Nelly Nafula Tietie is a top Kenyan volleyball player and an entrepreneur with interests in farming and Airbnb businesses.
She started playing volleyball while in Class Three and she would attend trainings on weekends and long holidays.
Nafula ventured into business in 2022 while working in Dubai where she also played professional volleyball.
She has rental houses which are still under construction but she currently runs two fully furnished Airbnbs.
The volleyball star is also into farming having dwelled on maize and sugarcane farming as well as planting trees.
Here is Nafula’s story as told by WoK.
Nafula hails from Bungoma County but she was born and raised in Kahawa Barracks where her dad, a KDF soldier, was based.
While she grew up with her dad, her other siblings lived with their mother, a businesswoman, in Bungoma.
“I have stayed with my dad all through; let me just say from the time I started Class One. My mother used to come and go,” Nafula said.
In an interview with KTN, Nafula noted that she started playing volleyball while she was in Class Three.
While at home, she would participate in trainings whenever she was free or during weekends and school holidays.
“My childhood is basically made up of volleyball, I used to come from school and go for training, during weekends, I’ll also go for training or we’ll go play somewhere,” she said.
Nafula studied at Kahawa Garrison Primary School before proceeding to Lugulu Girls’ High School in Webuye, Bungoma County.
Having secured a slot in the school due to her prowess in volleyball, it was not long before she started earning from the sport.
“By the time I was in Form Three, I had already started playing for certain clubs. The first time I travelled outside the country I was in Form Three
“I had been selected for junior national team; we went to Mexico. I have traveled the world through my participation in volleyball,” she said.
After completing her secondary school education, Nafula continued playing volleyball and secured a job at Nairobi Water & Sewerage Company.
“I got employed in Nairobi Water, through volleyball again, where I worked for five years before I left for Dubai,” she said.
While in Dubai, Nafula started playing volleyball after signing with a local team which also helped her secure a job.
“I worked with a local company dealing with construction. Along that period, I had also started investing,” she said.
Through her income, and with the help of her mother, Nafula bought a plot where she started putting up rental units.
“I have been building rentals for a while, I think this is the third year. Last year, I really wanted to finish the construction and so I gave myself a target
“I was hoping by the time it reaches my birthday I’ll be done but by the time it reached October, I knew I wasn’t going to manage,” she said.
At this point, Nafula resorted to put her money into the Airbnb business and got a studio apartment which she started furnishing immediately after.
She managed to furnish the apartment within a month after which she pulled resources and got another apartment where she put up the second Airbnb.
“This business has put me somewhere because it has enabled me finish the rentals. We are hoping to get the first batch of our new tenants soon,” Nafula said.
Other than the Airbnb business, Nafula is also a farmer engaging in maize and sugarcane farming as well as tree planting.
“I dwell mostly on maize, sugarcane and I plant trees. Currently, we manage 1,500 trees; that is a long-term investment which I keep saying that’s what will enable me own my dream car,” she said.
