Paving way for young traders

By Ferdinad Mwongela

It is early evening and against the background of a movie playing on the entertainment set, her two sons Brian and Jeremy, aged two years and ten months respectively, play on the carpet filling the room with the happy sounds.

She is seated on the couch but keeps a close watch.

Welcome to June Gathoni’s world. The 30-year-old smiles contentedly when she speaks modestly about her accomplishments.

She is fresh from hosting the 2010 SME fair held at the KICC, which was put together by Maple Management Ltd, a company she co-runs with a partner, Monica Wanjiru, who she met in her business activities.

Need for mentorship

We first caught up with Gathoni at a cocktail in honour of the exhibitors and guests at the just-concluded fair.

And in her element as a businesswoman, it was difficult to picture her as anything else as she interacted with the guests.

But at home she is the dedicated mother and wife.

She says Next Generation Technology her first company, is still running, but has found its footing, demanding less of her.

This, she says, gives her time to concentrate on Maple Management, which has been operational for less than a year, in which period it has put one of the most comprehensive SME fairs in the country.

"It took six months to arrange the fair," she says, adding that this is just the beginning.

Gathoni has seen the ups and downs of being a young entrepreneur, hence the SME fair, which aims to help those interested in the sector get information easily.

She does not want others to go through what she experienced, starting a business without a point of reference or mentorship.

Gathoni points out that most of what she knows she has had to learn through experience, sometimes painfully.

As a result, she feels the SME fair will provide the much-needed information with big plans of growing it into an association where if anyone wants to start a business, they can visit for consultation.

"We look for people who are ready to work with the startups," she says of the fair, adding that a lot of corporate institutions, including banks, have always given the SME world a wide berth.

"But they are coming around, and the most important goal is to provide facilitation to the small entrepreneur," she says.

Uphill task

When she was starting up, accessing capital was an uphill task.

"Banks would not give you a loan without collateral. At 24, where do you get it?" she poses, adding: "I want to see that people do not face the same challenges. Some do not even know what is required until it is crunch time."

Gathoni cites the licenses required and Kenya Revenue Authority tax compliance requirements as some of the things a small business entrepreneur might not be aware of until it is too late.

"I learnt about them the hard way. When I talk about the SME fair, I am talking about each and every pain and success," she says, though hopeful that is ending.

"There is so much information out there," she adds, but the problem is making these entrepreneurs aware of them.

Gathoni traces her story with a touch of pride and satisfaction.

An alumnus of Kenya High School and later Daystar University, where she studied Business Communication, she did her degree while working, shuffling between the office and the class in the evening. Her first job was in an IT firm, where she worked as an administrator for two years.

She did not plan on doing a Business degree, she says she had to get a job after her mother travelled.

Her first job was on Ngong Road, Nairobi, and the nearest university was Daystar.

After two years in employment, she left to start her business and has never looked back since.

"I knew I never wanted to be employed again," she says, and is quite proud of her IT company that she says she cannot let go of. Even in high school, Gathoni always dreamt of going into business, but she says by then her biggest idea was selling clothes. "I always knew I would be in business."

But how does she balance work and family?

"I give my best wherever I am. You give 100 per cent wherever you are at the time," she says, adding it is impossible to really say she has 100 per cent of both at the same time as that would cause her to burn.

He transformation from the office environment is quite complete, as she sits with her sons at her feet while the other nestles against her on her lap contentedly.

Bigger and better

Gathoni sees herself retired five to ten years from now, but her desire is to be able to work with young entrepreneurs.

"There are brilliant ideas out there, all these big companies started small. They all have a referral point, someone they talked to and told them it can be done," she says.

To achieve her dream, she hopes the SME fair will become bigger and better. "We want to make it an annual event," she says, adding that the fair has attracted a lot of interest from China and Turkey, all who have expressed willingness to be part of it.

Her advice to young entrepreneurs: "There is a lot out there. We do not need to do the same thing."