like to keep fit, so I jog a lot.

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ARCHITECTURE

‘Go for it!’ - Mugure Njendu, President, Architectural Association of Kenya

ugure Njendu wears many hats. She’s a mother, an architect, an entrepreneur, a STEM advocate, a mentor and mentee and the president of the Architectural Association of Kenya. She is a patner, architect and urban designer with Gitutho Architects and Planners (GAPL). She’s also the cofounder of Little Einsteins East Africa, a program that equips learners with hands-on skills in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM).

Hustle East Africa Magazine asked her about women empowerment, mentorship, and crashing the proverbial glass ceiling. Excerpts.

What does your current job entail? I currently practice as an Architect and Urban Planner, I listen to client needs in terms of buildings and developments they would like to put up and develop these into briefs, design schemes and eventually detailed designs towards construction. We further supervise the works to completion. As a young girl, what were your career aspirations and did that change along that way? I think every child goes back and forth on the things they want to pursue. I wanted to be a teacher once, an artist another time, an Engineer, but Architecture was in

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my blood and today remains my passion. What inspires you? My children mostly, but in design, art, natural landscapes, a feel and beat of a site if its in an urban context. Who and what are the people about What makes most women shy away from pursuing the C-suite? I feel that women are in fact going for roles they feel they would have a significant impact on, including the C-suite today. For those who may shy away, it may be lack of representation, or another female figure who came before them to lean on, or chart the way. What is AAK doing to make sure there is a balance between women and men architects? The Association is very progressive on this issue. Our membership is about 85% men and they elected a woman. Not because I am a woman, but based on a manifesto and vision that they responded to and identified with. AAK is at the fore front of leading in this regard, and it’s the membership who do so.

part to nurture the next generation of women leaders? We absolutely do. There are many women who are ensuring that the women who come after them learn from their experiences. I mentor 4 young ladies as well. I can say from my experience, that I learn as much from them as they do from me. Mentorship is a cyclic value for mentors and mentees and anyone who can intentionally do so, should try and mentor. On a side note, I would encourage men in leadership to also do the same. I take part in occasional mentorship and career sessions and are consistently disappointed that few men take part in these activities and our young men are as much in need of mentors. We need our seasoned men to show up for them.

not be misdirected or distracted by side shows. The second is be able to lead, but also able to listen. Lastly, there is no replacement for hard work and diligence to get it done.

What are some of the qualities that women have that makes them good leaders? Briefly touch on your success factor? I think the leadership qualities cut across the board whether a man or woman. The first I would say is to be clear about why you are in leadership, you will

What are you currently reading? I just finished Becoming by Michelle Obama. I also try to read alongside my reading for pleasure book, something that will enhance my business skills. I am also reading the Consulting Bible by Alan Weiss, on growing your Consulting business and running it efficiently.

What would be your advice to any woman who wants to be a leader? As my own mentor told me, ‘Go for it.’ -Women have to naturally wear many hats and lead busy lives. How do you unwind? Spending time with my children is my go-to. They are such great little people and we have so much fun together, watching movies, playing board games, going swimming, cycling. Its my best way to wind down and refocus. I also love to travel and read books.

What are the challenges that women face at the workplace? What kind of challenges did you face as you scaled the corporate ladder and how did you overcome them? I am one of those people that avoids talking about challenges. I feel like every challenge can end up being a value if you approach things positively. I would say however, when you do feel challenged, lean on your knowledge and competency and seek assistance from those who came before you. And my personal philosophy, approach every tough situation with two things. GUTS AND GRACE. If you were to do it again, what would you change? Absolutely nothing. I’ve made many mistakes, but those mistakes have also taught me along the way and made me do better. I would however urge my younger self not to stress about the small stuff. In retrospect, everything is so critical when you’re young. I am a lot calmer, assured and not in a hurry to react, unlike my younger self. Do we still have quality mentors in the country and are they playing their

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HAIR CARE

Tried and tested solutions for natural hair When she struggled to find hair care products for her natural hair, Mugethi Gitau decided to create some for her hair. It has turned into a promising business By Hustle East Africa

ugethi Gitau’s hair is long and kinky. As we settle for this interview, it’s not hard to notice its afro textured curls and tresses. Kinky African hair, common with women of African descent, carries cultural and social significance. As magnificent as it looks, it’s one of the hardest to manage. Mugethi prefers to keep her hair natural. Like most women with natural African hair, she struggled to find the right products for her hair. “Six years ago, I used to straighten my hair, then I cut it and decided to go natural.” In her mind, she believed that taking care of natural hair was as easy as it was for straight hair. But that wasn’t the case. “To my surprise, I found out that there were no hair care products for natural hair in the supermarkets, so taking care of my hair was a big challenge.” She says that she was surprised to learn that most people rocking natural hair were getting their hair care products from abroad, sometimes relying on their travelling friends to get their supplies. “It was an expensive and time-wasting affair. I saw it as a problem. We are Africans and this is our hair, so there’s no way straight hair should be our default,” she says. Sensing a gap in the personal grooming industry she took it up as her challenge to look for a solution. They say that necessity is the mother of invention, and Mugethi knows this too well. Once she researched on the problem, she also realized that most people had a negative attitude towards natural hair, and that few stylists were interested in

