Innovator beats odds to thrive on gas meters

Mr Gilbert Maina demonstrates how his Gasimita product works. Photo/JEFF ANGOTE 

By FLORENCE BETT

Posted  Sunday, December 29  2013 at  17:43

In Summary

• Gilbert Maina’s Gasimita innovation monitors the use and level of gas in a cylinder.

At 29, Gilbert Maina is an entrepreneur who thrives on simple ideas and solutions. Mr Maina is the winner of the 2011 Next Big Thing competition. It is an annual competition put together by the Nation Media Group, Kenyatta University and Enablis.

His winning idea was a gas meter dubbed Gasimita. It is an innovative product that monitors the use and level of gas in a cylinder. The gadget is attached to a gas regulator and uses a colour range of red, yellow and green to indicate the gas level.

Gasimita became the flagship of Mainway Alternative Solutions Limited (Masco), a company Mr Maina set up in December 2010. After his idea was transformed into an innovative gadget, Mr Maina left his position as head of cash in Equity Bank, Mombasa, and returned to Nairobi in February 2011.

“It was the next natural step in advancing the idea,” he said.

Lack of capital and a ready market did not deter Mr Maina. He was optimistic that being the competition’s winner would be the ticket to obtaining start-up capital without difficulty.

Already two financiers, Vision 2030 and TBL Mirror Fund, had expressed interest in funding the idea. He approached them but he was not successful in obtaining financing from either of them.

“They both turned me down for one reason: they could not finance a product which was still in the research and development (R&D) phase. They wanted a prototype,” he said. “Up until here it was nothing but a winning idea. I needed financing to move from R&D to production.”

Mr Maina went back to the drawing board, keen to finance the manufacturing of at least 10,000 units of the Gasimita.

“I used my personal savings first. Then, approached family and friends. My parents and one uncle were willing to assist. Then, I invited a friend to buy shares of the company to become a director. Some friends I approached understandably turned me down,” he said.

Mr Maina raised $15,000 (Sh1.5 million) for his start-up capital. “Despite a small deficit, I went ahead to production.”

He travelled to Chaoyang District, China, to meet manufacturers. A language barrier meant that he had to learn Mandarin, one of the seven Chinese dialects.

“This was an uphill task considering how quickly I had to learn to speak and write the language.”

Back home, Mr Maina required certification from Kenya Bureau of Standards, Kenya Industrial Property Institute and other local regulators before he could sell the product.
“The requirements were a nightmare. It was made worse because I did not anticipate their length and rigor. My patience was tested severally.”

Masco made its first gasimita sale in April 2012. The unit was sold to a friend who had followed Mr Maina closely since he pitched his idea.

“It was a moment of immense joy and disbelief. The triumph and satisfaction of seeing the product move full cycle, from a simple idea to production and sale, was unbelievable. I was overcome with a deep sense of humility and pride, both at the same time.