10th Apr, 2019
I’ve always been the type to do my own thing – my mom once said siwezi kuwa struggler in this Nairobi because I’m such a hustler. When I’m not at KCB, you’ll find me selling notebooks, jeans, biros – anything to make an extra buck, because experience ndio huwa muhimu in life.
Nikiwa uni mabeste wangu wote walikuwa na squad mentality – finish school, and get a good job. But I’ve always felt I want to do more, you know? Majoring in business was a shoe-in for me because I felt it took my thinking to the next level. So naturally, after school, I teamed up with a few like-minded individuals and started a company. I knew I wanted to venture into retail, specifically for cosmetics (niko na masister wengi and actually seeing how much they spent on makeup,I realized there was a huge market- galdem would rather look fly than eat). I took a few loans here and there, and got down to business, literally. Unfortunately, due to funding issues and technicalities, things didn’t work out – and it was back to square one.
One day nikitemebea town nikitafuta job opportunities, someone suggested I check out KCB – they had an opening huko marketing. I applied, and that’s how I joined #TeamKCB, and got to work with a wonderful team (and Sospeter the joker). Here, I discovered KCB Lions’ den. Wish I knew about it when I was setting up my Biashara – because wueh, I would have saved myself time and money (imagine I’m still paying back some of those ‘investors’ who loaned me cash).
The KCB Lions’ Den is the place to be for young entrepreneurs seeking funding or mentorship. Since I want to help out some of y’all be in the know, here’s some helpful info. It’s surprisingly easy to sign up for – all you have to do is log onto the 2jaijiri Website, fill in an application form, and wait to be part of the shortlist. If you’re among of the chosen, you get the chance present your idea to a panel of investors (aka the KCB Lions) and if they like what you’re selling, they will provide you with mentorship and funding in form of (no, we’re not talking about the bank, lols). Equity represents one’s percentage of ownership interest in a given company. Let’s say, if your Business is valued at Kes 1,000,000 M, you can tell the Lions that you are looking for 50% Equity, a half of the Business’ value, which is Kes 500,000. Are we Tugezza?
Applications are currently ongoing … so, don’t let those Biz dreams go to waste. And even
Shoot your shot.
You miss 100% of the chances you don’t take and this is not one to gamble with. Usiseme hukuambiwa!