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working on it. “I realized that there was an attitude problem. Those with natural hair could be told they hadn’t combed their hair. Others could be told it’s unprofessional.” She decided to formulate a product for African hair. To create her first product, she could experiment with various raw materials, making small portions of hair products and trying them out on her hair. Before long, she had a working recipe. “I realized that natural products were going well with natural hair.” Starting out, she was keen on providing hair care solutions for natural hair. But her research revealed that hair oils were also good for the skin. That’s how she diversified into body oils. “In my interactions with people, I also came to realize that lots of people were sensitive and allergic to most brands on supermarket shelves.” To test their effectiveness, she could give out her first products to her friends for free. The feedback was inspiring. “Some reported that the products were good for their skin. Others said the products helped them manage Eczema.” And this is the fuel that kept her going. After four years of trying her product, she was ready to launch her company. She quit her job to found Mugzie’s Naturals in 2016. Her company manufactures natural hair and body products, most of which are based on Shea butter. These include body and hair butters, soap, and essential

Mugethi Gitau, founder, Mugzie’s Naturals.

Photos: Victoria’s lounge oils. Starting a manufacturing business is not a walk in the park. It’s a capital-intensive affair. Unperturbed by the requirements, she set out to start her business with the little money she had spared from her former job. “I started with what I had. I bought a kilo of Shea butter and essential oils and made a few jars of hair and body oil.” Her flagship products were hair butter, body butter, with an extra rich version for Eczema, lip balm and soap. She has grown her product range to include Bentonyte Clay for face masks and essential oils. If her launch was modest, her go to market strategy was simple. She put up her stock on Facebook where people could make orders. It worked. “The first time I sold my product, I was terrified. I didn’t know whether the customer would like the product. I was used to giving out my product for free.” She says she felt overjoyed once the feedback started streaming in. customers were liking her product. More orders trickled in and before she knew it, she was struggling to meet demand. “The orders were coming in from all platforms. Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp. I had trouble managing them.” They say innovation is the lifeblood of thriving businesses. Mugethi knew she needed a centralized location to handle all her orders. A tech savvy woman with a background in I.T, she build her company’s first e-commerce website where she could centralize all orders. She also created her company’s logo,

I started with what I had. I bought a kilo of Shea butter and essential oils and made a few jars of hair and body oil

using the knowledge and experience gained from her former job. All the while, she was mixing her concotions from her kitchen table, creating a minute manufacturing unit inside her kitchen. She could get her materials from different locations, sometimes relying on friends for referrals. As a small manufacturer, she faced a few challenges at startup. “Most of my raw materials are seasonal, so sometimes I struggle to find any.” That being the case, she has to walk a delicate rope to maintain consistent quality of product at a consistent price.

She also says that most materials in the manufacturing sector are managed in bulk, a challenge for small manufacturers who lack enough cashflow to buy in bulk. “We compete with the big manufacturers to get the same raw materials. They have an upperhand because they buy in bulk.” Packaging is another important aspect of manufacturing. For her, she settled on glass jars as these could keep her product for long. “We are a green company. Our jars are 99% reusable and we want to continue conserving the environment,” she says. With orders for the product coming in left,right and center, MUgzie’s Naturals was on a growth trajectory. She started with her Kilimani backyard, before venturing to other areas. Before long, she was getting orders from as far as Mombasa. Her biggest challenge was handling the logistics. Using a dedicated rider to deliver her products to Nairobi and environs, she soon realized that it wasn’t a practical idea when it came to deliveries in places that are far from Nairobi. “Selling the product at Kes650, and paying Kes500 for delivery didn’t make business sense.” She opted to use public transport to deliver her products, although this mode of delivery was time-consuming and inefficient. That’s when she decided to partner with Sky Garden, an upstart e-commerce site that promised same day deliveries and flat rates for both Nairobi and upcountry. With SkyGarden, she could deliver her products to Mombasa and Kisumu. Having set the business up for growth, the next phase is to make it a household name. Mugethi has managed to keep her overheads low, outsourcing some of her processes, including logistics. With a rich background in I.T, she hopes to anchor her business on technology to disrupt the industry. Although she’s yet to take her products to major retailers, she has a solid plan of growing it one jar at a time. In a few years, she plans to increase her production capacity, and to embark on research to grow her product offering. For now, her dream is to see more African women rocking their natural hair without worrying about where to get quality hair care products. HUSTLE EAST AFRICA

