Meet the participant: Catherine Njeri Rono, Founder of Tawi Naturals Africa Nairobi, Kenya. In 2012, Njeri Rono decided to leave employment and go into business. She started off by selling children’s clothes and moved to sell fish. While expecting her second child, she couldn’t hack the smell of fish and had to hang her boots on this business (some of the challenges women go through).
Tawi Naturals Africa was founded in 2012 as Njeri began to trade in natural oils, namely, shea butter, jojoba and coconut oil. These products graced Cleanshelf Supermarket and were also hotcake products supplied to formulators. The business was doing well until the year 2017 when there was double trouble in Kenya: drought and election year unrest. This caused a lack of coconut leading to her not being able to produce coconut. She was unable to service her orders. Njeri, together with 10 other retailers, ventured into supplying kiosks and minimarts with a renowned Juice brand as they sought easy entry into the market. This looked quite promising but unfortunately, the manufacturer of the juice encountered production issues, especially to do with quality control, causing the trade to go on a plateau.
That is when Njeri decided to go into producing quality spice and herb pastes, powders, and teas. This brand is known as Spicy Jiko. She works from home and pushes sales through Naivas Supermarket, chandarana supermarkets, various minimarts and recently through Glovo. We’re three months into the Sheworks Africa 2022 program and this is what Njeri has to say, “The peer-to-peer learning is awesome. This is one of the few programs I’ve gone through that’s not so ‘textbook’ oriented; it’s pretty practical. I’m constantly rechecking my business model as I implement what I’ve learned. I’ve discovered that Facebook and WhatsApp for Business have much to offer.”
Tawi Naturals Africa is a small local processor of spices, herbs and natural foods and produces sautes and pastes, spicy drinks, seasoning spice, sauces and dips. Njeri has practically exhibited value-addition involving the processing of products without using additives thus curbing food loss or wastage while promoting the eating of healthy foods. Click on the links below to make your order today and your natural spices shall be delivered to your doorstep.
Website: https://www.spicyjiko.com/
Facebook: https://lnkd.in/dau6-u9g
Instagram: https://lnkd.in/dBgyAZyD
Twitter: https://lnkd.in/dEECt-Ht