For peace of mind, buy building material online
A bulldozer demolishes a house near the building that collapsed in Huruma estate Nairobi killing at least 49 people. PHOTO | ANTHONY OMUYA | NATION MEDIA GROUP
What you need to know:
- Unlike most local hardware shops, Ms Gakunju points out, Jenga Kwetu also provides an engaging platform, where the online user is advised on the type of products suited for a particular type of development, so it is not just a buy-and-go site. Besides, products are presented in a way that allows shoppers to see their features and benefits, enabling them to make informed decisions when buying.
- A beneficiary of the two women’s initiatives is Ms Susan Wangui, who works in a bank in Thika. “I knew of people who had opted for built houses that would spare them from having to deal with supervisors and workers on site frequently basis but this option was too expensive for me,” says Ms Wangui, 38.
After hearing many tales of would-be real estate investors living abroad who had been conned by relatives to whom they entrusted their money, Ms Njeri Gakunju and Alice Njeri started Jenga Kwetu, an online hardware shop. Thereafter, they established Casa-Del sol (Spanish for “House in the sun), a construction company to supervise construction projects for Kenyans living abroad.
Having lived in the United States, Ms Gakunju says she knows just how frustrating it is to implement a project in Kenya without someone trustworthy to take care of things on the ground.
“Life is tough out there. Sometimes you are forced to work two jobs in order to make ends meet and have something left to save, and most of those who build back home depend on such savings,” she says. “You cannot go to an American bank and ask for money to finance a construction in Kenya.”
In addition, many people living abroad do not know the prices of construction materials here, so family and friends take advantage of their ignorance to fleece them.
It is to help such people that the two established Jenga Kwetu.
“Jenga Kwetu is an online hardware shop that sells and gives advice on construction materials. It offers clients the convenience of shopping from the comfort of their homes or offices, with easy and quick delivery of materials to the site,” she says
When we started the online shop, our target market was the diaspora. We felt it was a much needed platform to provide transparency for those who could not trust relatives and friends with their money. But we realised that even locally, people were looking for convenient ways to shop for hardware,” says Ms Gakunju.
Although online shopping has not been fully embraced in Kenya, Ms Gakunju says this did not deter them from establishing the shop and their resilience is now bearing fruit. She says people are gradually acknowledging that there are systems in place to secure online business transactions.
She notes that a development might not be conveniently located close to a a good hardware store, and it is not always easy for people to find the time to visit a hardware store to buy building materials.
“This means that little jobs take a long time to complete, are done haphazardly, or do not get done at all,” she says, adding, “There is a huge variety of general hardware, hand tools, power tools, garden products, paints, home wares and much more that might not be easily available in local hardware stores at genuinely low prices with secure online payment platforms, and with fast delivery”.
Unlike most local hardware shops, Ms Gakunju points out, Jenga Kwetu also provides an engaging platform, where the online user is advised on the type of products suited for a particular type of development, so it is not just a buy-and-go site. Besides, products are presented in a way that allows shoppers to see their features and benefits, enabling them to make informed decisions when buying.
A beneficiary of the two women’s initiatives is Ms Susan Wangui, who works in a bank in Thika. “I knew of people who had opted for built houses that would spare them from having to deal with supervisors and workers on site frequently basis but this option was too expensive for me,” says Ms Wangui, 38.
Determined to say good-bye to being a tenant, Ms Wangui took a loan, which she added to her savings and bought a plot in Darugo, Thika. She waited a few years and took another loan to build a house. That is when her nightmare started.
“Despite having a supervisor — he was referred to me by a friend — whom I thought would conveniently oversee the construction while I was at work, I would receive endless telephone calls that something was needed, and that I should send money for buying it. This really interfered with my concentration at work since there was no way I could leave the office to supervise the construction,” she recalls.
One weekend she visited the site without the supervisor’s knowledge and then went to enquire about the prices of the materials she had been sending him money for. It was then that she realised to her shock and dismay that the quotations he had been giving her were much higher than the actual prices of the materials.