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Q&A

“Not everyone is cut for entrepreneurship”- Mugethi Gitau

hen Mugethi Gitau decided to cut her hair six years ago, she wanted to hair to grow naturally. Little dud she know what awaited her. “I realized there were products for natural hair, and it was becoming a challenge to maintain it.” Noticing a gap, her entrepreneurial gene kicked inanf she found herself looking for a solution. After years of trying, she has created a working product. Today, Mugzie’s Naturals is a thriving micro-manufacturing plant, churning out loads of natural products for natural hair. She shared her experience with Hustle East Africa Magazine. How is it like to be a manufacturer in Kenya? It’s an eventful journey with its ups and downs. For me, the customer was my biggest incentive. I was pleasantly surprised to see that people had already gone natural, so marketing my product wasn’t a challenge. Secondly, there’s the spirit of Made In Kenya that’s still alive in the country. Lots of people are happy to buy locally made products. Ten years ago,it was hard to convince Kenyans to buy locally made products. Thirdly, manufacturing is a capital-intensive affair. It’s hard for small manufacturers who lack adequate capital to buy raw materials in bulk. In Kenya, it’s still very expensive to do business as you are taxed multiple times. However, the government has moved its services online. I appreciate it was easy for me to register my business online. A few years back, it was hard. How do you distribute your products? I use online advertising to popularize my products. Two years ago, I used to sell at various flea markets across the city. That’s how people came to know about my products. I now sell online. I plan to find small shops where I can stock my products.

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What keeps you going? I’m on a mission to end outage Africans to go back to their roots and go natural. I feel we have been disenfranchised as Africans. What keeps women away from business? It’s scary. I waited for four years before starting. If you’re employed, you don’t want to go for the unknown. Life as an entrepreneur is not easy at all. There’s the uncertainty of business and this can get scary. Did employment prepare you to be in business?

Yes. I picked up lots of skills and networks during my stint as an employee. I also learned how to communicate professionally How about education? It also helped me a lot. I have a science background so it comes in handy when I’m mixing my ingredients. My skills in I.T helped me create my website. Does school prepare you to be an entrepreneur? No. The 8-4-4 system is a risk averse one. It makes people think that business is for people who fail in school, or for those who can’t find paid work. I feel it needs to be more holistic. Business is a way if life, not an alternative for academic failures. Are there opportunities for women our there? Yes. There are many opportunities for women. We are good at multitasking and we understand our customers so we make for good leaders.

We are good at multitasking and we understand our customers so we make for good leaders

Is entrepreneurship an inborn skill or it can be nurtured? I believe It’s a mix of both. It takes a certain personality to take risks, to persevere. It’s important to note that not everyone is cut for entreprenuership. As it gets popular,we need to stop shoving it down people’s throats. Employment is as important. After all, most entrepreneurs started out as employees. And businesspeople still need employees to run their businesses. How do you see the business panning out in future? I want to take my business to different places. I also want to contract farmers to deliver raw materials directly to my plant, and I believe this is a good way of providing a ready market for them. Are some point, I want the business to scale, and to give jobs for our people.

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MAIN STORY Winning against odds Budding events manager rises to prove that disability is not inability

Clara Mutongi, founder, Dream Realityworks.

By Amos Wachira

lara Mutongi is a resilient woman. As a two-year old girl, she had an accident that left her unable to walk. She had to learn how to walk again. Today, she runs a thriving events management firm, and is testimony that disability is not inability. When her name was called out in the podium in May this year, she couldn’t hide her joy. She’s the brains behind Dream Realityworks, and was feted as a Rising Star at the wedding awards. Beyond the glamor of the glitzy awards ceremony, the recognition symbolized her resilience in life and in business. After an accident in her formative years, her world fell apart. With supportive parents, she battled her disability valiantly, leading a normal life, like any other child. “Despite what happened, my family has never made me feel like I am different.” From an early age, her parents instilled confidence in her. And this has helped her to found a thriving events management firm. She founded the firm in 2015 after nosing an unmet gap in the crowded events management space. With the rising commercialization of the industry, it’s harder to get personalized services today compared to ten years ago. Having worked in the industry for many years, she says she realized that it was getting commercialized at a fast pace. With competition ringing in, most players thrived on small margins and failed to provide bespoke services. Her idea was to provide personalized services aimed at turning an ordinary event into a dream. She ventured into business when one of her friends requested her to do

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outdoor decor for her party. “I conceived this idea back in 2015, when a friend was planning a late lunch, and asked me to arrange an outdoor set-up for her with a bit of exterior decor and when I did it, I felt like this was something I could do,” says Clara. Before she came into the scene, she had tried other things which failed to give her the adrenaline rush. For instance, she had worked in tech startups. She had also tried her hands in baking cakes, a hobby that she passionately loves and practices today, but it was events management that gave her the thrill. On starting Dream Realityworks, Clara says that it was not easy, but her drive to make a difference in the fast changing industry inspired her. When her firm opened doors to its first clients in February 2016, Clara was already a few miles ahead. She had done her homework well to know that people wanted their events to turn out as glamorous as they could imagine. Even with her wide range of services on offer, there is always that sinking feeling that entrepreneurs have about how

their products and services would be received in the market. “Even though I was upbeat starting up, I still had fear due to uncertainty as there are several other events management companies out there, I just didn’t know how my new company would be received,” she says. Fortunately for her, the market was ready for her services. After the first gig, word spread that Clara was doing this and word of mouth referrals started trickling in. With a few clients that she could get, Clara was ready to transform her idea into business. As a young business owner, she says that not many youthful entrepreneurs have the right mindset for business. “As young people, we struggle with impatience so much that it sometimes halts a dream that could have turned lucrative. Young people start businesses imagining that they will break even very fast often in unrealistic timelines, not realizing that an investment requires time to fruit,” she observes. So, what exactly does it take to start and run a profitable business? She asserts that it takes patience to run

