How mission to please my wife turned into roaring jiko venture

Isaac Njoroge had a simple motive when he decided to make his wife a long-lasting charcoal burner — to please her. However, he was surprised when a buyer snapped up the jiko as soon as it was ready.

He made a second one and as he painted it outside his one-room shop at Salgaa, Rift Valley, a buyer paid for it and ordered three more. This aroused his interest in the business of making the jikos.

Njoroge decided to make different sizes of charcoal burners for his wife to choose from and sell the rest. In a week, he had sold 20 burners, with local hotels urging him to make energy-efficient jikos for them.

“I have been making about 200 burners every month and my customers keep coming back for more. I have made eight different sizes to satisfy the market,” he says.

However, his breakthrough came when a local supermarket offered him a space to sell the burners, pushing him into the world of entrepreneurship. This saw him employ five people to help.

To stay competitive, he got certified by the Kenya Bureau of Standards.

“Listening to my customers has been my biggest boost. I have invented a hydraulic presser to punch a safe door to enable users light the burners without fear of being scratched. I am now making a hydraulic trademark seal that will enable my burners get unique recognition,” he says.

However, Mr Njoroge laments that support for jua kali artisans in Kenya is lacking and that this denies many of them a chance to sell their products in established supermarkets, where high-end buyers shop. Taxing requirements are among such hindrances.

“I was asked to seek approval from quality regulatory bodies and also a licence for my business. I have done this but I still need to have my burner design patented to safeguard it from pirates, but I do not know where to go,” he adds.

TRIAL AND ERROR

Njoroge, also a motor vehicle mechanic and welder, says he learnt his trade through trial and error, but his burners’ success has enabled him to make money for his family of seven and also provide jobs for five people.

At the moment, he says, his products are available at Ukwala Supermarkets. He has approached Tuskys and Nakumatt supermarkets, seeking a market for his burners and says he is happy that they have expressed an interest in his goods. But the supermarkets have demanded that he obtain government approval as an entrepreneur to enable them to engage him for any business.

He has since acquired a PIN from the Kenya Revenue Authority and registered his business.

TRAIN AND EMPLOY

Njoroge says he has invented eight types of burners that use charcoal, wood, and sawdust efficiently. Going forward, he says he plans to establish a small industry at Salgaa, where he intends to train youths and employ them as artisans to make the burners and other items that customers ask for such as chapati pans, mainly for hotels, and sufurias.

The jiko business has seen him buy two motor vehicles, a mini-lorry, and a van which he uses to deliver burners to any part of the country as the need arises.

He is currently handling a large order from a local supermarket that wants to stock different burners ahead of the Easter holidays when a lot of meat roasting and cooking are done.

LESSONS

• Learn how to turn opportunities into businesses
• It is wise to patent your invention
• Spread your market reach to gain more