Gad Kibiwott is the founder of Good Fortune Greens, growing and selling healthy and affordable vegetables, fruits and cereals.
He has a grocery store in Nanyuki, Laikipia County where he sells his farm produce from.
He sells among other healthy vegetables broccoli, spinach, managu, terere, sukuma wiki, cabbages and cauliflower.
Here is his story as told by WoK.
Before venturing into business, Gad was a farmer growing vegetables which he would then sell through brokers.
However, he realized that the returns were not good, a move that triggered a business idea that birthed Good Fortune Greens.
“The middlemen were very exploitive on pricing. One of the ideas I had was to harvest and transport my produce to wholesale markets in Nairobi
“I did a cost versus return analysis and found out that this would be risky. In the end, I decided to open a small shop where I could sell to the end consumer on retail,” Gad explained.
He opened a small shop in a busy road leading to a populous estate in Nanyuki.
“I chose this location to tap in new and return customers who live in the estate. My earnings have risen to Ksh 3,000 a day; translating to Ksh 90,000 per month,” he said.
Gad pointed out post-harvest losses as one of the major challenges that he faces in his business.
“I don’t have a cold room or refrigeration system that can preserve and extend the shelf life of my vegetables
“To minimize these losses, I have adopted a harvest-on-demand approach. I harvest my vegetables and stock up my shop based on consumer demand,” he said.
He also mentioned that he faces social stigma associated with small scale business, and the fact that such businesses are not regarded in the society.
“The picture that comes to mind when I tell someone that I’m a Baba Mboga is that of a man who couldn’t find anything better in life to do,” Gad added.
Gad hopes to expand his business further and transport fresh produce to bigger markets in Meru and Nyeri among other major towns.
“There is no shame in rolling your sleeves and doing an unpopular, legal business that can make you good money,” he said.