EVENTS MANAGEMENT

a business. This must be accompanied by financial discipline. “Entrepreneurs need to separate their business finances from their personal finances and that is why having an accountant is highly beneficial to an entrepreneur.” Clara has done events for different clients since she started. She says that her target market is anyone with a penchant for quality event management services. “We have done parties for luncheons, birthdays for toddlers and for octogenarians, weddings among others.” Interestingly, Clara has been in events management space since she was a little girl. “I always found myself preparing stuff for other people even within family. For instance I’d plan on washing utensils, cooking, cleaning, making the room neat especially when we had guests coming but little did I know that this was event management,” she recalls. She realized that she could manage events for a fee while she was in college, where she studied information technology. “I could host events for a fee while still in school studying a totally different thing.” In school, Clara wanted to pursue a career in hospitality, but the slow pace of the industry kept her away. As an IT professional, she has managed more events and projects than she has developed codes for IT programs. This is the reason she was employed in the events management industry for most of her working life. “I don’t at all regret beginning as an employee because employment has taught me skills I need to run my business. Skills such as how to work with people towards achieving a goal.” Starting her own events company remains one of her biggest milestones. Running an events management company In events management, Clara says that the most important thing is how many events you get, and this has to do with how one manages her staff, so that they can deliver quality services, and leave the customers satisfied. “Customers bring in new customers. How well you meet the needs of the customer determines how many more come for your services.” She advises business owners doing this business of events management to walk with their customers. Clara mostly markets her business through social media and word of mouth.

Even though once established, events management is a well-paying job, Clara says that it has its own challenges. “Like any other business, there are challenges. The first one is the difficulty in getting good customer service representatives considering that these are the ones that keep the business going.” Secondly, she says, is getting the items for the event set up to the venue. This of course requires logistics and can be expensive. However, these are surmountable. The most demoralizing of them is having served a client who declines to pay for the services offered. “Some clients disappear with the money but there comes a situation where you thank God for the opportunity and move on with life.” Financing the business, she says, is a hurdle that many young entrepreneurs

face. However, they should not keep away from starting businesses because of such challenges. Sometimes, she says, it takes more than capital to start a business. “With good working relationship with suppliers one can manage financial crisis at the start.” But with all the challenges, she soldiers on, doing her best and hoping for the best. She says she draws her strength from two pillars; her faith in God, and support from her family. “Without God I wouldn’t be where I am, and my two strengths my mum and my late dad.” With her simple mantra: ‘Patience pays’, she is raring to fight for a bigger piece of the events management pie.

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COFFEE TRADING

ENTERPRISING WOMAN DRIVING THE COFFEE INDUSTRY TO PROSPERITY Vava Angwenyi’s coffee trading company seeks to make coffee farming a lucrative economic activity for every smallholder coffee farmer By Surpna Goswani and Amos Wachira

offee was Kenya’s top foreign exchange earner, but the tide had turned against it. In the vast highlands of Central Kenya, the crop is in desolate state; its beans fetch a meagre amount in the market and few farmers are keen in investing in coffee farming. The dire picture is painted across most coffee growing zones. Yet, in the international market, Kenyan coffee is worth a fortune. While foreign buyers buy it at a premium, the money ends up in the pockets of a few brokers. This appalling picture prompted Vava Angwenyi to found a company that democratizes the coffee industry in Kenya. After completing her studies in Canada in 2009, she returned home with an ambition to change the coffee industry in Kenya. She rightly felt that it was dominated by foreigners, yet the producers, including smallscale Kenya farmers were largely ignored. “Kenyan coffee is revered abroad. I was surprised to learn that little was being done to reward local farmers for their effort,” she says. Ironically, she says, most local farmers had never tasted Kenyan coffee. She founded Vava coffee in 2009 to make a difference. At inception, Vava Coffee was a coffee shop. Angwenyi quickly realized that her passion was not to serve cups of coffee but to empower the coffee farmer. The company works closely with coffee farmers, educating them on how to increase their yield. It also seeks to get more women into the coffee industry. For the last decade, the company has worked

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directly with over 30,000 farmers. It educates them on new methods of increasing yields.

Beyond the gloomy picture of desolate small holder coffee farms in Central Kenya is a multi billion coffee market. Tellingly, coffee is one of the most popular beverages in the world, with an estimated 2.25 billion cups being consumed on a daily basis, globally. The most popular strain is Arabic, farmed in Kenya, and considered as the world’s best. Although most of the world’s Arabica coffee is produced in Kenya, most Kenyans never get to drink it. “93% of this coffee is exported.” 70% of all coffee grown in Kenya is farmed by smallholder farmers. Yet, these farmers struggle to make ends meet; they don’t have the power to control their coffee, nor the money. Vava Coffee came in to plug the information and market access gap that existed in the industry. It aims to link smallholder coffee farmers to markets. Angwenyi says that smallholder coffee farmers have been ignored for long. That’s why she’s passionate about their development. She makes sure they are aware of the opportunities available to them. The problem, she says, is that not many Kenyans drink their own coffee. Her company has had workshops where they allow farmers to taste their coffee. Once they do, she says, their perception changes. Her

Vava Angwenyi, Founder and Chief “Coffaholic” of Vava Coffee Limited.

