My mission is to bring all rogue nannies to book

Grace Machuki 31, may not be a mom, but having seen the many cases of domestic workers-related crimes being reported in the media, she jumped in to fill the void and formed Find Real Me, a database whose sole purpose is to weed out criminal house helps.

I'm a journalist by profession, I studied journalism and PR in college and practised for a few years before moving to what I'm doing now. Before putting Find Real Me in motion, I had a short stint in real estate industry.

IDEA Having a background in the media, any criminal case involving a domestic worker sent chills down my spine and whenever such a case was reported in the media, I couldn't help but wonder what could possibly be done to prevent another person from going through that. The news cycle is so short, and people forget fast. Thus, there is always that possibility of an innocent mother hiring the same nanny who had been implicated in a crime. I realised that mothers had no means of conducting background checks on nannies, and most rely on relatives and friends who might not have enough information. That's how Find Real Me came to be.

WHAT HAPPENED NEXT After toying with idea for a while, I decided to dive in and I registered the company in 2015 and started looking for clients. The first year wasn't easy. Making clients understand what exactly you want to do for them was hard. Many employees rely on a word of mouth when looking for a domestic worker. We had to do a lot convincing to show people the importance of doing a background check before letting in a stranger into their homes.

RUNNING A START-UP It hasn't been easy but I believe in this course to let it go. Since every aspect of the business was being funded from our pockets, we had to improvise in some areas to remain afloat. Some of us went without salaries but we never gave up. One of the statements that kept me going is "Aii Grace this will not work in Kenya". I heard this so many times from many of those I shared my idea with. It being a new concept in Kenya, no one thought I would survive even for a month. 

We also had to offer our services for free for the first year as many of those we approached didn't understand how this would benefit them. On the other hand, no bank was willing to buy into our idea. Since it  is a new concept in Kenya, securing a loan has been another hurdle. Some of the cases we deal show how ignorant most employees are. In the era of Facebook and WhatsApp, crimes by domestic workers are increasing by the day as criminals pose as job seekers on Facebook and conveniently join groups for mothers where they easily get their victims.

WHERE YOU ARE NOW Things started looking up in the middle of last year. Mothers are now aware of us and hardly a day goes without us getting contacted by a mother who wants to do a background check or reporting a crime. We are still struggling financially but things are better. Initially it was hard working with the police because we need police assistance in some cases but as more people get to know about us, things aren't as hard. Sometimes we exchange information with the police to aid investigations. I'm also thinking of spreading our wings to Uganda and Tanzania, and eventually in the eastern Africa region.

MY TIP You can choose to be your own heroine or victim. This has been my main motivation. Despite the challenges, the thought of saving a child out there from being harmed by someone who has been hired to take care of him or her gives me a reason to wake up every morning. I have made the challenges I go through daily, my source of motivation. There's always joy in conquering that which almost brought you down.

LAUNCHED: May, 2015

START-UP COST: Sh300,000

PROJECTED TURN-OVER: Sh5 million in the next five years

FACEBOOK: Find Real Me Kenya-Domestic Workers Screening and Criminal Database

WEBSITE:www.findrealme.co.ke