Kenyan women entrepreneurs share business growth tips

The 10 Rising Women met Mumbi Gichuhi, the managing director Epilson Publishers, at Fairmont Northfolk Hotel, in Kenya. It is there that her business story first unfolds. The lawyer by qualification never practiced, after deciding to prioritise her young family. She, instead, chose to manage family businesses, but her own would start years later, with only $30.
“I started out by printing and making business cards. People started asking me to make company profiles, brochures and slowly, we grew into publishing. Our clientele grew over time,” Gichuhi says.
When she clocked 30 years, she felt the business was not growing as fast as she needed it. She sold a piece of land she had bought and started a magazine business that unfortunately left her penniless for two years.
“Sometimes growth can be so rapid that you are not ready for it. The magazine business drained everything and by the time I shut it down, it had lost $100,000, yet that is all the money I had,” Gichuhi narrates. Despite growing despondent, 10 months later, she bounced back, this time with determination to build her printing business from scratch. Today, she runs what she describes as a proper business with a five-year plan. “In the first year, I created proper systems. The second year, we instituted policies for finance and marketing. In 2018, we put a code of conduct and a board in place to be accountable to someone. In 2019, we focused on innovation. This year, it will be growth and 2021, scale,” she says.
The business has since been diversified. It is in Ngara town, Nairobi where the rising women meet Gichuhi again. Here, she has built a co-working space. She has also ventured into real estate.
Over the years, she has learnt that there has to be a balance between her business and family life. She has learnt that business failure is not personal failure. She has realigned her relationship to fit her vision. She is diversifying her business, but cautiously. Commenting on the price of entrepreneurship, Gichuhi advises women to avoid working themselves into bad health. “I was sedated for three days in hospital because of exhaustion. Balance work, life and make time for social activities,” she says.

Body Evolution by Winnie
Body Evolution by Winnie is a wellness centre that offers skin care, massages, weight loss, body contouring treatment and beauty training institute in Nairobi. Its founder, Winnie Taylor, comes from a society with strong beliefs in education.
Unfortunately, she was never a straight A student or even C student. She was expected to become a teacher. “Not for me,” she thought. However, lipstick and nail polish got her attention and this is how she ended up in a beauty college. After convincing her parents of her desired career path, she struggled with odd jobs, from working as a receptionist to a fitness trainer, cleaner, tea girl to paying her bills.
After signing up in a beauty school, she worked in different spas and salons in South Africa. In 2006, she established her business.
“Eight years ago, I came back to Kenya and set up the business here. I have learnt that this industry is dynamic and is constantly changing,” Taylor says. She has found an opportunity in the shortage of a variety of beauty products on the Kenyan market. Today, she has developed a skin care line.
Her goal is to see Body Evolution by Winnie become a household name in all African countries in future. She is currently a member in associations such as Organisation of Women in International Trade and the South African Association of health and skin care professionals.
Beauty expos are a must attend for her. She confesses that passion and perseverance have got her to the top. She shared tips on packaging, certification, work-life balance, marketing and partnerships.
“At the start, I did not have the money. I got a business partner who supported me to procure beauty products. I have outsourced social media and accounting services. I have empowered my team. Even when I am not available, business runs normally,” she explains.

Afrocessories Company
When Mary Onyango first made jewelleries in 2007, it was nothing but a hobby. After a fruitless search for a formal job, she decided to pursue business, this time with a custom-made African clothing line.
“My first clients were friends and family. In 2018, I packed nine suitcases of African wear and went to New York and Dallas, United States of America. Over the years, my clothing line has attracted clients from Uganda and Tanzania,” Onyango tells her humble beginnings.
Today, she employs four tailors who design 60 clothes every week. She says she runs her fashion house at her home because commercial premises are costly. She also hints on cash flow challenges owing to pre-ordered clothes and delayed payments.
She advised entrepreneurs to keep up with trends, invest in unique creative product development, honesty and delivering high quality products.

Ciiru Waweru- FunKidz
Her brand was born 10 years ago, out of the need to produce local children’s furniture at affordable prices. Its founder, Ciiru Waweru, conducted a market research and realised many products on the market were of poor quality yet costly.
She says even businessmen who imported products from countries such as China found it difficult to repair furniture in case of any damage. Today, the company uses locally sourced materials and has been exporting its furniture across East Africa. She highlighted copycatting, protectionism within the region and pricing as some of the challenges that threaten her business.
Ten years is quite a journey and she believes it has taken consistency producing quality, embracing latest technology and partnering with the experts on finance and actual production. She believes these business practices and more can uplift the 10 Rising Women in Uganda.