Tabitha Karanja is CEO of Keroche Breweries and the first Kenyan
to own a beer factory. Her resilience has seen her fight several battles in
order to turn her company from a small factory to a multibillion -shilling
business enterprise.
Tabitha was born near Kijabe in central Kenya. The first of ten siblings, she took on responsibilities
at an early age of 14 years almost playing a motherly role to her siblings. So
concerned was she about her siblings that she ensured they not only attended
school but also performed well. This excessive concern often rubbed the wrong
way with her siblings and they often fell out but they are always grateful that
she pushed them to do the best. All the same, it instilled responsibility in
her at an early age.
“I ensured whatever we owned thrived;
from the crops on our farm to livestock,” she says. During school holidays,
Tabitha’s mother, a housewife and farmer initiated her to the art of knitting
shawls for her younger siblings, which everyone in the neighbourhood
liked and they all wanted her to do it for them. This she did during her
free time in school and in holidays.
She attended Bahati Girls in Nakuru
before joining Kapkenda Girls for her A-levels. On completion, she taught for a
short while as an untrained teacher prior to getting a job with the Ministry of
Tourism in 1985 as a Library Administrator.
“I enjoyed working in the library
because I would read many books,” she says of her keen reading habits. She felt
the need to acquire more knowledge and not too long after she began doing a
Certificate of Public Accountancy (CPA), which led her to thereafter study for
a Bachelor degree in business administration. This honed her passion for
business.
Her Venture into
business:
Tabitha quit her job and started Keroche Breweries in 1997
being the first Kenyan to break into the beer brewing industry – one of
East Africa’s most lucrative. In a field traditionally dominated by powerful
multinational companies and men, Tabitha Mukami Muigai -Karanja did not think of
herself as a woman but an entrepreneur who was out to achieve her dream against
all odds. Hers is a classic entrepreneurial tale: she has battled with banks
unwilling to part with desperately needed start-up capital, wealthy and
exclusive competitors, uncooperative government officials and even a shut-down
of her offices! Yet somehow, Tabitha, has successfully navigated all setbacks
and today controls at least 20 percent of Kenya’s beer market. In her own
words, she credits her personal background with preparing her for the battles
she had to face in business. As the first born of 10 children, she was both
sister and mother to the group; their defender and protector.
And in the same way, Tabitha defended and protected Keroche Industries for a
fair chance at making it in the industry. She advices other women entrepreneurs
venturing into male-dominated territory to believe in oneself because you’re
not likely to get much help from men if they perceive you as a threat. “I knew
what I wanted in life and I worked day and night to achieve it, and here I am,”
Says Tabitha.
Tabitha has extensive training in
business management and in 2010 she was awarded the Moran of Burning Spear
(MBS) award by the former President Mwai Kibaki for her efforts to liberalize
the Kenyan liquor industry. Truly, she is a champion blazing the trail
and inspiring other female entrepreneurs across the continent. She ventured
into something no one has tried and never gave up her dream, now she has
started reaping profits, paving way for more to follow in her footsteps –
establishing indigenous industries and ultimately, developing the economy.
Indeed, Nothing Ventured, Nothing
Gained…
(Article courtesy of Superwoman Tabby Nyandiek :))
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