- Mkeka wa Mbao was founded by Amos Kibaru, an IT professional.
- He has been in this business for over a decade.
Mkeka wa Mbao have become a popular floor solution for many Kenyans.
From raving reviews to endorsements by celebrities, like, the Wajesus Family, the Bahatis, Njugush, Maureen Waititu and Betty Kyallo, the floor decor has gained lots of notoriety.
Mkeka wa Mbao is a trademark of Floor decor Kenya who import various quality products from the European market and sell it to home owners in Kenya.
The company is the brainchild of Amos Kibaru, an IT professional who has been in the business of providing floor solutions for more than a decade.
Here is his story as told by WoK.
Background
The entrepreneur was born and raised in Naivasha. His father was a civil servant while his mother was a businesswoman.
He attended Milimani Primary School followed by Kijabe High School.
After high school, he nursed ambitions of traveling to the US for further studies. He applied and was accepted at a college in Tennessee.
However, after several failed attempts to get the Visa, he gave up and proceeded to pursue a Diploma in IT at Centurion Systems.
The start of a business
While in college, he began assembling PCs and selling them to students. At the time, they were a bit expensive since they were not as common.
The business, that started from his small room in Ngara that he shared with two more people, grew and he had to look for a bigger space.
As his father wanted him to solely focus on education, he did not inform him of the business initially.
He even used money sent to him to pay for fees as capital for the business. The business slowly grew and he began to travel to Dubai where he would buy used computers and laptops and ship them to the country.
He began to source for the items in USA and the clientele grew and he began to supply in wholesale.
With time, he noticed the market was becoming too crowded and he needed a way out.
Floor Decor Kenya
During his trips abroad, he saw how people decorated their floors. In the meantime, the construction industry in Kenya was growing at a fast rate with no signs of slowing down. Hence, he decided to begin
focusing on floor decor.
He undertook training abroad on how to fit various floor solutions and began the business of importing and selling floor solutions to Kenya.
Today, Floor Decor has grown into a household name with an active website and social media pages.
They have become the go to solution for most people renting or wanting to revamp their space.
Their floor solutions help bring warmth to spaces unlike tiles which are very cold. Their products are durable, elegant, water resistant and easy to install and remove.
They have locations in different parts of the country including: Mombasa, Kisumu, Nakuru and Eldoret.
While they import their products, they also started manufacturing their own floor decor solutions.
They introduced an easy to install product named Beam to Beam Flooring (BBF). Through both the founder’s and company’s Youtube channel, they have shown Kenyans how to install their furnishings in various spaces.
In a past interview with TV47, he advised entrepreneurs wanting to get into the business to do a comprehensive research.
They should not do it for the money. According to him, theirs is not just about
the money but the quality of product and services offered to customers.
