Zamzam Haji is a camel milk processor and the Managing Director of White Gold.
The entrepreneur was inspired to get into milk processing by her mother who was keeping camels at their home.
Even though Haji was surprised that her mother was keeping camels, she explained to her how valuable the towering animals are.
Here is her story as told by WoK.
Background
Haji was away for about 18 years and when she retuned home, she found her mother keeping camels.
She stated that the idea of keeping camels didn’t make sense to her because while growing up they looked after cattle.
“She looked at me and told me, ‘you don’t know the value, you’ll know the value one day’. Years later what she told me came true,” Haji noted.
Haji explained that her mother ventured into camel farming after being diagnosed with diabetes.
She noted that at some point, her mother needed camel milk to control the diabetes but those who had the milk were reluctant to sell it.
“She wanted one cup of camel milk but the lady whom she was buying from refused to sell it. She called my sister who sent her money and she bought six of her own camels,” she explained.
Establishing the business
Zamzam and her business partners established their business using their savings, noting that they were avoiding loans because they were not sure of the return.
“We didn’t want to take big loans because we did not know where this was taking us. It was like gambling,” she said.
However, a while into the business, they realized that they could not meet demand on time and they applied for a loan.
They also participated appeared KCB Lions’ Den Show where they were seeking Ksh 7.5 million for 23% equity.
Haji also explained that getting into business was not easy.
Marketing Camel Milk
She stated that while introducing the camel milk into the market, they had to invest more in marketing as most people were not conversant with it.
“We had to go out there and aggressively market to the locals, to make people understand the benefits of the camel milk,” she said.
They supply in different parts of Nairobi including Karen and Kayole and towns outside Nairobi like Bungoma.
They also supply milk to Rwanda and parts of Tanzania.
“The reason why we are doing this is to make the milk accessible to all Kenyans,” she said.
The most popular benefit of camel milk is helping in managing diabetes as it contains lower glycemic which regulates blood sugar levels.
The milk also contains probiotics that can help improve gut health and digestion. It also contains lactoferrin that boost the immune system and fight off infections.
Studies have suggested that camel milk may be beneficial for children with autism, possibly due to its high levels of immunoglobulins and other compounds that may help reduce inflammation.
