Mr Keith Juma displays some of his products at his workshop in Ngumo, Nairobi. Photo/Phoebe Okall
By FLORENCE BETT
It is no surprise that at 23, Keith Juma has
earned the title of entrepreneur. Juma — fresh-faced and bubbling with
the unmistakeable and uncontainable enthusiasm of a man ready to face
the world — discovered his entrepreneurial spirit in primary school
where he sold sweets to his classmates.
In high school, he sold tea to his dormitory mates
after the night preps. Now, even before he has completed his
undergraduate degree, Mr Juma owns Afri Tribal —a venture which makes
shoes, and other African-print clothes.
Mr Juma is a final year student at the University
of Nairobi’s Lower Kabete Campus. He is pursuing a Bachelor’s degree in
Business and Commerce.
Mr Juma started his business in July 2012. His capital was Sh300. “It’s a low amount of money to start with, I know,” he says.
“I had noted that most jackets women were wearing
looked similar. This similarity bothered me. My aunt had an old jacket
that she wanted to dispose of. It was still in good condition, but it
was dull.”
Mr Juma saw an opportunity to tweak the details of
the jacket. “I bought half a metre of kitenge fabric for Sh300. I
trimmed the fabric and used it to patchup the jacket elbows, pocket
linings, lapels and sleeve cuffs. A tailor from the local market
stitched the trimmings to the jacket; he did the work for less than
Shs50.”
When he was finished, Mr Juma noted the difference
the trimmings had made. “It looked like a new jacket. I resold it to my
aunt for Sh500.”
He says of his first sale: “I could not believe it was this easy to make money.”
Deducting the cost of the fabric gave him his
first profit of Sh200. Mr Juma used this profit to replicate what he had
done —he found used and sometimes old jackets, patched them up with
kitenge then resold them for profit.
He also designed jackets and had them tailored at the local market. His customer base and earnings steadily grew.
After two months in the business, the young
entrepreneur diversified his portfolio —he started to make and sell
shoes. He designed the shoes, bought the materials locally then had a
shoemaker assemble them.
“The fabric is from River Road. The leather is
from Kariokor market. The suede is bought second-hand from Gikomba
market. The shoe sole is from the Kenya Institute of Supplies
Management ( KISM),” says Mr Juma.
In December, he partnered with Ledida Fashion Wear for a fashion show.
“Ledida Wanyoike is the stylist and owner of the
Fashion House. His models on the runway wore my shoes. This fashion show
showcased African wear, which matched my shoe collection.”
The fashion show gave Mr Juma’s young business
the much-needed publicity. Since then, he has partnered with other
local fashion houses.
No comments :
Post a Comment