A friend of mine in Kisii would like to buy up a recently closed business close to her home. But she needs to borrow the money to get started.My business partner in Kenya and I (still in the UK) have been battling with emails from an important potential client because the English used by said client is not as precise as I would like. We have been going round in circles for the past week, trying to understand each other.
Finally, the veil has been drawn away from my eyes
Apparently,there is a trade agreement between Kenya and the country of origin of our potential client and our contract has to be notarised, at our cost. That's not really a problem, so, with a bit of luck, we are ready to advance to the next stage.
Things have suddenly taken a turn for the better (or at least, busier) in Kenya - as far as my business partner and I are concerned, anyway.
But he won't do anything without my agreement, and vice versa, so to get anything done at either end involves a lot of emails, SMS and faxes! It is a wonder that we get anything done.
At this moment, it would be so much easier if I were there and we could talk to each other face to face and make quick decisions, especially just at the moment, when we are negotiating a deal with a client.
And, just as we are getting busy in Kenya, work here is coming in - and I also have to write a proposal regarding another project that only really got started yesterday - the proposal is for the Ukraine! It's not a million miles from Kenya, but it might as well be.
Still, anything that gets picked up in Ukraine will surely be replicated in Kenya eventually, so I suppose it is worth the effort.
I will just have to get a few more candles that I can burn at both ends.
It is now more than a quarter year since I was last in Kenya. And I am getting withdrawal symptoms ... cold turkey.
So, having planned out what I must do with regards business and the River Cottage Kenya project, I am now looking at my personal plans, aspirations and whatever else I should be looking at in my circumstance.
I suppose the question is 'where, when I make the final plunge, should I be based?'
I only know three little bits of Kenya, all poles apart - location, ethnicity - different in every way!Firstly, the Nairobi area. When in Kenya, I work in the Business district, where we have an office, and I stay with a colleague and friend in the eastern suburbs. I have an important client in the Lang'ata area, who I would like to visit from time to time.
Then there is Malindi, or a village close thereto. I rent a house there and my girlfriend and children are installed. One of the schools/orphanages that we support is situated here.
Lastly, but not leastly (if there is such a word), Kisii. My business is located here. I have some very good friends, and, of course, the other orphanage.
In the best case scenario, I will have to make a decision as to where to set up "home".
So, toss a coin! Heads or Hearts?
Nairobi.
Kisii.
Coast
So I have pretty well ruled out Coast, unless of course better half digs in her heels. Here we have an ethnic problem. Although she was born and raised near Malindi, she is, in fact a Luuya, from near Lake Victoria (for those who are not familiar with tribal homelands). Apparently, the Luuya and Kisii historically were not the best of friends and she is a little reticent about living in Kisii.
The Nairobi/Narok/Bomet/Sotik/Kisii roads are being repaired and the journey will eventually be acceptable, even by matatu.
I am talking myself into setting up base in Kisii, aren't I? So, for those of you who don't know the town or the area, what is it like?
Firstly, it is off the tourist map. It is a largely agricultural area and the economy of the area is strong in its own right. The land is fertile, not too hot, (average daytime temp is 26°C) and humid. The town itself is typically African, bustling, chaotic and big enough to boast two supermarkets.
It is cosmopolitan. I have met Kisii, Luo, Kikuyu, Maasai, Luuya, an Afrikaner and probably many others. They seem to be able to live together for the common good.
It is in the mountains, there are a lot of trees, it is very green, although the earth is a rich red.
Yep! My heart says Kisii! My head though, still whispers Nairobi.
But I think my heart will win.
Work was flagging in the UK, so during a visit to Kenya, I decided to sink my small fortune (I wish!!) in a business in Kenya, which would help support the orphanage as well as earning me a bit of money.
With my good friend, we found a business for sale, but as I explained in a previous post, that was not to be, and we set about starting from scratch.
As things were quiet here, I was hoping to spend a lot of time planning the opening of our new venture (next Tuesday, Internet connection willing), designing posters etc. to send over to Kenya as my friend is busy with settting up, cabling and all that sort of thing.
