- Through this business, Steven Mwangi has been able to take his children through university.
- He has also provided employment to young people
Kenyans are finding ingenious ways of making money in these hard economic times. One such businessman is Steven Mwangi who buys cockroaches and bed bugs at Ksh5 each.
He then uses these insects to demonstrate the efficacy of his insecticides.
Bed bugs and cockroaches
After buying the insects, he puts them on display in the city of Nakuru to demonstrate how potent the insecticides are in killing the bed bugs and cockroaches.
Studying entomology
Steven used to sell insecticides before he decided to study entomology. This is a branch of zoology dealing with the scientific study of insects.
Speaking to NTV, he said he started with 200 cockroaches but as his popularity grew the number went up by 1000 to 2000 roaches per day because of the demand of the insecticides.
Training
He told the local TV station that he started by wearing gloves for almost a month before using his bare hands.
Creating employment
His business has created employment for young people who are always on the lookout for insects. While it is easy to trap cockroaches, this is not the case with bed bugs.
“When I started looking for bed bugs, it was a bit of a hustle”, he told NTV.
“I had to go to the slums and assist them because they are poor. I buy them sugar so they can get me the bed bugs”, he added.
He usually buys fully grown cockroaches for his demonstrations. He trains the youths on how to transport the insects by placing them in a sack because it is well aerated.
This allows them to breathe.
Education
From this job, I have educated my children to university level and have no rent arrears. I have also property from these insects.