When Philip Ndwiga heard about wheatgrass from a friend, he was curious. “I Googled wheatgrass and learned that it’s an immunity booster and food supplement, containing many vitamins,” he explained. Philip saw wheatgrass as a key to success in the growing health food market in Kenya, and started his company, Fheel Better Nutritional Products.
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Soon after, the young entrepreneurs entered the training program run by the Global Agribusiness Management and Entrepreneurship (GAME) Center at the United States International University-Africa, with funding from the Cultivate Africa’s Future (CultiAF) program.
GAME’s mentorship program paired him with an organic banana farmer, who supported him through the practical steps of how to plant, harvest and cultivate wheatgrass. “I visited my mentor’s farm and I was encouraged to see another young person doing what I’m doing,” he said. His mentor taught him to mix manure with the soil instead of compacting it, making it easier for the plants to absorb nutrients, for example.
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Fending off crisis with good financial habits The training also helped him in his financial record keeping. “The financial record keeping was troubling me before”, explained Philip. “Now, I make daily spreadsheets so I am able to keep my business records, record my proceeds, and differentiate personal expenses and business profit, where before they were all going into the same pocket. Now I know how much I have made today, how much I have sold, how much to pay myself and plough back into the business for it to grow.”
That knowledge helped Philip protect his business from the pandemic. “Through mentorship, I didn’t go back into my pocket to eat my profit, which cushioned me during the pandemic,” he said. Before COVID-19 struck, Philip was bringing in up to CAD$210 per month, planting about 20 trays of wheatgrass. Today he only cultivates six to eight trays and earns up to CAD$116. He hopes the market will recover soon.
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Spreading the word Philip also learned to market his produce through social media. “Social media helped me to open up my mind. Now I know I don’t need to go somewhere physically to sell. Through social media, Instagram, Facebook and visiting health sites and posting my documents there, that’s where I’m getting a lot of my orders and educate [customers] about the benefits of wheatgrass.” 5
He learned to diversify, making wheatgrass juice, or powder to mix into drinks or porridge. “From 1kg, of wheat seed at CD$0.70 I can get CD$4.67 in profit after deducting the operational costs,” he explained. Another idea: promote understanding of wheatgrass by mixing it with a local staple food - Ugali. “That’s my next venture. We were taught not to be rigid; to find other ventures to maximize profit,” he said.
In future, Philip plans to promote his products further, to buy a bigger grinder and blender, and open an outlet for taking orders. In the meantime, he is investing in growing his and diversifying as the economy recovers. “In entrepreneurship you have to be patient and consistent – those are two major things I learned through the training. Start small, grow big,” he said. 6
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