By Prudence Minayo
When two siblings George Ogamba and Lena Kerubo, failed to secure a job after completing school, they went back to their home in Nyaora in Kisii to eke out a living through selling milk. In a February 2023 interview with Daily Nation, the two recalled their journey, struggles and triumphs.
At one point, they burnt their fingers when they ventured into selling milk. But they decided to invest in yoghurt processing. The duo’s venture offers a market for dairy farmers as they tap into value addition.
Here is the story as told by WoK:
Education
George graduated from Mount Kenya University with a Bachelor’s degree in procurement while his sister left Railway Training Institute with a diploma in refrigeration and air conditioning.
Starting a milk business
Once their hopes of securing jobs in the city failed to mature, they returned home determined to sell milk. Soon after starting the business, the brother-sister duo realized profits were not forthcoming. The milk would at times go bad leading to a lot of losses. This hit their venture hard and they had to buckle down.
Yoghurt
Kerubo convinced her brother that yoghurt was their way out and using the knowledge from her diploma, they got started. At the time, they had no certifications. They started making yoghurt and passion fruit juice which Kerubo would hawk around Kisii town in offices and various places.
As they gained traction, she also hired hawkers to sell the products for her.
Their products became widely known and she would even serve them after assembly meetings to ward representatives in the area.
Challenges and Growth
With their success, they began to be noticed by officials from the public health. The duo were threatened and at one point George was arrested and forced to part with Sh18,000 in order to be released. One day, while leaving the office complex of former Kisii Governor Hon. James Ongwae, Kerubo was nearly arrested as well.
This attracted the attention of Esman Onsarigo who was at the time an Agriculture Executive. He decided to help and informed her of a USAID run program which was targeted towards curbing poverty and malnutrition by increasing agricultural production.
The two developed interest and qualified for funding, which enabled them to modernize their equipment. In September 2021, they officially started Lenack Limited. The company, which employs about 13 people at the moment, process 200 litres of milk to yoghurt daily. The yoghurt is made of vanilla and strawberry flavours and retails at 40 bob for a 250ml package. Lenack yoghurt is available on the shelves of major supermarkets in Kisii town.
Today, the two directors are hopeful about improving the lives of farmers in the region by buying their milk. The RTI graduate encouraged other job seekers not to be choosy about work. She believes there is a lot of potential in the agricultural sector if only young people would be ready to dirty their hands to make clean money.
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