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Monica Musungu: I was jailed twice before I could run my dream business

Achieving Woman
 Monica's love for service inspired her business, Scenery Adventures Ltd (Photo: Facebook @Scenery Adventures Ltd Kenya)

Business ideas come from different places and for Monica Musungu, her business idea came when she was only 12 years old. “I had a dream to have a company where we would work professionally and wear a uniform,” she told KTN’s Julie Wambui. “I really wanted to serve people. I wanted to do an international thing.”

The journey to actualising her dream was a tumultuous one. “I had some cash but I misused it. I had only Sh5, 000 [left]” Armed with this money, Monica went to Bidco Towers where she hired desk space. “I didn’t have market for tourism so I started with car hire.”

The car hire business is dependent on trust. Monica would get into contracts with car owners who provided her with the vehicles she would then hire out.

Two unfortunate incidents threatened to steal Monica’s dream from her. “I gave out the car to a woman who posed to be a client, she sold the car,” she reminisces. “When I told the car owner, the car owner said I was part of the cartel so I was jailed for one week at Central Police Station.”

Two weeks after her release, Monica’s troubles persisted. “When I came back I proceeded with the car hire because I didn’t want to be employed again,” she says. “So I got another car, I signed the contract and then there’s a doctor who came and hired the car, he got an accident, he dumped the car. That is two weeks after I was released. When I alerted the car owner, I was behind bars again at Central Police Station.”

 According to Monica, your drive is what will get you through the tough times in business

Anybody’s spirits would have been dampened by this point, but not Monica’s. Her resilience finally got her the tours and travels company she had dreamt about since her teenage years.

Scenery Adventures Ltd is her pride and joy. She gladly wakes up at 4am just to pour herself into her passion. “I love serving people so much. I love tourism. It’s because I love my job,” she adds, proudly.

But business doesn’t come without challenges. The tourism industry has high and low seasons which really affects income. “[When I started off] I had just to survive on profits and not paying myself to make Scenery grow. We also try to market to the locals though our main market is Scandinavian market.”

Monica also continues with her car hire service which provides a source of income when tourism is low.

To budding entrepreneurs, Monica had this to say, “We always have storms in business, mountains. As long as you have that courage to face your mountains, to face your storms, you’ll always win.”

Monica hopes to bring in partners from different countries who will take Scenery Adventures Ltd across the globe.

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