When Catherine Muringo told off her critics by reasserting that she had bought her first expensive automobile just 3 months after starting her Mitumba business with Sh. 2,000 capital, she became the punchline of jokes.

Catherine insisted that the business was a piece of cake by the time she was venturing into it, but Kenyans on social media had different opinions that were wildly exaggerated.

Mrs. Muringo revealed that after failing in her salon business more than 9 years ago, she knew that she had to find a way to bounce back ad provide for herself.

With almost all hope lost, she had less than Sh. 2,000, which she used as capital. Catherine delved into the mitumba business.

She was mentored by her friend who had treaded the waters in the cloth industry, and little by little she gained valuable wisdom and expertise.

“I had less than Sh. 2,000 as my starting capital. I was jobless and desperate. I went to Korogocho market and picked a few pieces of kids clothes which I used to stock up and empty shop then,” she said.

From the Sh. 2,000 stock she’d bought and sold, Catherine got high returns that amounted to Sh. 9,000. With this money, she purchased another bale.

Later on, Mrs. Muringo met a dealer who taught her about the varieties of mitumba bales and making her business even more profitable.

An astute entrepreneur in decision-making, Catherine is now the owner of Experienced Mtumba Bales store in Gikomba Market. She purchases her used clothes from international vendors.

“I love Canadian bales because they are clean. Other than Canada, I source from Australia, the UK, very little from the US and rarely from China,” a proud Catherine states.

“I initially did not know that there was a difference between China, Canadian, the UK or Australian bales. I just used to buy them randomly,” she explained.

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Catherine Muringo recently made the joke-inspiring claim that she bought her first car after only three months of working for the company during an interview with NTV.

She said that over the aforementioned time, she had produced money and had been able to purchase a KSh 700,000 vehicle.

“Things were so good that within three months I had bought my first car. Between July and December, I had a Nissan X-trail,” she said.

Mrs. Muringo is an advocate for women’s empowerment. She mentors people interested in operating a mitumba business, particularly women and widows. All credit to the kindness that she received when she was starting out in her business.

She has mentored popular names that have been running the mitumba sector and reaping enormous profits. Her advise to Gikomba visitors looking to shop for the best quality is that they should visit early in the day, between 4 am and 8 am.

This is because few bales have been opened during these hours hence visitors would be the first to choose the best.

“The best thing about this venture is that you can start the business with less than Ksh 20,000 capital. If you have been wondering how you can start a second-hand clothes business, you are in the right place, experience mitumba bale is your home where I will help you on how to venture, ” Catherine said in an interview with Times.