It Can Only Get Better Part III

I have just heard that down the road from our cyber café, which will soon have to close, another IT consultancy has shut up shop and ceased trading, and its premises are available.

We have put in a bid on the place. After all, people that go there expect to find a computer geek, so we hope that we will pick up custom from the previous trader.

We are also going to start a "college" for people who are terrifed of computers, as well as office services such as typing up documents and spreadsheets.

Oh well, here's hoping!

Today IS the day - Official!

The cyber café is open!! Vincent, the manager has contacted me from the café, where he is supervising two clients - not bad for the first hours of the first day.

Once word gets about that we are open, we are hoping that things will really take off.

Yesterday WAS the Day - or not!

OK, so I was wrong. Yesterday was not the grand opening of our new Internet café in the bottom left-hand corner of Kenya.

It should have been, but apparently, Internet connection was not available yesterday - not just for us, but for a large swathe of Kenya!

I got a text from Vincent last night explaining all this, and also to tell me that we now have all the necessary equipment, printer, scanner, fax machine, etc.

So ... Today's the day ... or not.

Today IS the Day - probably

I received a phone call at 8.30am this morning from Kisii. It was my friend, Vincent. I haven't heard from him for a few days as he has been busy getting the Internet café ready and trying to get electricity, phone lines, Intnernet connections ... er ... connected.

He phoned just to say that in principle, all is now ready and he is hoping to open the doors today.

Here's hoping!

So far, so good ...

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)

No communication

I had a [well-earned?] day off yesterday and took my grandson and his friend swimming. My grandson, (nearly 12 years) has recently started to swim well and as such, is not too much of a worry for me.

His friend (9 years), on the other hand can just about keep his head above water and needs constant supervision.

Until I had the bright idea to see if he could swim on his back. After a little coaxing, he tried it, and promptly swam four lengths of the pool. Of course, I had to swim next to him just in case he got into difficulties, but he surprised both of us and didn't.

This pass-time took my mind off the business in Kisii. I haven't had any contact with my man in Kisii for a few days. That is not to say that he hasn't tried to contact me (we converse through Skype), but I have been out a lot this week and we kept missing each other.

But today, without theh distraction of a couple of kids, I need to know what is happening.

Now, my man in Kisii always contacts me on Sundays - until today. But then, today is the first day that the business is officially mine. It is, of course, open 7 days a week, so is he doing his cyber café manager bit, and therefore not having the time to contact me?

Has the power failed in Kisii - not uncommon? Or the Internet connection - also not uncommon? Has there been a last-minute hitch? I need to know!

Offer Accepted ...

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!

Another Step Towards Kenya

At 4,500 miles, it would take a while to walk to Kenya. So I have embarked upon another means of getting there and surviving financially when I get there.
My man in Kisii works part-time as the IT engineer for a cyber café in the town. It is not the biggest, or the smartest, or the most used, but it plods along, making a profit.

The owner is having to move to the City due to his work and needed a quick sale. My man heard about this and immediately contacted me.

I started hunting around, collecting pennies from down the back of the sofa, the car centre console, etc. but couldn't quite make the asking price. So I had to go to plan 2 and beg.

The result was that yesterday, I could tell my man in Kisii to make an offer.

I am now sitting here in a very wet UK (the rain is chucking it down with high winds as I type) waiting to be told whether my offer has been accepted.

This is a big step. I would trust my man in Kisii with my life, so having him run a business in my absence isn't an issue.

It is just the act of investing abroad. I have done it before and ended up with a very bloody nose. It is also a step towards setting up my nest in Kenya. I know that once I am settled, there will be no return because of the artificial currrency exchange rate.

The business is small. But it has a lot of potential to grow with a bit of imagination and hard work, and my man in Kisii is not afraid of hard work - he is a Kenyan after all!