When Jeremy Mwarandu enrolled as a First Year student of law at the Catholic University about three years ago, his dream was to start a side business to support his education.
He took some of his pocket money and with this, embarked on a business that he is slowly turning into a profit juggernaut. The Fourth Year student has identified a unique market niche to supply clothes, shoes, wallets and other items.
“I specialise in girls’ stuff and sell mainly to university students. University students are crazy about fashion so anything that is trendy and cheap will find a definite market. I am doing very well,” laughs Mr Mwarandu.
He operates a fashion shop called Alfajiri Stores on social media - Facebook and Whatsapp to be precise. Items that are on sale are shared on those forums where interested customers also pick whatever they want to buy. “Once customers identify items they are interested in, they call us and we deliver through a dedicated courier service. Payment can be made through mobile money or upon delivery, but we have people on motorcycles who deliver goods to any campus in Nairobi,” says Mwarandu.
Although he is reluctant to state the net worth of his business, the entrepreneur who counts students from Kenyatta University, KCA University and USIU amongst his most dedicated customers says he admires what online sales portal OLX has done for online businesses in Kenya and would like to emulate it in future.
OLX dominated its category in Kenya’s e-Commerce searches on Google in the past two years, indicating a growing online trend that entrepreneurs like Mwarandu are riding on to grow their businesses.
Early this year, Google Trend, which tracks online trends on behalf of the global IT giant, revealed that the electronic-commerce web portal, which offers a platform for buyers and sellers to meet, led the most searched list for the second year in a row.
“I looked at the way OLX operates and decided to replicate the operations in my own way. That is why I use social media to market my products. This is because that is where my customers are. I target the youth who want to be classy, trendy and fashionable but don’t have enough money to sink into expensive attire,” says Mwarandu.
Changing trends
Indeed, trends are changing and the biggest and best businesses in the fashion industry are constantly doing their utmost to woo customers and beat competitors.
Today, it takes more than customer service and discounts. Investors like Mwarandu are looking for mobile platforms to let them trade from anywhere, or sophisticated markets like those offered by big populations of youth in educational institutions.
As a show of his belief in the power of e-Commerce, three months ago Mwarandu bought a vintage Mercedes Benz through OLX from a seller who is based in Kerugoya.
“I wanted a convenient way to move around and I had always dreamed of owning a Mercedes Benz. I saw OLX adverts on television and decided it was the right market to search for my dream car. I found a variety of cars to choose from but I wanted something cheap. I found the Mercedes on OLX, negotiated with the buyer and travelled all the way to Kerugoya to pick it up,” says Mwarandu.
The entrepreneur, who says he makes Sh90,000 in profit in a slow month, is a great inspiration. He represents something new.
It is difficult to dispute Mwarandu’s achievements. When he started out, he was the only employee at his firm. Today, he employs several workers who deliver his goods to clients on various campuses.
Stay informed. Subscribe to our newsletter
The Standard Group Plc is a
multi-media organization with investments in media platforms spanning newspaper
print operations, television, radio broadcasting, digital and online services. The
Standard Group is recognized as a leading multi-media house in Kenya with a key
influence in matters of national and international interest.
join