SOARING BEYOND BOUNDARIES: #FatumasVoice #Africa #BusinessInAfrica #Kenya #AfricanStories #KenyanStories #AfricanVoices Emily Gitonga, known to her Facebook Friends as Emilee Karii, is a 20 year old poet and student at Technical University of Kenya-The Kenya Polytechnic University College, taking Science Laboratory Technology. From a first glance, you will not fail to notice her gentle and warm face. But Emily isnt just a student, nor is she just a poet. More than that, she is a young entrepreneur who is already making news in her campus due to her entrepreneurial skills. In fact, while she was still a student at Mahiga Girls Secondary School, she used to make cards and sell them to her comrades; from birthday to Valentines cards. She has always had an inner push to go the extra mile so as to stand out, and it has worked for her over the years. While she admits that taking up Science Laboratory Technology in college was not the best of her decisions due to poor career guidance, her determination to live her life motivated her to start a small business at the college. First, she begun by ferrying mandazis from her home in Uthiru, buying them at a wholesale price, coming to sell them at a profit in school. It reached a point she could not go on with it because the smell of mandazi distracted his classmates during lessons since there was nowhere else she could place them in between classes, and she says it also felt embarrassing walking around with a smelling bag in campus. She hence opted for bananas, which were not as smelly as mandazis. All this while she lived with a relative in Uthiru, but getting capital for her errands was never a walk in the park. The bananas ended up being too heavy. The better option was selling accessories to her fashion-enthusiastic college mates, most of whom are young women. There was ready market for that. Her strategy, she says, was to buy her stock in bulk from such places as Gikomba, Kamukunji, and Eastleigh, then sell the accessories at fairly reduced prices in comparison to prices of the same commodities in shops. That, she says, has worked for her. Her business helps her pay her hostel fees as well as cater for a few personal needs. Besides her love for poetry, Emily has shown that she loves business and that she is working hard to make ends meet instead of playing nice to pity of lacking money for upkeep in school. Inspired by Oprah Winfrey, Emily says that her vision is to have a business that would be an avenue to help other people. Her story poses a challenge to campus students who have potential to do something with their lives but they unnecessarily depend on outside sources for upkeep. You mustnt wait to finish your degree to begin doing something you are passionate about. Be ahead of your peers. If we are to be contributors to the economy, we mustnt wait to own shares at the Nairobi Stock Exchange. We start from where we are, by influencing the people around us and improving their lives. Talking to Emily over our meeting made me learn that I need to maximize my potential. We have vast brains which we do not fully utilize. Also, I learnt, that character is the center of everything you do. Maturity, humility, patience and wit, make people get attracted to you. It is easier to sell an idea to them if you seem to take yourself seriously and your passion is visible. You have to think of what you can do where you are with what you have. That is the recipe for greatness; that is, if you so wish to achieve it.
Posted on: Tue, 25 Mar 2014 16:34:33 +0000
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