How I have aced the male-dominated steel business as a young woman

Wangechi Kamau has never been at ease getting stuck in a comfort zone. She has always challenged herself towards bigger roles. This saw her rise from a receptionist to a sales representative and finally to the manager’s position in the metal industry. But none of these career achievements has been as bold as quitting employment to venture into entrepreneurship.

“I ventured into the business of steel,” she says. You see, Wangechi, who is 34, started her business in January 2020. This was two months before the country shut down due to the Covid-19 pandemic. “I started the business in January 2020 along Mogadishu Road, off Lunga Lunga Road, in Nairobi. I used a client’s deposit and my savings to fund my first steel production order,” says the mother of a five-year-old girl named Kayla. Her business is known as Classic Steel East Africa Ltd. 

Two years down the line, her business has grown into production of steel and fabrication and supply of products such as stainless kitchen equipment, bakery, cold room, hospital kitchen equipment, stainless steel balcony and staircase railings and stainless steel cladding. However, Wangechi admits that her business journey has not been easy at all. Her first year of business was one to forget.

“The first year was basically lost. Covid-19 was at its peak and my prospective customers were not willing to make orders. The slowdown in economy impacted my turnover and operational capital,” she says.

To survive, she found herself using all the little income she made from the small orders she got as operating capital. “I hardly paid myself. The income I got went into running the business through those hard months,” she says.  Wangechi says that things started to pick up from mid-2021. “In 2022, business has not been as bad. I am currently achieving my first milestones having used the past two years to set up business structures and survive the impact of the pandemic,” she says while admitting that her business is yet to break even.

The pandemic, though, was not the only challenge that she faced. Venturing into a business that is capital-intensive, she found it quite difficult to fund the acquisition of quality steel in the market. “The price of steel in the market has been very high over the past two years. This has been a challenge for me,” says Wangechi.

In addition, she says the steel sector in Kenya is largely dominated by men, from customers to employees to steel sellers. “As a young single woman, I am often confronted with unwanted sexual overtures from men. Most men in this sector don’t believe that a young woman can learn the ropes and succeed by herself or even break even without trading sexual favours for the right business deals,” she says.

But consistently standing her ground has given her the reputation that she is not in it for sexual favours.

“People have learnt that I am willing to do business and nothing more,” she says.

Wangechi also lists competition from well-established players as another major challenge that she faced when she launched her business. “I had walked into a sector that had been dominated by a circle of veteran businessmen. They tried to edge me out of business out of fear that I would eat into their pie,” she says.

At the same time, convincing customers that she could offer better quality at fairer prices was not easy. “In any business, customers tend to tilt towards businesses whose products and services they are accustomed to. But I am glad that one customer grew into two through referrals, and two grew into four. My customer base has now gained traction with more customers gaining faith and trust in our ability to deliver quality steel products,” she says.

Beyond her challenges, Wangechi says that she has also learnt some valuable financial lessons in the way she has been handling her business money. I have learnt to never use a client’s money to finish another client’s work under the illusion that this client will pay in good time,” she says.

She recalls that she was once given a deposit to work on some products in her early business days. “When I got the money, I decided that I would use it to complete another project first because this client was not in a hurry. I thought I would get paid immediately after the project was completed.” She says that things went awry fast. The payment was delayed. She exhausted her finances. Then the client who made the deposit came calling for their products.

“I didn’t have the money or the work to show for it. I had to open up and explain what I had done. Although this client understood, having been in business themselves, I have never recovered from the mess psychologically,” says Wangechi who loves traveling and exploring natural parks.

Even though her business is still young, Wangechi says that she has a huge dream for it. She wants to scale from a medium enterprise to a large scale steel factory in the East African region. “I am working towards setting up my steel plant company and establish various branches in Nakuru, Kisumu, Mombasa and Eldoret,” she says.

Her dreams are not so far-fetched. In July 2022, she was awarded the best employer of the year award during the NaBLA Business Awards. “This vindicated my business model and gave me the conviction that I was on the right path,” she says.

Wangechi’s takeaways:

• If you have a vision or a dream, don't sit or sleep on it; wake up, work on it and you will not regret it. My business would not be where it is today if I had procrastinated over whether I would fail or succeed. You must be bold and squeeze yourself into success in business.
• What I have learnt with every business is how to plan and use your business money. This is what will ensure that you stay active in the market and are able to take and fulfill orders.
• I have seen big companies fall for lack of accountability and transparency and poor business management of their revenue streams. 
• Never redirect business finances without proper resources’ backup.

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