Tellingly, coffee is one of the most popular beverages in the world, with an estimated 2.25 billion cups being consumed on a daily basis, globally. The most popular strain is Arabic, farmed in Kenya, and considered as the world’s best

company is involved in training farmers, and trading their coffee to help them earn better returns. Recently, she developed a direct to consumer arm that enables farmers to sell smaller amounts of coffee.

Vava Angwenyi with a coffee farmer. Inadequate education about the coffee value chain is one of the biggest impediments that stifle the success of smallholder coffee farmers. Most farmers, says Angwenyi, are not aware they could get a direct sale licence to beat the middlemen. Angwenyi says that working with smallholder farmers wasn’t an easy ride. Some were reluctant to work with her because she “is a woman.” She wasn’t surprised; the industry is dominated by men. To change this narrative, she’s getting more women to handle the business side of coffee.

Having worked with smallholder farmers for a decade, she says the scales could easily tip in favor of farmers if more young people were interested in running affairs in the industry. She says that as coffee farmers age, they need to transition their farming businesses to the youth for continuity. She also notes that the industry lacks critical data about coffee, as there’s a disconnect between producers, consumers and barristas. As a parting shot, she says that coffee is a lucrative business, but needs to be balanced. It shouldn’t be lopsided to favor the consumer and the buyers while ignoring the producers.

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BAKING

“I bake cakes to spread joy” -Carol Musyoka Her artistic touch has helped her carve a niche in the baking industry

By Amos Wachira

arol Musyoka, the cheery woman with a ready smile, could have been an excellent tours operator, but her love for cakes drove her towards an old passion; baking. Coming from a family with a background in baking, she had tasted, -and fallen in love- with cakes from an early age. Her mother used to bake cakes, and many are the times the young girl could sample her cakes, as well as the cherries. Since then, she says she developed a sweet tooth, and an insatiable taste for cakes. Like most young girls, she wasn’t sure about her career aspirations. At one point, she wanted to be a neurosurgeon, a nurse, or a lawyer, but not a baker. When she completed her high school education, she would work as a merchandiser for a year, earning a paltry kes 500

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per week. With the meagre wages, she still managed to buy cakes on her way home, something that didn’t auger well with her mum. “My mum could ask, how much money did you make to afford buying a cake everyday?” Like any other parent, Carol’s mum wanted to harnes her passion into a useful skill. It helped that one of Carol’s aunts was into commercial baking. When her mum decided to introduce her to the baking industry, she didn’t have to look far away. Carol’s aunt agreed to train her and before long, the young girl was on her way to realizing one of her dreams. “The first day, I said I wanted to learn how to make a blackforest cake,” she remembers. A fast learner, it didn’t take her long before she became a star student. “After three months, I had learnt so much that I could take client briefs and advise on cake decorations.” Back then, cake decorations were not

for the faint hearted. She says that there were no tools to help decorators to cut out designs. “We used to sketch everything by hand. Unlike today when there are many tools at our disposal.” At her Aunt’s kitchen, Carol realized she had an artistic touch as far as cake decorations went. This further fuelled her drive to be the best baker that she could be. When she enrolled at the university of Nairobi for a course in tourism management, she was already an established baker. She could juggle between studying and baking. “I could attend evening classes after baking for the whole day.” It was at her aunt’s that she learned crucial business lessons that would come in handy later on. “After an event, guests followed us to the car to ask if we had more cakes,” she recalls. Her star was rising, and so were her dreams. Bouyed by the potential of the baking industry, Carol was keen on launching her business. “I felt I needed to grow so I left my aunt. However, I didn’t have any equipment to bake, so I made a pact with her to bake my cakes at her kitchen, on condition that I footed her electriciry bill.” At this point, carol was already exposed to baking programs and recipes and was trying new ideas; baking unique cakes. A risk taker, she could try unique and rare recipes, carving out her niche in the competitive industry.

