Living the Kenyan dream

Why Kenya is the greatest...

Photo credits: eLimu

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I was asked recently by one of our clients why I started Notify logistics and that began a lively discussion on the Kenyan dream!

You see, for a country with no vast endowment of minerals and that is over 50% semi-arid, it is a remarkable feat that we are the largest economy in East Africa and 8th largest in Africa (note the top 10 is dominated by oil rich African nations). This feat is made possible by the ingenuity of ordinary Kenyans who do extraordinary things and achieve great levels of success in their own measure.

As a people we are very industrious, we see opportunities in everything and we are not afraid of taking risks. I have seen a student at the University who out of her will to succeed decided that over and above the rigours of her academics she will go to gikomba every week and source for second hand clothes that she sells to her friends and classmates making a thriving business out of it and now even has a shop in CBD Nairobi! Then there is the lecturer who besides having a full time job starts a successful electronics shop to grow beyond his paycheck and be financially secure... and what about a Kenyan lady living in the U.S who sees an opportunity thousand of miles away and she begins buying exciting stuff in the US and selling them back home!

I think Kenyans have this deep desire to succeed, to make something out of nothing - a fire in us that makes us do more with what we have...and this is the story of the Kenyan dream, ordinary people who do extraordinary things each and every day to succeed and make life better.

So why Notify, why do we work so hard at Notify? We do so because we want to support these Kenyan legends, the people who do it all to succeed and thrive. They are the ones who have made this country the most resourceful in the continent and we want them to grow beyond their wildest dreams. How we achieve this is we take care of the 'hustles' of running their side-hustle and let them focus on expanding their business. We operate fully serviced shops in Nairobi CBD with shop attendants where vendors pay as low as KES.2,000 per month to rent-a-shelf and display their products. It is this simple model that has allowed the student, the lecturer, the Kenyan lady in the U.S and many others to grow their businesses efficiently...now they have affordable shops in CBD to stock their products, no stress to manage the shop assistants, no stress with licences, no stress with high cost of goodwill, deposits and even rent and we even give them a free CRM to help them manage their businesses. What this does is it allows them to focus on growth and expansion; how to increase stock...increase marketing budget...increase their line of products e.t.c.

With over 60 vendors in our shops, I can truly see why this is the greatest country in the continent...60 stories (and counting) of ordinary Kenyans doing their very best to succeed and make life better for themselves and the next generation.