If you have travelled along Makutano-Mwea-Embu Road, chances are you have seen the famous Nice Digital City and Nice Rice Millers located in Gurabani in Mwea, Kirinyaga County.
The multimillion-shillings establishment is owned by Charles Njiru, popularly known as Mkombozi, whose journey to the top is a testament of true hard work and resilience.
His journey began in the 1980s, working as a tailor and taking home about Sh300 per month. He later switched employers and started earning based on work done.
For every trouser, he earned Sh2 and Sh1 per shirt. The little pay saw him quit employment and went back to his home in Karaba, where he started farming, growing tomatoes, and French beans on a 10-acre farm.
The farming business also failed due to inadequate rainfall and only managed to save Sh2,500 after four years of farming.
He decided to quit farming, and with a loan of Sh500 from his friend and his Sh2,500 savings, Njiru started selling second-hand clothes. He quit the business after just two months after discovering a more promising venture.
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“I then saw an opportunity in agrochemicals. I bought a carton of several products and started hawking them in Mwea town,” he said.
The agrochemical business was promising at first and earned him Sh300,000 in sales in just six months, but the profits went on declining due to competition, prompting him to quit after three years.
Mr Njiru has also tried his hand at the matatu business, transportation of sand and construction material, and brewing. But he quit for different reasons ranging from dishonesty to high operating costs.
“My life in business has been so hostile, but I believe that in every adversity, there is a way out,” he added.
Rice milling eventually became his breakthrough. Njiru had set up a brewery, but after he failed to secure a license, he converted the premise to a maize milling company at a cost of Sh3 million.
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The maize milling business was, however, tough due to prolonged drought, which affected maize farming in the region. One crop, rice, was, however, flourishing in the area to the extent that millers had become overwhelmed by supply.
“Farmers were waiting for three months to have their rice milled at government-owned mills. Rice farmers started flocking to my maize mill looking for storage, and eventually, I started milling for them.” He said.
He notes that the rice factory is worth over Sh300 million and mills farmers’ rice at Sh3 per kilogram. He also provides storage facilities and market space to farmers for free and also sells farmers’ rice for an extra commission.
Due to the many travelers stopping in Mwea to buy rice from his factory and other retailers, he saw an opportunity to build a mall at a cost of about Sh1 billion.
The mall –Nice Digital City sits on around eight acres of land and is now a major attraction along the busy highway. It hosts a supermarket, a 75-bed hotel, a swimming pool, a chemist, and gardens, among other amenities.
Other establishments that make up Njiru’s business empire are Nice Rice Mills, Nice Charcoal, Nice Mineral Water, Nice Bakeries, and Nice Jikos.
“I own and operate all the facilities in the mall except the chemist, which I have rented out. Visitors can use the gardens for free as long as they commit to spend on drinks and food from the hotel.” He said.
The business has over 80 permanent staff and about 5,000 others indirectly through transport and retail.