“The healthy eating craze was there and more people were into gluten free and dairy free cakes. I was among the few bakers who could do gluten free cakes.” To get her product out there, she could bake a cake, cut it into small pieces before giving it out to her sister to distribute to colleagues at her workplace. Her effort paid off. She got her first customers and was raring to venture into business. As fate would have it, her plan to bake cakes at her aunt’s kitchen didn’t work for long. Although she had gained a few customers, she hadn’t figured out how she could run the business. At around the same time, she got an internship in a tours company, earning a stipend of kes6000 that helped her buy some essential baking equipment. With customers to serve and a 9-5 job, she had to learn how to multitask. “I could wake up early, bake cakes, carry them to the office and distribute them during my lunchbreak.” Before long, her business was peaking. “I realised I was earning more money from my side job than I was getting from the internship and called it quits.” In 2011, she registered her business, Cherry Cakes Kenya to provide a wide variety of cakes to her growing list of customers. She says she likes to spread joy, and cakes are one of the ways she does that. Her company bakes cakes for all reasons,she says. “Whether It’s a birthday, bridal shower, tea, or any reason, we have you sorted.” Launching a business is one thing, and growing it is another. Although she felt that she had lots of time to concentrate on growimg the business, she says she realized that she didn’t have enough time to grow it. At first she was running the show; taking orders from customers, marketing her product, baking and delivering the cakes. “I burnt out due to fatigue,” she says. Another challenge that she had was pricing. When she launched the business, she had adopted her aunt’s price list, not knowing that her aunt hadn’t factored in many other costs, like time, delivery and staff salaries. Her cakes were cheap. She says she imagined that if she could sell them at a cheap price, she could have customers flocking to her door. That wasn’t the case. “ Despite the low prices, customers could bargain even more.”

To get her product out there, she could bake a cake, cut it into small pieces before giving it out to her sister to distribute to colleagues at her workplace. Her effort paid off.

It didn’t help that she lacked a financial background. “Separating personal and business finances was a tall order,” she shares. With a fledgling business that was making low revenues, she found herself running out of ideas to sustain the business. She had to enroll for personal finance classes to turnaround the business. When she met her husband, the business got a new lease of life. “He could help me sort the business side of things,” she says. Her husband also helped her reinvent the business. “He could carry cupcakes to his office to give to his colleagues, who later became my clients.” One of the things that Carol did to breathe new life into her business was to increase the price of cakes to cover costs. Like most startups in the food industry, she also struggled with deliveries as most of the third parties that she contracted to deliver her cakes weren’t reliable. Fed up with unreliable services, she decided to deliver the cakes directly to her customers.

“When online taxis came, they eased my delivery process. I can easily send a cake to a customer at low costs. Besides, we share the delivery cost with the customer.” Most startups struggle to get the right people, and Cherry Cakes Kenya was not an exception. As the business grew, she needed to hire people to help her run the show. “The problem is most people lack the experience. When you hire them, you have to train them how to bake. After learning the ropes, most leave to try their hand in baking,” she says. As such, she keeps on hiring and training new people, an expensive affair that deals a blow to the continuity of the business. To mitigate this, she trains her employees to handle one thing at a time, in a way that all of them work as a team to complete the baking and decoration process. In the early days of her business, she also struggled with time management. “You could find me in the kitchen at 4 a.m,” she says. At one point, she was so exhausted that she couldn’t stand up and had to be lifted and rushed to hospital. From that time, she no longer works for long hours. “I also realized I didn’t have time to be with my kids so I decided to work from home to be close to them.” She also says that women entreprenuers face unique challenges when running a business. For instance, many are the times that people try to put them down. “As a woman, you have to be strong. You have to rise above the challenges.” For the last nine years, she has managed to beat many of these challenges to grow her business. Having seen it all, she has the following recommendations for any entrepreneur. “Let go. Separate personal finances from business finances and know your product.” “Find a way of making yourself different from the competition. Overcome your fears. Try new things.” “The best feedback comes from a customer who rejected your products or services,” she adds. Having laid the framework for a thriving enterprise, she is raring to live her dream of establishing a contemporary bakery, with a playhouse for children and an outdoor space where her customers can host birthday parties. “I’m set for it,” she says. HUSTLE EAST AFRICA

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Q&A

“Passion cannot run your business, you need to do more,”-Carol Musyoka “Follow your passion” is one of the pieces of advice that most people get when they ask for tips to succeed in business.

arol Musyoka, a passionate baker who founded Cherry Cakes Kenya in 2011, says that passion is not enough as it won’t run your business. “It should be enough, but you need to learn, to put yourself out there, to understand your business, to work with people and to know how to build your business.” She talked to Hustle East Africa about the challenges that women face when growing their businesses, her work life balance and first hand tips on launching a thriving enterprise. Excerpts. What makes you stand out? When I sit with customers, I like to listen to what they have in mind and to translate it into a cake. I have unique flavors. I bake many kinds of cakes, from dairyfree, sugar-free, to gluten-free cakes. I also like mixing things so most of my cakes are hard to replicate. What inspires you to keep going? My babies. I do this for them. I never want them to lack anything. I also get inspired when a customer appreciates my work. Did school prepare you to be an entrepreneur? No. I did tourism management. The whole time I was taught how to manage wildlife. When it came to business, I had to dig for information. I enrolled for a short course on personal and business finance and this opened my world. Have you transitioned from self employment to entrepreneurship?

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Yes. I have employees and I have learnt to let go. Once I learned that I wasn’t the only one who could do this, I delegated various aspects of my work, including accounting, sales, marketing, and delivery. There’s also the challenge of separating business finances from personal finances. It was a huge challenge back then, but I have managed to overcome it. What makes women shy away from business? Most women that are around me are in business. People I interact with aren’t afraid to venture into business. I don’t see why women should fear to venture into business. How did employment prepare you to be an entrepreneur? As an intern in one of the tour companies, I used to manage their accounts and the office. I learned how to create a good environment for employees as well as how to create relationships with clients.

