I think one of the most profound questions ever asked, was, ‘what is in your hand?’ It is not so much the physical presence of something in your hand but what your abilities are. I’m not going to ramble on with a ‘Yes you can’ speech, that’s been done and perfected.
I think looking at the average entrepreneur in Kenya says it all. I was going to watch a movie with some friends of mine at Sarit Centre (one of the many shopping malls in Nairobi). There was an ingenious snack idea. It is pretty simple; it is boiled maize (corn) which is then flavored with a sauce of your choice, served in a cup with a spoon.
As we walked into Sarit Centre the aroma of fresh corn just got our mouths watering. We wondered where it came from, then we saw the stand, I think it was called Corny Corner or something with the word corn in it. I remember a parent offering their child a spoonful of the corn and the child seemed to like it. And I thought, maybe I should grab some. I didn’t buy it, but one of my friends got a cup of the chili flavoured corn. Let’s just say after one spoon of the fresh corn melting in your mouth and sliding down your throat, you can’t stop. My other friend and I ate all the corn in the cup.
From a business sense, it is such a simple and effective idea. We are all used to the usual roasted maize doused with lemon and chili powder, from the road side. But this individual just decided to work with a snack that Kenyans loved and re-invented it, to have cheese, chili and other kinds of flavoured corn in a cup! It’s 9 times the price, of the roasted maize (90 shillings slightly over a US dollar) but still affordable, healthy and a decent snack! That is the power of using ‘what’s in your hand’.
I think looking at the average entrepreneur in Kenya says it all. I was going to watch a movie with some friends of mine at Sarit Centre (one of the many shopping malls in Nairobi). There was an ingenious snack idea. It is pretty simple; it is boiled maize (corn) which is then flavored with a sauce of your choice, served in a cup with a spoon.
As we walked into Sarit Centre the aroma of fresh corn just got our mouths watering. We wondered where it came from, then we saw the stand, I think it was called Corny Corner or something with the word corn in it. I remember a parent offering their child a spoonful of the corn and the child seemed to like it. And I thought, maybe I should grab some. I didn’t buy it, but one of my friends got a cup of the chili flavoured corn. Let’s just say after one spoon of the fresh corn melting in your mouth and sliding down your throat, you can’t stop. My other friend and I ate all the corn in the cup.
From a business sense, it is such a simple and effective idea. We are all used to the usual roasted maize doused with lemon and chili powder, from the road side. But this individual just decided to work with a snack that Kenyans loved and re-invented it, to have cheese, chili and other kinds of flavoured corn in a cup! It’s 9 times the price, of the roasted maize (90 shillings slightly over a US dollar) but still affordable, healthy and a decent snack! That is the power of using ‘what’s in your hand’. Kenyans create and re-create, but the great ideas always shine through. I guess one gentleman by the name Zablon Muthaka must know that best. He was named the 2006 Entrepreneur of the year by Youth Business international; a charity organization sponsored by Prince Charles. Zablon walked away with a $1500 cash prize to show for it.
Zablon is a 26 years old resident of Kangemi, a slum in the outskirts of Nairobi. He has changed and still strives to change his environment by just, well, doing what our mother’s told us to do; clean up after ourselves. He collects and recycles garbage. It may not sound like much, but when you are depressed and unemployed and lowly educated there is a tendency to only see the worst and not do anything about it.
Zablon did something. He looked at his environment sought for help and used ‘what was in his hand’ and is now the proprietor of Beta Bins waste management in Nairobi.
His venture has employed five people, translating to five less families living in bleak poverty. Zablon’s enjoyed an annual turnover of 4,699 dollars. (Right: Zablon Muhaka at a dumping site)
It’s just the beauty of using what’s in your hands. A keyboard is in mine, and this is exactly how I get my bread buttered. I plan to do more with what abilities I have as I work towards that House on the shores of Lake Baringo with a Yacht. I know it’ll happen, because this is Kenya and I know and use 'what I have in my hand'!
Zablon is a 26 years old resident of Kangemi, a slum in the outskirts of Nairobi. He has changed and still strives to change his environment by just, well, doing what our mother’s told us to do; clean up after ourselves. He collects and recycles garbage. It may not sound like much, but when you are depressed and unemployed and lowly educated there is a tendency to only see the worst and not do anything about it.
Zablon did something. He looked at his environment sought for help and used ‘what was in his hand’ and is now the proprietor of Beta Bins waste management in Nairobi.His venture has employed five people, translating to five less families living in bleak poverty. Zablon’s enjoyed an annual turnover of 4,699 dollars. (Right: Zablon Muhaka at a dumping site)
It’s just the beauty of using what’s in your hands. A keyboard is in mine, and this is exactly how I get my bread buttered. I plan to do more with what abilities I have as I work towards that House on the shores of Lake Baringo with a Yacht. I know it’ll happen, because this is Kenya and I know and use 'what I have in my hand'!
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