When Bernard Maina left Kenya for South Africa, little did he know that one day he would own a thriving alcohol distilling business supplying more than five African countries.
Today, the former high school teacher is the proud founder of Egoli Distillery, a South Africa-based alcohol manufacturing business that he started with just Ksh 350,000.
Speaking during an interview on Chams Media, Maina revealed how he rose from selling chickens in Nakuru to running a thriving business in South Africa.
Background
Maina comes from a family of farmers, for whom chicken rearing has been a major source of income.
His parents sold chickens, and his mother was among the suppliers who delivered chickens to State House during former President Daniel arap Moi’s administration.
At just 12 years old, he joined the family business and was part of it even during his college days.
After completing high school, he trained as a teacher and taught literature at Flamingo Secondary School in Nakuru.
However, his father did not want him to settle for the calm life of government employment.
Instead, he kept encouraging him to find other ways to make money and acquire his own property.
As a result, Maina ended up establishing Fortress Academy, a kindergarten that grew into a successful business.
Going to South Africa
Maina later ventured into microfinance and became involved in the early development and implementation of M-Pesa in Kenya.
On seeing his success, one of his colleagues invited him to South Africa to help introduce the mobile money service.
Unfortunately, the South African M-Pesa venture did not work out as he expected.
However, he was determined never to return to Kenya until he had explored all available opportunities.
“I decided to dare,” he said.
He ventured into the money transfer business before partnering with the South African government to provide loans and business support.
However, this business also failed, and Maina started another business that involved exporting ethanol from South Africa to Tanzania.
The business was doing well until COVID-19 struck, and he was restricted from entering Tanzania.
With business down, he had to find another source of income.
How Ksh 350,000 Changed His Life
Although his ethanol business had halted, Maina had acquired the skill of manufacturing alcoholic drinks, and he decided to turn that knowledge into a source of income.
“I know how to distill because I was supplying distilleries in Tanzania,” he explained.
Armed with his savings of just 50,000 South African rand, equivalent to approximately Ksh 350,000, he set up his own distillery in South Africa.
He could not afford the expensive machinery used by large alcohol manufacturers, so he used the only basic equipment he could access.
“It was mostly handcrafted, and somehow by the grace of God the market accepted it,” Maina said.
Eventually, his small business grew to become Egoli Distillery, which produced Egoli Dry Gin and Triple Kick Vodka.
Interestingly, the name Triple Kick came from a Tanzanian alcohol brand called Double Kick.
Growing the business
Today, Maina’s distillery handles approximately 10,000 litres of alcohol production.
Its products have found customers in South African townships and suburbs, including markets around Cape Town.
The business has also expanded into other African countries, including Botswana, Tanzania and Zimbabwe.
Most recently, Egoli Dry Gin and Triple Kick Vodka entered the Kenyan market.
To diversify his products, Maina is working on making fortified wines and spirits from traditional Kenyan muratina.
“We make muratina in South Africa,” he revealed, adding that he imports raw materials from Kenya.
Aside from business, Maina also chairs the Kenya Diaspora Association in South Africa, which helps Kenyans living and working in the country.
“Kenyans are fairly safe in South Africa. Not each one of them, but by and large they’re safe,” he said.