Agola Okondo is the entrepreneur behind Loch Hotel, a five-star hotel located in rural Bondo, Siaya County. The businesswoman revealed she started the business with a loan she had obtained from a Sacco.
In an interview with blogger Jarunda Jaluth, Agola revealed while working for Kenya Airways, she was an active member of Wanandege Sacco and committed a huge chunk of her earnings into savings.
The businesswoman saved up to three-quarters of her salary before deciding to get a loan to start a business.
Her husband, who had also committed a chunk of his salary into savings, also obtained a loan, which they combined to start Loch Hotel.
“We started small, and we acquired finances from Wanandege SACCO before topping up with another from Standard Chartered,” she said.
I started and built my businesses through social capital
The two started by acquiring land and engaged in the planting of trees to enhance the hotel’s ambiance.
Ten years after its establishment, Loch Hotel has grown to a five-star hotel offering various facilities such as a bar, restaurant, wedding grounds, accommodation, and conference.
The entrepreneur advises aspiring business people to start with baby steps stating that every good thing takes time to be actualized.
”It has taken us ten years to build this facility, but it’s not yet complete. When you are planning to work on something, you just need to take a bold step and start, and other things will come in place,’’ she said.
She added that a big chunk of the money used in maintaining the facility was obtained from financial institutions, maintaining that for a business to grow, it needs some funding.
”For you to grow, you can’t do without loans. So instead of saving money in an account, talk to the bank to give you some funds equivalent to your savings,’’ she added.
She further rubbished the notion that one has to invest in urban areas to make a lot of money, maintaining that there is a lot of money in the village all one has to do is to be unique in their undertakings.
