The Mt Kenya Times 
Dominic N Njoki
By: Wanjohi. P. Mugambi
Petermuganjo@gmail.com
Worth Noting:
- I have not started a company yet, though I have the idea but lack enough funding due to high interest rates in bank loans and still young without a security and no previous venture in a business I have in my mind, if only I could get one that would my dream come true though am trying with my chicks and farming not performing better like I could like it too.
- My typical day is that I wake up very early in the morning @4pm to go to my shamba and take my product to the market such as hotels and to mama mbogas, then by 7 am back to my house ready to go to school.
My name is Dominic N Njoki. I was born and raised in the rural village of Kanyagia, Kieni west Sub County, Nyeri County in Kenya. I am the only sibling to my mother Mary Njoki. I was raised in a humble background which later became a gold opportunity for me in derivation of ideas .I grew up knowing my grandmother as the sole provider in my family of three so in return this became a golden opportunity for me to learn entrepreneurship in which she could send me after school with a basket full of ripe bananas ,potatoes, spinach and kales, due to financial crisis in my family I would sell 3 bananas @20 instead of the one sent to sell 4@20 with this I could get the extra coin to cater for my school needs and taught me of being a responsible man a tender age ,since my grandmother was old and sometimes could get sick mostly ,I would not sit down and wait to sleep hungry like an angry dog considering the state of my mother too.
I started my business in 2019 ,though I don’t do it in our course ,since am a student to be particular an economics student and have an interest in politics, in economics we say that sometimes you don’t have to work ,if you have capital it can work for you ,so upon being admitted to MT KENYA UNIVERSITY in 2019 I thought of utilizing the small amount I used to get from Helb.
So I started a small shop kiosk to supply onions and potatoes to students in Thika ,though I could not be able to balance it since I could also prioritize with my studies ,paying rent in the semester was hectic for me and school fees .
I could not sit down to see it failing,though I like taking risk I didn’t like it ,since sometimes I never had enough capital to buy stock that would satisfy the market high demand ,onions could rot because there was no one to buy due to bad quality supplied from home this could make me lose hope but upon remembering my vision.
I realized I had a mission to fulfill not only I my family but also in my country so I had to come up with a new idea on how I will come up with the challenges popping up and the sustainable solutions.
So in this I decided to transfer to Murang’a where there are cheap houses to rent and life is cheap compared to Thika, this would increase my saving plan in order to start a business plan that had not planned for at the time and due to the national crisis on covid-19 was forced to go back to my village at home.
Where I utilised the opportunity by planting kales and spinach to sustain my needs at home, but before I had to search for capital to start the venture I which I used to work in neighbors farms and in this I started my venture in July 2020 by buying seeds and planting them though I could walk in long distances to get water with 6 jericans in around 3 trips a day ,when they were ready there was no market and time had already elapsed I had to come back to school, no one could manage them for me ,so when I came back had to start from zero and in Murang’a was a good place since Nairobi, Thika are around and with many hotels around ,with my helb loan I sacrificed to lease a land and buy an incubator for eggs hatchery, in which I could sell chicks and at the same time go to school and go to farm once per week to give water to my farm seedlings but when they became if age in 3 months ,the competitive market came into mind so I had to come up with a solution very early.
I made a decision to counter it by selling a kilo of spinach by 5 Bob less and that of kales too ,so the market was good and I am still enjoying though I get something small since it’s a partnership and my partner has 75% shares ,since I also need to complete my studies in bachelors in economics at Mt Kenya university and international relations at USIU INTENATIONAL UNIVERSITY,I look forward to opening a company that will be able to buy the surplus farm produce at the village level and either do value addition and supply it internationally or buy the farm produce from the farmers and supply it outside the country as exports to encourage farmers and create trust among us .
I have not started a company yet, though I have the idea but lack enough funding due to high interest rates in bank loans and still young without a security and no previous venture in a business I have in my mind,if only I could get one that would my dream come true though am trying with my chicks and farming not performing better like I could like it too.
My typical day is that I wake up very early in the morning @4pm to go to my shamba and take my product to the market such as hotels and to mama mbogas, then by 7 am back to my house ready to go to school.
The positive side about entrepreneurship is that you get to enjoy identify in the market gaps and finding the alternative solutions that become an opportunity to you ,though the main goal is getting profits you can also create problems to earn after solving the same problems you created but integrity matters the most .I enjoy interacting with different kind of minds of people in different fields and environments and in this when I listen to their problems I identify a market gap and that market opportunity do me . I enjoy seeing small business prosper and becoming big companies that create employment to our people and enlighten among the youth in growth of a country of our choice
Though I don’t regret, because the mistakes made me stronger and learn new things since everyday is a learning day ,first leaving someone to manage a business for me, then I had not made a good network with where to supply ,being a poor timer .
I foster creative ideas by listening to different kind of people and how they think in different environments I have invested in knowledge by interacting with my college mates wherever I need rectification. I also use criteria like the one used by the Americans investing in different fields and different areas to reduce risk and encouraging every idea and going back to the drawing board
I use whatsapp status and WhatsApp group to advertise my products since its cheap, reliable and effective, however I join Facebook groups and listen to those who have done it before me and in this I learn and reach out to know what the best at a season for the market.
People can get me through my emai;Dominic.ndungu98@gmail.com;through my WhatsApp no 0750938242 and Facebook at Dominic Njoki.
I would advise the young entrepreneurs that there are opportunities there out that you can use to change your life and serve the community since a life dedicated to service is life full of happiness and nothing is impossible if only you believe in possibilities as greatness requires internal toughness, focus ,determination and foresight.
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