MY STORY: Life after retrenchment

“For 15 years, I had a well-paying job as the IT manager for Magadi Soda [now defunct], a manufacturing company located in Magadi. I’d joined the company in 1999 after working in junior positions with a string of mid-tier companies, since graduating from the University of Nairobi with a major in IT and Mathematics.

“Magadi was a thriving company and I was entitled to several benefits, due to my position. The company provided housing near the factory; I lived in a spacious four-bedroom house with two servant’s quarters. They took care of all our bills – water, electricity, gas, fuel for the car they’d bought me – and paid school fees for my five children.

ALL EXPENSES PAID

I didn’t touch my salary; most of it went to my savings in the sacco, and investments in land in Ruiru, Kitengela and Syokimau. I had always believed in the principle of ‘buy parking before you buy a car’.

We got all our supplies at a subsidised rate from the company’s supermarkets. We had tabs at the cafeteria and the club where we could have anything to eat and drink. Life was very comfortable. Looking back, that comfort and pay-check were a terrible disease that conditioned me to sit back and expect something every month. We were only 200 permanent staff and a few casuals, so we knew each other pretty well and lived like one large family.

“The company had been founded in 1911 by Brits, the factory itself completed in 1940. In 2012, management injected $130 million to modernise the factory. The new technology promised to double production capacity and increase our market share. The modernisation plan was to be rolled out over six years. They hired 600 fresh talented graduates to drive it. But the plan mothballed: costs of production went over the roof and our market price dropped. Two years in, it was evident that the company was sinking into a hole it couldn’t get itself out of. The company was eventually bought out and the Brits packed up and shipped off.
“In mid 2014, the new owners announced that they were laying off 400 permanent staff. The best thing they did for us was to get us into a two-month training program on how to survive after losing our jobs. What interested me most from the training was how to start a business.

“On August 15, 2014, I got my retrenchment letter. I can never forget that day, it was a Friday. It was painful. I was 52 years old so I was entitled to my retirement package plus a cash payout of Sh10 million. It really seemed like a lot of money at the time. [Chuckles] I set up a small IT business and got consistent clients for the next three months. I however lost passion for my IT then spiralled into a panic when I saw how quickly the money was running out. My kids were concerned about staying in school and my wife, a senior lecturer, encouraged me to think hard beyond the SWOT analysis I had relied on to start my business. [Laughs hard] Corporate thinking, I tell you.

“I drove around the city and saw for the first time how wanaanchi use their skills to make ends meet. I remember speaking to this woman who sold mitumba clothes in Ngara market so she could pay her son’s private tuition fees in university – she inspired me to set bigger goals that pushed me out of my comfort zone. This mama mboga strategy works for many wanaanchi.

“I had a quarter acre in Syokimau where I wanted to build a bungalow to sell. But my wife told me to consider something on a grand scale, like two-bedroom flats to rent. I told her she was mad! [Laughs] Such a project would knock me back Sh80 million yet I only had Sh7 million left of my cash payout from Magadi. She graciously topped it up with a sacco loan and I kicked off with what I had.

SUCCESSFUL EXPANSION

“Construction eats up a lot of money. [Sighs] I sold some of my plots and my wife got me small loans from her chamas to keep the building going. I approached three banks for financing but they all turned me down. This didn’t discourage me though: I would be at the site at 7am every day, and was hands-on in supervising the contractors and negotiating with suppliers for lower rates. Seeing the building come up gave me a deep sense of satisfaction; it fuelled my determination to push past the numerous roadblocks. It’s amazing what you can achieve when you have passion.

“In early 2016, Family Bank opened a branch in Syokimau and, after seeing the progress of the building, lent me Sh20 million to complete one wing. They also gave me a six-month moratorium on the loan. It was such a huge relief!

“I finished the first wing in December 2016 and tenants moved in immediately. Family Bank lent me another Sh20 million to complete the second wing. We finished it last June, just as Madaraka Express was launching.

We took a trip to Mombasa to celebrate. [Giggles] All the 36 units are now fully occupied. My next project is to develop more property outside of Nairobi, on the plots I have left – some will be rentals, others for sale.”