WOMAN OF PASSION: From the skies to the land of greens

“Growing up, finances were tight. If you had asked me what my dream was as a little girl, I would have told you that I wanted to ‘make it’ like the many people around me who I admired.

I wanted to lead a more comfortable life, to be able to take care of my mother.

Years later, my mother couldn’t pay my college fees and so I began dropping my CV in various companies.

I stumbled into my first job as a flight stewardess with a leading local airline. Just like that, I found myself flying around the world.

While I can’t say that this was my ultimate dream, it was here in the skies that I learnt an invaluable life skill, a skill that has been the biggest asset to my business — how to relate with people.

QUIT JOB

After four years, I quit my job to manage a 400-acre farm in Nyeri.

Here, for 14 years, I explored my love for cooking and animals.

Then in 2011, just when I was exploring the idea of setting up a restaurant, we were attacked and almost killed by gunmen at the ranch.

This, for someone to violently come to your home and threaten your life, was traumatising. I moved from the ranch into a safer area in Tigoni.

It took months to leave the house for long periods, and years before I could recover from the ordeal.

AN UNFAMILIAR GROUND

I am a busy body; I’m always doing something constructive with my time. Just sitting at home during the recovery period was hard.

Subconsciously, I began surveying the world of business to see what I could do with my time.

I noticed that farm food delivery companies were cropping up. I also noticed that the few that there running were unreliable.

Also, none had credibility with regard to where the foods they were selling were grown, and the source of water that was used.

So in 2015, armed with the idea of fresh, clean, and grown food in mind, I set up Mboga Concierge Ltd.

It was a one-man show at this point.

My first task was seeking a farm near me that could provide a constant supply of fresh vegetables. Then I set about looking for the market.

Initially, I had imagined that I would need a big budget for advertising. But when I consulted with my sisters, they suggested that I try social media.

This is where lots of Kenyan adults spend a big part of their day, anyway. So I opened a Facebook page and just a few days in, I had orders trickling in.

GROWING THE BUSINESS

Now I have a long client list who I deliver to on a weekly or bi-weekly basis. The profile of my average client is the middle upper and the upper class who are too busy to visit the market during the week, and who want to spend the little time they have on the weekends with their families.

Usually, I make the purchases from the farm, clean and sort the food items before packaging them for my clients. As opposed to having fixed packages, I customise each order. If a client wants only two tomatoes, then I will throw in just two tomatoes.

At first, I could do everything myself. The first month, I would be done with deliverers by 2pm on delivery days. As my client list grew, I realised that I couldn’t do it by myself.

Now I work with two other people. I like to think that the people I work with are a big resource to my business. They are the face of the business when they are out there meeting clients. For this reason, it’s important to me that they are personable.

The most difficult period for me in business was the electioneering year — 2017. Business took a hit, and orders came down to almost half. But the good news is that we have now recovered. Through word of mouth, my business has been growing steadily.

The bigger dream for me is to eventually have a food outlet, to have a space where I can serve food that I have grown and cooked.