Joseph Njuguna Maina is the co-founder and CEO of Collectr Ke, a boutique credit risk management consulting firm based in Nairobi that provides pre and post credit risk management solutions.

Collectr Ke is also a debt collection business started in December, 2020, at the height of the pandemic. We are yet to break-even as all the money we have managed to generate goes back directly into getting our name out there. My biggest challenge would be what I would call the “the first timer curse”. It takes more than just being an expert to get business in Kenya. Without valuable references, one has to work thrice as hard to get yourself to the high table of entrepreneurship especially in consulting. You must invest more time in networking and being at the right places at the right time.

Before venturing out as a freelance business consultant and later founding Collectr, I had previously worked with Faulu Bank, Jamii Bora Bank and Vision Fund for slightly over 10 years. I had started out as a data entry clerk, then cashier and eventually moving into middle level management. My knack for entrepreneurship has always been a brew in the pot. Back at Catholic Parochial Primary School, I would sell mabuyu and kashata on behalf of a very shy classmate at a commission. This entrepreneurial spirit would move with me to the Upper Hill School where I would further my marketing skills while selling amplifiers and DVD players to matatus plying the Nairobi – Dagoretti route. Monies generated from this would in turn go into buying luxurious shoes which I would lend out to other students for “funkies”. With lessons amassed from these ventures, I would later venture into the transport industry by purchasing 4 motorcycles and later opening a hotel in Umoja Innercore while still in employment.

After leaving employment in 2017, I partnered with one of my best friends to start a microfinance – Msingi Credit. In the company of our spouses then, we set out to pounce on market we were all knowledgeable in. We had a great 6 months start until the sound of the expansion trumpet bellowed upon us to move from our comfort zone. This growth meant either selling equity to outsiders or getting cheap funds to further our business. My friend chose the first and I chose the latter. The latter would mean us lending borrowed money which had a cost element attached to it and as novices in the area of financial projections, this would be the worst mistake ever for the business. With default rising, meeting monthly obligations proved to be a challenge. As we were trying to salvage the situation, individuals who had lent us money would in turn change terms of lending which would further affect our overall cash flows. Eventually we shut down. A ruthless debt collector then, I learnt through my own misgivings in a business well known to me that any individual or business may fail to meet its own obligations subject to many reasons. We have used this experience as our moral compass in our business.

Whilst looking for a mentor in the area of credit risk management and debt collection, I met one great man on LinkedIn called Tim Paulsen – Managing Director at the International Centre for Professional Collections (USA). Our relationship would climax with me becoming the 2nd Certified Financial Collections Professional in Africa and further, the Director (EA) for the ICPC. With these developments, Collectr got approval to jointly venture with the ICPC in certification of more collectors in the region ultimately raising the bar in debt collection within Kenya and without. Last year alone, Collectr through various initiatives and partnerships was able to work with the likes of the Credit Information Sharing (Kenya), the Higher Education Loans Board, Mwalimu National Sacco and the Kenya Depositors Insurance Corporation amongst others in bolstering their staff capacity in the area of credit through trainings.

I currently save in a Sacco and it has proven to be very effective. With a Sacco, once money goes into your savings account, the chances of you withdrawing it are minimized as the process is tedious. I have recently learnt of another great way to save through a fintech called Jipay. They have a unique product that makes saving more interesting for everyone. Previously, I was in a merry-go-round with a few friends and we used to meet in a club for our monthly meetings. The recipient of the month proceed would later leave the table with nothing as we had imbibed in the most expensive delicacies and drinks on their account.

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For me entrepreneurship is my opium – great highs when things are working, worse lows when nothing seems to work. The roller coaster ride is very exciting for me but there are certain days you will find me missing the permanency that came with employment. Employment in a way guarantees you a safety net. A place where any good employee is promised a monthly salary and other perks. Employment additionally can be a great way to raise enough capital to start out in entrepreneurship.

Put your faith in a trusted mentor. Having built what most would consider a solid career in my 20’s, immersing a lot of money while at it and losing it all in a split second, I have been deliberate to stand in the shadows of those who have gone before me in all spheres of my life – money, career, business and relationships. Most of the mistakes I made going up would have been avoided had I been keen on asking for help where I had no idea on how to maneuver.

A version of this profile feature on Joseph Njuguna was published in the Saturday Magazine. The Saturday Magazine is a publication of the Nation Media Group.