• Tells youth not to wait for white collar jobs but to use their knowledge to make money.
• She started her venture with a mere Sh3,000 but it has grown to close to Sh1 million.
Image: FILE
Jane Omoro is a budding entrepreneur who ekes a living by making and selling soaps in Kisii town.
She graduated from Kisii University with a diploma in Entrepreneurship in 2015 and immediately went into business. She started her venture with a mere Sh3,000 but it has grown to close to Sh1 million.
“At first we invested Sh3,000 as capital to buy chemicals and raw materials but currently we have a stock worth Sh700,000. This shows how far we have come," Omoro says.
The market reception, says Omoro, has been good, and she rakes in a profit of about Sh50,000 per month. The price for Omoro's soaps is Sh130-Sh300 depending on the type.
Omoro is among the few people who ventured into the business after graduating from Kisii University. Hers, she says, is a story of resilience and determination.
She started her business in her sitting room and started churning out hundreds of soaps into the market. “Mine is a cottage industry to show young people there is money outside white collar jobs,” she said.
Omoro uses readily available farm products to make her soap. She uses avocado extracts and other locally available materials which are blended to produce 21 different types of soap.
“It is not easy. We have had to contend with lack of new natural and beneficial eco-friendly products to make soap,” she said.
Her best-selling products are those that prevent dandruffs, pimples and fungal skin infections.
When the Star visited her Mosocho home last Wednesday, the house was a hive of activities. Seven students from various universities were learning the art of making soap.
Omoro said when she was starting up, her initial idea was to engage women from the neighbourhood. Most left when the business took too long to make any profit.
“Some members thought it was a merry-go-round to mint quick cash, but they later realised it was not that simple,” Omoro said.
She has since divided her operations into two. One in her house and the other in Kisii down town.
The premise in down town serves as a production centre and sales office.
Omoro said she also uses social media platforms to market her products.
She says she has learnt the art of saving and redirecting the savings to grow her business.
During last year’s Agricultural Society of Kenya at Gusii Stadium, she was awarded a trophy by Governor James Ongwae.