Judy Wawira

My Business:

I have run many small businesses from rearing chicken for sale to selling second hand clothes at the estate. Of course most of these are collapsed. This year (2007) I came up with MUNE BIOTECHNOLOGIES, running a biodegenerative farm in Kirinyaga district. I came up with the idea as I entered a competition by Technoserve and Ministry of youth Kenya. The business is a 4 in 1 reactor that runs 4 units; one for coffee husks, pig sty, cattle rearing and a green house. These all serve a biogas reactor from which I collect gas and the sludge is made into organic fertilizer. The biogas is supplied for cooking. In Kenya there is a deficit of approximately 6,000 tonnes. I aim to make 500 tonnes to meet this demand.

My Limitations:

Being a youth it is difficult to obtain funds. With the way most of the businesses in Africa are run, I lacked enough knowledge. The capital issue is still a problem and my main boost was winning the best agribusiness in the competition for a prize of Kshs. 285 000. I also got an opportunity to be trained in business management during the competition to be able to plan my business better and I recognized the lack of sustainability of my previous businesses.

My Advice for Other African Entrepreneurs:



To gain more experience with respect to business management with an aim toward vertical and not horizontal growth. Strive to get a good mentor to walk with you through the baby steps. Don’t copy others; come up with your own original ideas with an aim of manufacture. Most of all don’t stop dreaming but try to make your dreams real.

My Current Need for Assistance:

Aim to get mentors, appropriate partners to do training programs, funding availability to the entrepreneurs. Moreover aim to partner with others to increase market strategies for most of the African produce.

My Goals for the Future:

Well, from a capacity of 500 tonnes of biogas to an extra demand of 6000, the sky is the limit. I see a big farm that is self sustaining that can produce and manufacture various products. I hope to move from a sole proprietorship to a company with the possibility of listing on the stock exchange. I see biogas production for the whole of the African continent and freedom from international policies controlling oil and a reduction in the rate of deforestation.

To learn more about this author, visit Judy Wawira 's Website.

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