Bundotich Zedekiah Kiprop, otherwise known as Buzeki is the chairman of Buzeki Group of Companies mainly operating in dairy and logistics.
He known to many Kenyans during the electioneering period in 2017 when he declared his candidature in the hotly-contested Uasin Gishu gubernatorial race.
Buzeki started his career as the Regional Dairy Sales Manager for Kilifi plantations, and later pioneered the introduction of Tuzo milk.
He later diversified into the transport and logistics business under Buzeki Enterprises Limited and managed to win contracts with companies such as Bamburi Cement, UN-WFP and East Africa Port Land Cement among other companies.
While Buzeki is better known as a billionaire, the most interesting bit of it is that he bought his former boss’s factory eight years after branching out and working by himself.
Here is the story as told by WoK.
In an interview with Success Afrika, Buzeki described himself as a businessman, farmer, politician, church elder and a philanthropist.
However, before acquiring the numerous titles, the billionaire was struggling to make ends meets years back.
He mentioned that his first job was hawking milk on behalf of a milk factory in Kilifi, and earned Ksh 80 per day.
Buzeki was then promoted to be offloading milk from the van into the factory and later employed as a salesman.
“Then, I didn’t know I had a talent in selling because by the time I was given an opportunity to be a salesman, I was not formally trained. It was a skill that I had,” he said.
He worked as a salesman for a while before he earned himself a promotion to a sales manager at the factory.
After his stint as a sales manager, Buzeki branched out to try entrepreneurship.
“After the sales manager’s job, I decided to give a shot at business and I decided to do a business that I already had some formal background with,” he explained.
Buzeki started a distribution company based in Mombasa and he would distribute milk from one shop to another.
For eight years, he distributed among other brands, Tuzo milk, making him one of the biggest milk distributors in the coastal region.
“After distributing milk for eight years, I went back and actually bought the factory of my former boss, Kilifi Plantations, and I ended up buying another factory in Molo and Limuru,” Buzeki said.
In 2004, Buzeki said he diversified to logistics, however, maintaining that his forte has always been dairy despite the success of his logistics company.
“In as much as people think that Buzeki is more of a logistician because trucks carry my name and move from point to point, my bread and butter is dairy
“That’s why I love dairy farming, agriculture and the story about me having a liking for milk is also something that is a bit cultural,” he stated.
Elsewhere, the businessman runs Buzeki Foundation which has rolled out several programs including empowerment initiatives for farmers.
In 2020, the foundation also rolled out a program dubbed, Mlo Mashinani, an all-inclusive financial empowerment program targeting farmers.
Through this program, selected farmers are grouped into clusters, provided with seeds, expert and logistical advice and sales support.
Farmers are also taught various agricultural techniques which they would then pass on to other farmers in the program.
“We seek to provide seeds of Indigenous crops like pumpkins, arrow roots, sweet potatoes among others and offer field extension service to ensure proper seed utilisation and offer market support for surplus produce,” Buzeki said.
