Brewing Up Opportunities: An Overlander’s Journey to Entrepreneurship in Kenya
What inspired you to establish a presence in Kenya?
I fell in love with Kenya and Nairobi while completing an overland drive from China to South Africa in 2010 with my wife Megan. We had been working in manufacturing in China and became big believers in the power of manufacturing to grow the middle class.
Kenya (and Africa) has all the raw materials, but they are shipped overseas for value addition and then finished goods cost double / triple / quadruple here vs what they cost in other places. So, I started looking for manufacturing jobs in Kenya in 2011 and ended up joining Burn Manufacturing, a cookstove manufacturer, and moving to Kenya in 2012, while Megan joined Fenix International, a solar company.
In 2016 we both left our social enterprise jobs to start our own manufacturing businesses: Booch kombucha, Grounded non-toxic cleaning products, and 254 Brewing Co. We’ve been broke ever since!
How do you give back to the community through your business?
My goal is to create jobs through manufacturing, especially high skill jobs and to bring people into a great work culture. We’re still fighting to stay alive so not yet implementing a CSR program.
But in addition to job creation, we are trying to improve human health and stress on the environment by making more natural alternatives to soda, commercial beer and chemical cleaning products.
What advice would you give to Irish companies considering entering the Kenyan market?
Kenya is one of the most beautiful countries in the world and Nairobi is a dynamic, modern, cosmopolitan city, with an emerging middle class. Kenya has a high talent pool, although talented individuals may often need specific training that wasn’t covered in previous work experience or education.
Unfortunately, Kenya also consistently ranks at the top of global corruption tables. Roads are poor and unfinished, power and water are inconsistent, although internet is generally fast. There is an investment deduction allowance, and various special economic zones. However, it is difficult to get business done - getting a brewing license took 2 years, and last year we had the brewery locked up for 2 weeks on account of a pipe being allegedly the wrong color. We had to pay an inspection team to enlighten us that painting it blue would allow us to reopen our business. In a nutshell Kenya is an emerging market much more dynamic than western counterparts.
If you embrace life in Kenya, and come armed with patience, an adventure is almost guaranteed.
What motivates you personally in your work?
I run my own business funded mostly by friends and family, so I am highly motivated to not go bankrupt!
I love being my own boss, working with my team and seeing the products we created in bars, supermarket shelves and being consumed by the public.
Business is never easy but it’s worth fighting for and that’s what motivates me to jump out of bed every morning.