It is often said that entrepreneurship is not for the faint-hearted.  It will get you failing. what matters is how many times you manage to wake up after the fall.

In Kenya, many small businesses have one thing in common; They fail before they start to stabilize. While many entrepreneurs have managed to rise again after the first, second, or third fall, others have had it rough experiencing uncountable failures.

This is the case with Festus Maina, the founder of Naicef, formerly known as Serene Safaris & Tour Events. Maina, an Entrepreneur, lecturer, and author who is completing his PhD studies revealed he started the firm at the age of 24 years after other failed ventures.

Among the sectors the 33-year-old had tried his hand at but failed terribly are Horticultural Farming, Stock Trading, Charcoal Repackaging & Branding for Supermarket Supply, Computer Repair, and Tour & Travel Consultancy.

He however persevered and went on to establish other businesses including Boutique Shop, Moving & Relocation Services, soft loan creditor, and housing & Interior Design, among others but equally failed.

”Between 2010-2020; I started 10 ventures including a fully registered company. I failed in 90% of all the ventures. An ‘A’ in failure. I Wasted more than 3 Million. Money I could have bought a car, a house and such other petty liabilities like my comrades. I was in my 20s,’’ Maina recalled.

The zeal to succeed, solve travel solutions, and create employment however couldn’t let him quit entrepreneurship but pushed him to seek different problem-solving approaches including reading financial investment books which helped him execute ideas more smartly.

I lost my job, started a business with Sh. 10,000, took 3 years to break even

The results are evident in the growth of Naicef which boasts as the only Fintravel Company in Africa. The firm offers various services including Tours, Travel, and Moving.

Naicef also provides a platform for its customers to save in advance for an upcoming activity and enjoy a range of services without compromising their budget.

”At a click of a button via naicef.com, you create your own safe saving account and soon you save, travel packages fitting your budget automatically populate. You redeem that and travel as soon as you want and as freely as you save,’’ says Maina.

Just like the other businesses Maina previously ventured into, the travel business has also had a fair share of challenges among them competition from local tour brands and reaching more markets.

Quality and unique services have however enabled the firm to stay ahead of the game, remaining the favorite choice for its customers.

”The greatest achievement is having individuals and companies coming for our saving solutions and scaling the moving business,’’ explains Maina.

Despite the challenges coupled with past painful failures, Maina is way far from shunning exploring opportunities in other sectors.

Among his near-future projects is the Fanaice Talent Center, a modern learning space solving contemporary 844 & CBC challenges.

I opened my Nakuru business with Sh. 1 million capital, broke even after 6 months

The bold businessman further intends to expand Naicef services to other parts of the continent in the next five years and debut in the Middle East, offering 100% automated travel services.

”I have been in the worst, losing it all. The only way is to know challenges will always be there and never shall we be perfect. We only get better, improve, and keep modeling solutions to the last day,’’ he says.

To help other continuing and aspiring entrepreneurs navigate entrepreneurial challenges, Maina authored a book christened ‘Real Growth Hacks’, guided by his past experiences.

The book shares practical working guidelines and growth tips that can turn young innovative minds into industry-based solution providers.

”You can find it on Nuria Book Store, Kibanga Online Store, Fontana, TBC, and directly through wicef.com/RealGrowthHacks. All my socials have my book as the profile picture,’’ says Maina.

”The second book I have coauthored with my wife ‘Swings to Parenting’ is out of parenting challenges and the desire to ensure no one who reads it go through such challenges,’’ he adds.

Maina advises aspiring entrepreneurs to put their ideas into action and invest in knowledge noting that a big chunk of his business success was on the back of intensive reading.

”I regret not reading more while I was younger. Probably because books have scaled me more than I could imagine in the last 10 years. Books are dynamites. I would definitely read more particularly on areas of my interest in life.”

”Though the book has more and better fine strategies, sleeping late and waking early to grow deeper into actions within your selected area is one sure way to experience, learn, scale, and win in business,’’ he advised.