Hello, I’m Florence Kamaitha and this is my business diary. I will be sharing with you my experience of being a woman entrepreneur in Kenya.
In this entry, you will read on how I narrowed down on one of the many business opportunities in Kenya. I sure hope you read the first article on my entrepreneurial journey. If not, find it here:
‘The Business Lesson I Learnt in 2017‘
Over a month, I read articles on the business opportunities in Kenya over the next five years. One of those opportunities was manufacturing. The Government is making it easier for young people to start producing things locally while paving way for opportunities like export.
I thought of what I could do and landed on agro-processing. Value addition in the agriculture sector.
I researched and found that there have been agreements upon agreements made with Uganda, Tanzania and Rwanda to sell our products there – with great tax breaks. This was it. I just had to figure out what to produce.
I have a love for cooking. So, I wondered what I could produce to make it easier for a modern Kenyan woman, who after a long day, still wants to enjoy a home cooked meal.
In my case, as much as i enjoy cooking, there are some things I hate doing in the kitchen:
- I hate chopping onions. Would there be anyone who can sell dried onions, so I just put in the pan and start cooking?
- I also hate peeling ginger and garlic, then crushing. Is there anyone who can sell me already minced ginger and garlic?
- I love kachumbari, but I don’t have the patience to chop up all the ingredients. Esp. soaking onions in vinegar to lose the onion taste. Is there anyone who can sell me kachumbari in a jar that I can just scoop and eat?
With all these questions, I asked a few friends of mine what challenges they face when trying to make a quick meal that is still good, with all the ingredients. This helped me narrow down on what i really wanted to produce.
Over the next few days, I visited stores to check what products we have out there, that will enable a modern woman like me, who enjoys being in the kitchen to make a good meal at the earliest convenience. That is when the magic started happening.
Keep it here for more!
Kamaitha will be sharing with you #HerDiary every week! If you just can’t wait that long, you can follow her on Twitter @Kamaitha