Employment also taught me to be disciplined. When you’re working for yourself, you tend to procrastinate a lot. Employment teaches you how to manage your time well. All these skills helped me to manage and run my business in a professional way. How do you unwind? I spend my weekends around family and friends. What’s the benefit of separating your time to have enough for work and for family? People will always need cakes, and business will be there, but you need time to love your family. If you don’t give your family time, you lose it. The last book that you read? “I’m Too Pretty To Be Broke and Other Lies You’ve Been Telling Yourself” by Joan Thatiah

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MENTORING

WHY MENTORSHIP IS AN ESSENTIAL ASPECT OF LEADERSHIP Mowgli Mentoring moulds entrepreneurs into formidable leaders By Hustle Correspondent

lobally, entrepreneurship plays a significant role in employment creation. A good example is Kenya where according to the 2017 Economic Survey by the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics, only 85,600 jobs were created by the formal sector and government, compared to the 747,300 jobs created by the informal sector (popularly known as the JuaKali sector). As the data shows, entrepreneurs present a formidable solution for the perennial unemployment challenges facing many African nations. When entrepreneurs succeed, economies thrive. They need a support system that nurtures their potential and an environment suitable for sustainable entrepreneurship to take place. One of the key components that entrepreneurs could benefit from is mentorship. However, the understanding around mentorship, its benefits and impact is still not widespread across most developing nations. Mowgli Mentoring, an award-winning organisation was founded to support the people driving economic and social development. Based on the European Mentoring and Coaching Council (EMCC) accredited syllabus, Mowgliâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s holistic approach to mentoring seeks to support both long-term professional and personal development. Kathleen Bury, CEO of Mowgli Mentoring explains that when it comes to entrepreneurs, mentorship should ideally focus on their personal development, which in turn spurs business growth. Though different, this approach to mentoring has seen the organisation greatly impacting entrepreneurs in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. Bury and her team have served the MENA region for the last 10 years, supporting over 1,800 mentors and entrepreneurs before setting out to expand into Sub Saharan Africa (SSA). With the expansion, the company

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Kathleen Bury, CEO of Mowgli Mentoring.

turned its focus on women, youth and corporates, as well as to entrepreneurs. So far, they are running their first regional programme in Ethiopia, in partnership with BlueMoon Ethiopia, the first youth agribusiness accelerator in the country. The organisation recently spread its wings to the west with a mentoring programme co-developed and funded by the World Bank Group aimed at empowering climate innovators, hosted by the Ghana Climate Innovation Centre (GCIC). Statistics show that 70% of mentored businesses survive more than five years, double the rate of non-mentored small businesses over the same period. Mowgli Mentoring is a passionate advocate for mentorship. “We have come into the region to support the development of human capacity among the people driving economic and social change.” Currently, entrepreneurship and mentorship are key buzzwords across the African region. However, the level of awareness about mentorship has remained low. There are many words which are often confused with mentorship including: coaching, consulting, therapy, training, advisory and others. Coaching for instance is a paid service, mentoring however, should not attract any transactional cost. It is not about somebody showing you what to do, it’s about empowerment. During the mentoring process; mentors ask mentees questions to help deepen their awareness and the agenda is mostly driven by the mentee. To address the mentorship gap, Mowgli Mentoring has developed a mentorship curriculum with four key components which include: raising awareness about mentoring, mentor and entrepreneur recruitment, training of mentors, matching of mentors with mentees and a period of six to twelve months of on-going mentoring relationship, building support, facilitation and supervision.

The first pillar is the environment, and this encompasses peer-to-peer groups, parenting, role models and all levels of education. The second one is financial capital. Thirdly, infrastructure – this includes government regulations, internet access as well as access to incubators and accelerators. The fourth pillar is human capital development and this is where mentoring comes into play. Mowgli believes that while a lot more can be done, the ecosystem in Kenya supports entrepreneurship. “People here are very enterprising. We also have a number of very successful business people who can act as mentors, so the pipeline for entrepreneurial mentoring programmes are present, leading to higher chances of a positive return on investment being generated from them.”

Support system Touching on lessons learnt over the years and the need to incorporate mentorship as an essential part of a balanced entrepreneurial support system; Kathleen shares: “We see that entrepreneurial ecosystems need investment to develop four pillars to truly serve entrepreneurs. “We support them to grow successful and sustainable businesses and support employment creation.”

