Keroche Breweries did not start with huge capital from the bank as many would think. From her savings generated from the hardware shop, Mrs Karanja started by manufacturing a maximum of 200 litres of fortified wines, with five employees, at their family farm in Naivasha. But it has now grown to a capacity of over 100million litres of different types of drinks, with over 300 employees.
“When you want to start any company – and this is my advice to all entrepreneurs- start where you are and with whatever you have. And that’s what we did. Start selling your products and when they get well received in the market, then the banks are now ready to open their doors. When we started doing well in the market and of course we didn’t have the capacity for the increasing demand, that’s when we went to the bank and they were now ready to finance us,” she says.
Keroche products include beers, ready to drink vodkas, spirits and wines. The company is now carrying out a Sh5 billion upgrade to commission a new 100 million litres plant in the first quarter of 2015 with plans to go regional and take 20 percent of the market share.
When Mrs Karanja received the CNBC Business Woman of the year award, her unfailing resilience and unrivalled business prudence over nearly two decades stood out and as she tells me, this has resulted in her triumph.
Being a wife and a mother, Mrs Karanja is a firm believer that the family comes first — even before the business. She admits that despite being the face of Keroche, she has all through worked and succeeded due to her husband’s support.
“My word to women; we should believe in ourselves because sometimes as women we tend to think that we are inferior. No, we are not. Then of course, when it comes to family, just strike a balance. There is a time for business and family. Always be there for your family.”
When we finish the interview, the ever jovial Mrs Karanja does not hesitate to tell me her favourite drink: Summit Malt.
“I take one beer almost every day. It is so nice, it is natural beer, it is smooth and I think I should give you one you try,” she says of one of her brands that she wants to see consumed all over Africa.
