NAIROBI,Kenya Oct 24-When coronavirus hit last year, Anthony Muthungu, 28, was forced to close down his Totosci tuition academy due to the measures set in place by the government to curb the spread of the virus.
Stuck at home with no work to do, he teamed up with his friend to design a ventilator. One day while trying to transfer research data from his phone to the laptop he hit a snag.
“In my house I was having six USB cables and none was working. I thought may be it was me who had bad luck with USB cables but my friends also had the same issue. I decided to buy their faulty cables at Sh10 per piece and within two weeks I had 7,000 cables. My curiosity made me dismantle the cables and check what the issue was. What I saw inside tempted me to create something of good quality,” said Muthungu.
It was at this point that he saw a business gap in the market due to lack of quality USB cables for mobile devices in the market.
Despite having a teaching background, that did not deter his quest to build quality USB cables. Having a passion for tech, a background in teaching Physics and an experienced team with mechanical engineering background, he went for his dream.
“I documented each and every one of the 7,000 USB cables and identified the problem and decided to fill the gap. This required a lot of research and looking into the materials and machinery required. Then I decided to build something that is ten times better than what is already in the market,” Muthungu said.
With a team consisting of computer, software, mechanical and electrical engineers and machines imported from India and China , Muthungu started a USB cable company dubbed Totosci holdings Limited.
“I got a loan of Sh3 million from a friend and decided to go for it. I had to train this team that I am working with on this invention because it is a new thing,” he said.
Close to two years into the market, Muthungu admits that one of the greatest challenges in the manufacturing sector is high taxation and the cost of running business.
“It isn’t just the issue of taxation but even the cost of running business when you factor in the cost of electricity and fuel. Again buying this USB cables from China is cheaper even when you pay excise duty as compared to producing them here. Most retailers actually prefer importing the cables,” Muthungu said.
Even though the USB cables have been approved by the Kenya Bureau of Standards (KEBS) and the Kenya Export Promotion and Branding Agency (KEPROBA), the Kenyan market is still not as receptive.
“I don’t know whether it’s a colonial mentality where people think anything made in Kenya is inferior. It’s like we can’t make it Kenya, this must be fake. Others want to buy it cheaply just because it’s made in Kenya,” Muthungu noted.
He said his USB cables are 90 percent made in Kenya with raw materials such as recycled plastics, wires and injection plastics, sourced locally.
“We only import connectors from China and India. We are currently looking for funds to buy machines to make the connectors so that everything will be sourced here. The machine is quite expensive we will get it in a few years,” Muthungu said.
The innovator has urged the government to seal all loopholes of counterfeit products as they are creating unfavorable environment for the business.
“The importation of substandard products which are cheaper is quite a challenge. Here we give you a quality USB cable with a six month warranty,” he said.
The entrepreneur admits that the business hasn’t yet broken despite a huge profit margin due to the cost of business due to purchases and paying staff as the sales are not as high.
“I am an industrialist, even though I make Sh1 profit per USB cable and I sell it to one million people, that would be a Sh1 million profit. Even with the high cost of taxation I know that nothing is permanent. This is not for the fainthearted, I tried to find someone in Africa who is doing the same thing so that we can share notes, I didn’t find anyone. Only risk takers carry the day,” Muthungu pointed out.
By 2023 the group said it working on producing mobile phone accessories across the country with their target being to assemble mobile phones by 2025.
“By 2026 we want to be a full unit producing mobile phones, earphones and chargers, we will be offering a complete unit,” he said.