Chemistry With a strong focus on mentorship, the firm has created a fine niche in the fifteen countries it has served. “We stand out because we look at entrepreneurs holistically, as people as well as business leaders. Mowgli’s volunteer mentors are trained to listen, guide and inspire. “Our matching process is also unique as we look beyond a good CV and accolades in a mentor,” “our matching process is based on

chemistry as we are seeking to develop long-term trust based relationships.” She says it doesn’t matter how well a potential mentor and mentee may fit on paper; real mentoring relationships are not only based on the mentor’s professional ability to impart knowledge, but on the rapport between the mentor and mentee. Various estimates show that 80 % of start-ups die within the first five years of operation. In the few years that Mowgli has provided mentoring, it has managed to overturn this worrying trend, showing that with mentorship, start-ups can succeed. To put this into perspective, 89 percent of the enterprises led by Mowgli Entrepreneurs remained operational after their first year of mentoring and managed to create an average of 3.3 jobs. They also have an employee retention rate of 91% during their Mowgli facilitated mentoring year. ”Jobs can only be created when there is economic growth at the macro level. Essentially, business growth can only be achieved when the leadership qualities of entrepreneurs are strengthened to build their resilience, motivation and confidence and this is why we believe mentoring should be invested in and solidified as a key component of the entrepreneurial ecosystem,” explains Kathleen. HUSTLE EAST AFRICA

FARMING

Ian Mutwiri, chicken farmer.

“

If you don’t enjoy what you do, you’re in the wrong profession,” says Ian Mutwiri, a lawyer who finds joy from his chicken farm. Mutwiri says his short stint as a lawyer was uneventful. “The job was fulfilling from an economic perspective, but it was emotionally straining. I felt I wasn’t emotionally satisfied.” Once he graduated with a degree in law, he secured a job in the banking industry, only to realize that he wasn’t happy. He quit his job in 2010 to venture into business. After trying his hand in a number of businesses, including real estate and branding. As a 25-year-old, he was looking for an economic activity that he liked, and farming was a clear favorite. He conducted intensive research on pig and rabbit farming, but these came out as too sophisticated for his liking. For instance, he says he found out that these two ventures needed lots of planning in terms of space, market for the meat, and feeds. Eventually, he settled on poultry farming and singled out layers and broilers as his niche. A greenhorn in the poultry industry, he

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POULTRY FARMING

Lawyer tries poultry farming and finds it viable

was initially discouraged by the high costs of feeds and the risks involved. Not one to give up easily, he decided to try Kienyeji chicken. The breed was fronted by the Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Research Institute (KALRO). “The breed had just been launched and as such, there was scanty information on the internet about it.” He had to visit the KALRO offices to learn more about it. Impressed by its prospects, he immediately ordered 200 chicks. But there was a challenge. The chicks were to be delivered a month later as he didn’t have ready chicken coops from where he could raise them. “I went back home and leased a small piece of land in Ruaka, where i constructed some coops. The lease cost Kes5000 per month. He then registered his business, Homerange Poultry Kenya to rear Kienyeji chicken for sale. He owns over 5000 chicken which earns him a tidy sum. His farm in Ruaka hosts over 2000 birds while another in Syokimau is home to 3000 chicken. He established Homerange Poultry in

2013. He provides farmers with quality chicks, and trains them to build success in their respective farming ventures. Even though Kienyeji chicken take long to mature, he chose this breed since it’s cheap to manage as far as feeding costs go. “Compared to exotic breeds, Kienyeji chicken are more economical to rear,” he says. The chicks are also resistant to diseases and more resilient than other breeds, including the ordinary Kienyeji chicken. “I sell a day old chick at Kes120, a month old chick goes for Kes300 while a mature chicken fetches Kes800 in the market.” He says the Kienyeji chicken is more profitable. A tech savvy man, he exploits digital platforms to learn tips on poultry farming. He has written a comprehensive guide on Kienyeji chicken, which he sells at Kes850. “The market is there. You can’t satisfy demand for Kienyeji chicken in Kenya.” He says he occassionaly receives overwhelming orders for day old and month old chicks. Kienyeji chicken are a favorite for moat people who are into healthy eating. They are reared in a natural way and are fed using different kinds of feeds,

including kitchen leftovers. They can also be free-range, just like traditional chicken breeds. Improved Kienyeji breed is a breath of fresh air for most rural and urban farmers. Traditionally, most homesteads kept a few chicken, leaving them to scavenge for their own food. With the improved Kienyeji, you can have more resilient chicken that mature fast. Having tasted success with this breed of chicken, he is generous enough to help his fellow farmers to make money. His training sessions have so far benefitted more than 5000 people. So, what does it take to succeed as a poultry farmer? Mutwiri says it all starts with record keeping. “You need to keep complete and accurate records of daily egg production, feed intake and hatching.” Medication and vaccination records are also important as they help you to know the probable cause if a problem in case of

Even though Kienyeji chicken take long to mature, he chose this breed since it’s cheap to manage as far as feeding costs go. Compared to exotic breeds, Kienyeji chicken are more economical to rear

a disease situation. “Record keeping enables you to know whether you’re turning in a profit or a loss.” To stay ahead of the pack, Mutwiri launched M-Kuku, an SMS based platform that provides farmers with essential poultry farming information. These include farming tips, information on hatching and incubation, this on diseases, feeding and markets. “Our aim is to reach out to many farmers, especially those in rural areas who might not have access to the internet.” Mutwuri’s venture has been a success if his milestones are anything to go by. He has distributed over 250000 chicks to farmers, grown the number of his chicken from 200 to the current 5000. Besides, he has over 50 distribution networks. His dream is to popularize the improved Kienyeji breed in the country, by encouraging more farmers to rear it and creating a ready market for the birds.

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