A success story is told of a Kibera woman who started business with a paltry Sh2500 but who now takes home a whole Sh300 000 every month.
Emma Wairimu Kamotho completed her diploma in business management at the Nairobi Institute of Business Studies way back in 2002 and after failing to secure a job, she took a try in the business.
“I shared the idea with my parents, who offered to support me with the starting capital. What drove me was the need to support myself and cut the dependency on my parents,” Ms Kamotho says.
“With the money, I went to Gikomba market and bought clothes worth Sh2,500. I then became a roadside clothes seller at Toi Market ( in Nairobi’s Kibera area).”
According to Emma, success does not come on a silver platter. You have to struggle and persevere the tough times.
“In my first month, I sold all the stock making Sh10,000 in profit. I had bought clothes worth an average Sh30 or Sh40 each and sell at Sh100 each. The following month I bought a larger stock and expanded into clothes for all genders, and the business picked up,” she says.
Expansion of the business was not an easy feat.
“It took me about three years to expand and open my first stall. My lady customers really loved the privacy that the stall would provide because it allowed them to fit clothes before purchasing. They recommend me to other customers thus my sales also increased,” says Kamotho.
It was here that she decided to go for more stock.
“I opened the second and the third stall three years ago. I chose to open all the stalls in Toi Market because of the foot traffic especially on weekends. For all the three, I pay Sh21,000 rent a month and from each, I make about Sh100,000 a month in profit,” she says.