Call him
the Warren Buffet of Africa, you will not be mistaken. He is Kenyan by
nationality . The following is Eric Kinoti’s undaunting rise from rags to
riches. Kinoti scaled several barriers to become a force to be reckoned with in
business. He started by selling eggs but he saw a unique potential
in tent making and manufacturing and within the twinkle of an eye, he has risen
to become one of Africa’s promising entrepreneurs. Today, he sits atop
five powerful companies in Kenya. Kinoti has been on Kenya’s
government delegation to several international economic meetings. This
inspiring story of Eric Kinoti has made him extend a very strong hand of
mentorship to young African entrepreneurs so that they won’t face the
same challenges he faced when he was about starting up. Kinoti reveals
how he has not only been successful but also how he has been able to establish
five thriving companies. Excerpts:
Who are you?
My name is
Eric Kinoti, an entrepreneur and mentor. I am the founder and director of
Shade Systems (EA) Ltd, SafiSana Home Services, Alma Tents and Bag Base Kenya
Ltd. I have appeared twice on Kenya’s list of Top 40 under 40 and Forbes
Top 30 under 30 in Africa. I am one of the patrons of Kenya’s National Chamber
of Commerce and Industry. I’m also Kenya’s Most Influential SME
Personality 2014.
My company,
Shade Systems (EA) Ltd, emerged 2nd runners-up and best in manufacturing
category in the 2014 Top 100 mid size companies in Kenya, which was organized
by KPMG and National Media Group.
My biggest
goal is to help as many entrepreneurs as possible to succeed. From the
challenges I faced, I recognized the importance of mentorship and
how important it is to inspire and guide young people venturing into
business.
How did you become an entrepreneur?
I’ve always
wanted to be financially independent, be my own boss and create job
opportunities.
After I
completed my tertiary education, getting a white collar job was difficult, so I
started selling eggs and during this time, I discovered I don’t need
salaried employment any more.
How easy was it getting started as an entrepreneur?
It was
never easy, and it will never be easy to start up. I faced a lot of
difficulties, so many hurdles and obstacles. All odds were against me, but I
was determined to make my dream a reality.
How did you choose the line of business you wanted to do?
I saw a
need. When I was doing supplies after college, someone approached me and asked
me for a tent. I asked around. The profit I got for being a middleman in
this deal was good, so I thought since I had a tough time looking for a tent,
why couldn’t I start manufacturing tents and selling them.
I did my
research, studied the market and the rest is history.
Another
reason that made me choose this line of business is the African climate. We
have extreme weather conditions. If it’s hot, it’s usually very hot and when
it’s cold, it gets extremely cold. This means for any event to happen and to
protect what matters to us, we must have a shade, a tent or a canopy.
What things did you put in place to get the business
started? What did you also do to speed up the business in a few
years?
I looked
for space, equipment and did a lot of marketing. I mean I had
to identify the market, the personnel and the marketing channels.
How did you build your companies?
One
business creates a need and leads to establishment of the others. For example,
Shade Systems exclusively manufactures tents. We also offer tents installation
and supplies services. With this, a need to be hiring tents for events
and ceremonies came up. I started Alma Tents for this reason only. I provide
tents for different events.
Bag Base is
a subsidiary that manufactures bags. When we manufacture tents, some canvas
materials remain and we use them to make canvas bags.
Safisana
is Swahili which means ‘very clean’. Safisana Home Services offers
premium home care with professionals and 5 star services.
Every business has its fair share of challenges. What are
the challenges facing your own business?
My youthful
age has been a challenge on many occasions. Years back, no one believed in a
young person. All the big businesses were awarded by old folks who
never trusted in young people and what they can do.
I missed several opportunities early in life because of ‘my age’. That’s
why I am always happy when I see young people in their 20s getting big tenders
and good businesses because it shows the trend has changed.
Putting the
brand out there too was a challenge. The tents sector is highly controlled by
government or government controlled parastatals, so penetrating such a market
and competition was a big challenge.
I also had
capital issues when I was starting up, but I didn’t let this hold me down
because I am an avid believer in ideas. I believe that ideas are the biggest
capital one can have. I was without money to pay rent and was indebted to
shylocks who almost auctioned my business and went without sales for awhile.
But in the end today, they are all success stories.
