George Wayne is the founder and managing director of the Nakuru Box innovation centre based in Nakuru CBD. He says his idea to start the business was born in 2018 after attending various entrepreneurship seminars, including the Global Entrepreneurship Summit hosted by former US President Barack Obama, in Nairobi Kenya in 2015.
While doing a mountain bike rental business, George attended an entrepreneurship programme in Lagos in 2018. While there, he realized he could use his experience from these entrepreneurship seminars to help fellow Kenyan entrepreneurs achieve their dreams.
Consequently, he partnered with Leah, another entrepreneur, to start an incubation centre for entrepreneurs in Nakuru. Their goal was to help entrepreneurs in Nakuru and its suburbs to start and grow successful businesses. Nakuru Box was born.
When starting, George says his first office was a vast empty space with no equipment or staff. He designed the office in 2019 and launched his business officially in the same year. His first challenge was the covid pandemic, which he surmounted with entrepreneurial vigour. He says his business came out stronger and better after the pandemic.
Motivation
George says he started his business to support entrepreneurs in starting and running their businesses. He says he wanted to provide new entrepreneurs with fully furnished offices with all the required amenities.
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He wanted to eliminate the hassle of lease payments, deposits, setting up furniture, hiring receptionists, etc., for new entrepreneurs. The entrepreneurs could then dedicate most of their time to their businesses.
He also wanted to mentor entrepreneurs by giving them a path they could follow and promote their businesses while connecting them to the right networks that would help them grow their businesses.
Services
If you’re an entrepreneur, Nakuru Box offers you a co-working space in fully furnished offices that come with free internet, a receptionist, a boardroom where you can hold meetings, a kitchen, a rest lounge, a meeting room for your guests, and a room where you can hold seminars.
Additionally, George runs Nakuru Box academy, where they offer web design, mobile app development, digital marketing, photography, and graphic design courses. Finally, Nakuru box provides entrepreneurship training and startup consultancy.
According to the CEO, mentorship helps entrepreneurs stick to their business plans. It also helps budding entrepreneurs learn from industry experts, so they don’t waste time and resources on trial-and-error efforts. In short, mentorship helps entrepreneurs nurture their businesses the right way.
Why Nakuru Box?
When asked what makes Nakuru Box unique, George points out their co-working space that provides starting entrepreneurs with a valid business address.
He also points out that entrepreneurs who use Nakuru Box can hold meetings with clients, and they get a receptionist to schedule their work, making it easier to run their businesses.
Additionally, these entrepreneurs can tap into a network of entrepreneurs within Nakuru. This means they get connected with the right people who can help their businesses grow. Finally, Nakuru Box provides entrepreneurs access to local and international investors.
Conclusion
George says his plan is to grow and expand their office space to hold even more entrepreneurs. Nakuru Box has served over 200 entrepreneurs and partnered with brands such as the world bank, Balloon Ventures, and Centonomy, among others.
His advice to new entrepreneurs is to keep tweaking their strategies until they get things right.