This was a fun & somewhat impromptu interview. Initially, we had scheduled home visits to contextually test a survey (a method for an impact study, which you can see here; we wanted to understand & mitigate factors like data usage, comprehension, and usability).
We met Peris & Betsy at their flat, an hour outside town. They were so fun, welcoming, and accomplished as young entrepreneurs; they won us over & we chatted about much more than the usability of that survey. :) The afternoon culminated with a photo shoot in the field next door. You’ll have to scroll down to see the shots, but first — read their story:
“200 shillings between us and poverty”
Peris and Betsy are students at Kenyatta University, sharing a flat in Kasarani. They’ve been friends since attending high school together in the Rift Valley, and now run their own business buying & selling dresses. What got them started was a little bit of necessity, a day at Gikomba Market, and a loan from Tala.
“It was just that we had — between us and poverty, we had like 200 shillings. And we were like, what are we going to eat? Our parents said ‘no, we’re not going to send money this time, you go figure it out.’ So we went and did that.”
“We looked for the best business, because we knew we had to pay back the loan and remain with some money to use. We went to Gikomba — we bought dresses at 100 and sold at 200, because we really needed the money.
We sold in the hostels.* Hostels, it’s open — you can go, as long as you’re a student. You just go door to door. Exactly. We selected the best actually, we went the whole day — we just selected one by one, so they couldn’t resist our dresses!”
Peris and Betsy bought 15 pieces in their first trip to Gikomba and by the end of the day, they sold all but two pieces.
“Two remained, but we had no problem — since we could keep them, we could wear them. By the end of the month, we had 7000. We paid Tala and remained with some cash to pay the rent, we filled the rent and did some shopping, yeah. We were just good to go. We borrowed again — this time we borrowed 3000 — we went out and bought some more dresses, and that’s how we’ve been.”
Their profit from selling dresses was 5000 KSh. After using this to pay expenses like rent, they remained with 2000 KSh. Now, their credit limit is at 6000 KSh and they have employed someone to sell dresses on their behalf at their stall. The girls say that doing business has been their instinct for years.
“In high school, we used to do business. We used to sell biscuits — we used to exploit people. 1 biscuit at 3 shillings. We bought at 300 and sold for over 1000. It was illegal! But we needed money. We are just allergic to poverty, in short. So we started there.”
“Now, I believe in the magic of taking risks and new beginnings. If we hadn’t began on that day, we could have just been desperate now. As in, we might not have a place to eat, maybe. It’s good to take risks, to start something new.”
Where we come from, and where we’re going
“Actually — my parent does not support doing business. Actually, when I told him the first time, he was like — why should you do business when I’m paying your school fees?
But I decided to do it without his knowledge. At least now, he appreciates it. My dad is an electrician, my mom’s a housewife. So there’s that routine that the women are the lesser in society. I cannot be the victim of the environment where I first found myself.”
At home in the Rift Valley, Peris and Betsy also have their younger siblings to support. They listed 4 dependents on their loan application with Tala, and they occasionally send money back home to support them. Betsy is 20 years old, and Peris is 21.
“My brothers and sisters, actually we’re six in our family. For us — she has two; for me, I have two. So we added up, like sometimes she sends money to her sister and brother, and I do the same.
My younger sister is in nursery — how many years — 7 years old. And the other one is 10 years old. They’re with our parents, because they’re the youngest. And they call us frequently — ‘I want a dress, I want a dress!’”
The girls plan on starting another business for delivering clothes, and they dream of registering a fashion house. In the meantime, they have a savings plan — they found this photo and decided to stick with the schedule of saving 100 shillings per week.
At the moment, they have around 137,000 KSh saved on M-Shwari and a joint account on KCB. With these savings, they plan to buy maize directly from farmers in their home region, then sell through cereal companies at a profit of 500 KSh per sack.
“We have a bigger brother who knows this stuff, so he guides us … and my sister is really excited. She’s like, ‘when I reach form 4, my sister will be a millionaire!’ She’s really motivating me, she’s my inspiration.”
** The girls showed us their dresses after our interview, and we had an impromptu fashion shoot! Featuring the photography of the one and only Joseph Calvo, below.