Why in your opinion do you think African entrepreneurs do not
succeed in their business endeavors?
The
environment around entrepreneurship is one major challenge. For example,
in Kenya, if you win a government contract , you will have to wait
for almost one year to get paid. This cannot help any entrepreneur prosper. The
duration stipulated in the law should be amended.
Another
thing is the process of registering a company. While in the western countries,
registration of a company takes less than three hours, in Africa it may take up
to three months.
We also
don’t have so many willing investors. As much as an entrepreneur may have
start-up capital, he also needs operating capital. We need more willing
investors to fund African entrepreneurs.
Now the
problem is not only external. Even within entrepreneurs themselves, there is a
problem. Most youths are not persistent and they’re impatient. They want
to start a business and start earning immediately. Quick cash is what they want
but this can never happen, so when this doesn’t happen, they jump from one
business to another.
For every
good thing, there is a process. I faced so many challenges and I had the
option of starting different businesses and leaving Shade Systems to die, but I
chose to stick with it, because I knew there is always a price to pay for
everything.
Obstacles
and challenges are the prices for success.
What are your companies into?
I have
five companies. The first one is Shade Systems (EA) Ltd that manufactures
all types of tents, car parking shade, canopies and shade seals. We also
install and supply. The second one is Alma Tents Solutions. Alma exclusively
deals with hiring of tents, chairs and bouncing castles to event organizers.
The third company is Bag Base Kenya which manufactures canvas school
bags, laptop bags, corporate bags, travel bags and many other type of bags. Bag
Base also makes leather products like wallets, folders, menu covers, bill
covers, cheque book covers, mouse pads, blotter pads among others. All
these products are customized according to the client’s specifications.
The fourth
company is Safisana Home Services which offers premium five star home keeping
services. It’s a Kenyan company tailored to provide thorough, timely and
extremely professional home support services. We offer house cleaning and
laundry services or recurring residential cleaning and laundry services.
The fifth
is the Entrepreneurs Boot Camp which I use to promote entrepreneurship spirit
in Africa and challenge young people to be better in society.
Entrepreneurs
Boot Camp provides a platform for successful entrepreneurs to share
experiences with young ambitious founders and connect them to mentors. The boot
camp gives attendees an exclusive look into the career path of well
respected professionals, business lessons learned by successful entrepreneurs
and an opportunity to meet and get personal advice from amazing African
entrepreneurs, pitch to potential investors and network.
The
entrepreneurial journey can be a very challenging and young entrepreneurs
need to be mentored and offered platforms to learn and network with one
another. This year we will be having the second edition in December. I want to
use this opportunity to welcome every African entrepreneur. Please visit
www.entrepreneursbootcamp.net and www.erickinoti.com to get all the updates on
EBC and what we are doing as a build up to the big event.
What does it take to be in the aforementioned businesses?
One must
have capital, machinery and people.
Tell us about your entrepreneur boot camp. How can Africans from
other countries benefit from this boot camp?
As I said
earlier, Entrepreneurs Boot Camp is an event that provides a platform for
successful entrepreneurs to share experiences with young ambitious founders and
connect them to mentors. The boot camp gives attendees an exclusive inside look
into the career paths of well respected professionals, lessons learned by
successful entrepreneurs and an opportunity to meet and get personal advice
from amazing African entrepreneurs, pitch to potential investors and
network. Participation is not restricted, anyone around the continent is
very much welcome. In our first edition, we had pan-African speakers and participants
from as far as Asia. More than eight African states were represented.
This event is a pan-African event. To reach out to people who are
not in a position to attend, we have a website www.entrepreneursbootcamp.net
that you can log into and access the previous edition and vital information
about entrepreneurship and power talks from different speakers.
What does it take to be a successful African entrepreneur?
Discipline,
hard work, consistency, commitment, perseverance , long term vision, patience,
creative and smart thinking.
What’s your advice to several budding young African
entrepreneurs?
Put God
first. Another is to be consistent, don’t be jumpy, stick to one thing and it
will pay off. Furthermore, think long term.
Finally,
think big, start small, start now. In this life, there are no limitations, we
only limit ourselves.
What business lessons have you learnt over the years?
To make it
in any field, you have to apply all that I have said above. God,
consistency, long term thinking, smartness and daring.