But, as Murphy's Law would have it, I have been rushed off my feet! work is coming in thick and fast. Having had a period of near famine (work-wise) I am now getting enquiries coming all together, just like London buses.
For a start, the charity, Rhino Ark (http://www.rhinoark.org/) has just held their annual mad-cap 4x4 endurance event somewhere in the Rift Valley and loads of photos were sent to me (I maintain their website) for uploading.
And it seems that every other client here has contracted a virus, mainly because they don't regularly run their virus scan software, or don't keep it up to date.
I have a pile of very slow computers sitting here, waiting to be cleaned off.
Oh well, it shouldn't take me long to get my air fare together to return to Kenya at this rate, although I heard this morning that airlines were putting up fares by a staggering 40% to cover increased fuel costs - Heaven help us!
After all the messing about, with both a business seller and the landlord of the premises raising their price when he found out that he was dealing with a mzungu, and sending money out to buy equipment, rent premises, etc., my man in Kisii tells me we are ready to go - apart from the Internet connection, which will be in place on Monday.
So, we should be trading on Tuesday!
All we need now is a few clients, or better still, lots of clients.
So, anyone in Kisii reading this, there will be a new cyber café in town next week!
The name? DABIVAM TECHNOLOGIES. (Don't ask, it's another story)
I have made the offer on the cyber café business, which has been accepted. I have sent the money to my man in Kisii. I have sent him an email with lots of instructions. What else can I do?
Now, I just have to sit here and wait for the news that all my instructions have been followed, the money has been paid to the seller of the business, the rent and Internet connection charges have been paid and that everything is on course.
This is not easy, running a Kenyan business from the UK, especially when communications are sporadic. The electricity supply is not very reliable in Kisii. Nor is the Internet connection. The only sure way to communicate is by SMS. UK to Kenya is quite cheap, but the Kenya to UK is not, especially when the sender is earning only a couple of dollars a day.
But I must not let this little venture take over my life. I have other things to do, like planning my "show shamba", that will promote the use of easy-to-use, alternative energy, easy-to-build water purification, etc. While I am at it, I want to try growing some different vegetables on the plot, some to feed the kids, others to see if we can make a bit of money.
Why do I sometimes feel that I am taking on too much? Oh yes, because I am here, not there.
Soon after my last post, I found an email, sent by my man in Kisii. I almost dared not read it.
After the usual profuse greeting to me and mine, he eventually got around to telling me that my offer had been accepted. As long as I could get the money out to Kisii before the end of the month, the business was mine.
He apologised for the delay in letting me know, but the power had been cut, which got me wondering why I was starting up a reasonably high-tech business in an area where electricity is still a luxury, and therefore not always available.
Oh well, at least the competition has the same problem - yes, there are other cyber cafés in town. In fact the shop next door is a bigger, "better" cyber café. But mine still has its fair share of clients.
And I reckon, at very little cost (and a UK mind-set), we could make ours as attractive as next door. Not that we need to increase our client base by much. We only have 10 PCs and most are occupied for a good part of the day.
All I need to do now is save up my air fare (and some spending money) and get out there!
I have contacted everyone I know, or have even a tenuous contact with, black and white, in Kenya and they all say that it will be safe for me to travel next week. The worst that could happen is that the road block may come out and I will be stuck wherever I happen to be.
This is not a great problem as I am staying with friends wherever I am going.
Except ...
My business partner in Nairobi has just sent me a rare email telling me categorically that I should not travel to Kenya.
So, who is right? A dozen or so people I know vaguely, or my business partner, who I know slightly better?
And if the majority are right, what is my partner up to? Is he really concerned for my safety, or does he have a hidden agenda?
My gut instinct is to pull out of this business arrangement and go elsewhere. But I will wait until I am in Nairobi and meet up with my man before I make any decision.
-oOo-
On another tack, my fiancee on the coast has just texted me to say that she has been given notice to quit her home as the landlord wants to renovate it.
She has found another, smaller, place for her, me and her two children, but her present house is shared with her extended family, two cousins, a sister and various school-aged kids.
She is asking what she should do.
I am intending to get a place eventually, but no on the coast. It is too hot and humid for me. It is fine for a holiday, but I could not work there.
Another dilemma!
