‘No one tells you pain of losing Sh3m’

Forbes Magazine recently named Eric Kinoti in the list of 30 young entrepreneurs to watch from Africa. He beat more than 800 nominations to make it in the list.

At 29 years, Kinoti has appeared twice in the top forty under 40 list of Kenyan entrepreneurs. He runs Shades Systems, a firm that manufactures and supplies luxury tents in East Africa with an annual turn over that runs into tens of millions.

How did you get into business?

In 2004, I was working as a night shift cashier at a hotel in Malindi. I had a lot of free time during the day, so I started buying eggs and supplying it to hotels in the Coast. I quit the hotel cashier job in 2007 with a little capital of Sh20,000 I had saved and started distributing milk to city hotels.

How then did you set up Shade Systems?

I had expanded my business to supplies of foods like rice, milk, beans and maize, when one day I met a client who not only wanted food, but also wanted a tent since he had a function. I immediately sourced for a tent, I made quite a tidy sum. I withdrew all Sh57,000 in my savings account, and set up Shade Systems.

We manufacture and supply tents, be it relief tents, military tents, gazebo tents, canopies for pubs and restaurants, luxury tents for homes or weddings, bouncing castle, canvas seats and car parking shades. So far, we have a presence in Sudan, Rwanda, and Somalia. My clients include JCC Church, Bank of Africa, East Africa Breweries, Toyota Kenya, the Department of Defence and Bata Company.

When was your big break?

When we started out, I didn’t get any job for the first three months, in short, it took two years before I actually made any real money. That’s the power of perseverance and focus. I woke up every morning telling everyone, I was going to sell tents. My first big job was military tender, which put about Sh15 million into the company.

What are some of the hurdles you have had to face in your business?

Very few people give big tenders to the youth; they feel you don’t have what it takes, be it the experience or the financial backing to do a good job. Our business also needs a lot of capital since nobody will pay you until you have delivered.

Do you run any other business aside from Shade Systems?

Yes, I also founded a company Safisana Cleaning. Even though we just launched the company 18 months ago, we have 15 full-time staff. Safisana cleans homes.

What can you tell a budding entrepreneur?

Most of the times when successful people are profiled in the media, they only give stories of the glamourous lifestyle they lead, and how much money they make. They never give stories on how hard it is to actually earn one million shillings. They never give stories on how painful it is to lose three million shillings in a deal gone sour.

In the end, many young people think making money and building a successful company is something that can be done overnight. The youth should focus on business. The idea of getting a white-collar job in a big office isn’t for all of us. The jobs are very limited.

Tell us about your family?

I have been married for two years, and I have a daughter. My wife is the most wonderful woman God placed on earth and I am so lucky to have her by my side, praying for me everyday in all my struggles in business

How does it feel to be 29 years, running two successful companies?

Having over 50 employees in my two companies looking at you, expecting salaries at the end of each month is not an easy task, but my colleagues, in all the two companies I run have stuck with me through thick and thin, and I owe them so much gratitude.

Photo: Courtesy