Starting from the bottom: Two business moguls who clawed their way to the top

Saturday, June 28, 2014  

Monica Musungu of Scenery Adventures at her office on 25th June 2014. It is difficult to tell that all through her childhood and early adulthood, Monica lived from hand to mouth and struggled to get food and shelter in Nairobi’s Kariobangi slums. PHOTO/NATION

Monica Musungu, owner, Scenery Adventures, a tours and travels company

It is difficult to tell that all through her childhood and early adulthood, Monica lived from hand to mouth and struggled to get food and shelter in Nairobi’s Kariobangi slums. Her mother, Margaret Musungu, could hardly afford to pay her school fees or fend for her 11 siblings. “She sold illicit brews to take care of us,” she says.

Monica’s walk from rags to riches began after completing her secondary education with a grade C+. She enrolled for a food and beverages course at the SOS Technical Institute in Buru Buru. “I wanted to get some skills that would enable me to live a better life and also help my siblings get out of the slums.”

She raised some money from her friends and began her course. After graduating in 2003, Monica got a job as a casual labourer at the Bounty Hotel in South B. “I worked hard and was promoted from a casual to a contract employee.” After working and saving for four years, in late 2007, she began to contemplate starting a tours and travel company. “To many of those I shared my idea with, that would be the beginning of my end.” But there was no holding Monica back.

A few months later, in April 2008, she registered her own company, Scenery Adventures, together with one of her close friends. “We did not have much. After paying rent for a small office at Bidco Towers, we were left with Sh5, 000 as operating capital.”

GOING DOWN

To keep her business running, Monica would hire cars and rent them out whenever she had a client. Almost immediately, one of her clients was involved in a road accident in one of the cars she’d rented. “The client escaped. The car was towed to the police station and the police started looking for me.” They traced her office where she was working with her partner. “My partner took off immediately the police came in.” Monica was arrested and detained at Central Police Station for a week. “I was released after the insurance company intervened.”

Soon after, a lady client hired their other car to attend a function in Thika town, only to end up stealing it. Unknown to Monica, this client was the ring-leader of a city car-theft cartel. She informed the car owner who promptly called the police, accusing Monica of masterminding the theft. Once again, Monica was arrested and detained at Central Police Station for two weeks. Fortunately, the car was recovered and the woman nabbed. But with accumulating debts and zero operating capital to keep her business running, Monica made the painful decision to shut down. “I had nothing; I couldn’t even afford a decent meal. I was taken in by a friend in Kariobangi.”

While struggling to get back on her feet again, one of her friends proposed that they restart the business. “We borrowed Sh40, 000 with the aim of restarting the fallen business, reopened the office at Bidco Towers in September 2008, and hired two cars.”

Yet again, there were problems; her partner would use the cars they’d hired to run personal errands during business hours. “I’d strike a good deal only to realise that the cars were with him upcountry or at a friend’s party.” Her operating capital dwindled as the cost of operations spiraled upwards. Four months later, she closed down again. “I had thrown all my money into the business hoping that I’d finally pull myself out of poverty. But now, I couldn’t even pay house rent. I began to wonder if I would ever make it.”

Again, she was kicked out of the house she’d rented and taken in by a friend in Mwiki, Kasarani. But Monica was not about to give up. In early 2009, she pooled money, borrowing from her friends and doing casual jobs, to reopen her business again! “I saved Sh70, 000 and in April, I rented an office at Afya House and reopened my business alone.” Monica says she was wiser and knew the entrepreneurial booby-traps she needed to avoid.

BIG BREAK

Her big break came in August 2009 when she secured a contract to provide transport for ambassadors accompanying former US Secretary of State, Hilary Clinton, for the AGOA forum. “I made sure I secured useful contacts while providing my services.” Since then, the sky has been the limit for her. She has secured contracts with Akon and MTV MAMA, the Korean embassy and the Uganda government. She has opened a branch in Norway as she seeks to tap into the Scandinavian market.

Currently, she has four permanent employees and eight top-of-the range vehicles. Monica reckons that her success in business has been transformed by her ability to take risks, push things up, and belief in herself. “Without self-belief and risk-taking, I wouldn’t be where I am today. I learn from the mistakes I make and this makes my investments and business strategies more fruitful,” she says.

Recently, during Chinese Premier Li Keqiang’s visit, Monica was charged with the task of hosting and transporting Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni’s entourage.