At an age when many people begin planning for retirement, 66-year-old entrepreneur Grace Kasera is still pushing hard in entrepreneurship and in the process built a thriving fabrication business that is now helping households cut cooking costs through energy-efficient electric cookers.
Kasera’s journey into entrepreneurship started at the age of 48 after she left a stable career in the non-governmental sector, a decision that many around her considered risky.
“I started metal fabrication at 48 years. Many young people give up too early. Get the information you need and start,” she says as quoted by KNA.
According to the Kisumu-based innovator, the move was inspired by a desire to pursue purpose, support her family and develop practical solutions for everyday households.
Her professional journey began at Kenyatta University, where she pursued a Bachelor of Education Science degree, completing in 1985. She thereafter began her professional life as a teacher at Kisumu Polytechnic before transitioning into humanitarian work.
Kasera later worked in refugee camps as an education supervisor for a non-governmental organisation before returning to Kisumu, where she became involved in her family’s business, Nyangweso Electric Coils.
It was during this period that her interest in electrical innovation and fabrication began to grow. Seeking to strengthen her technical knowledge, she enrolled at the National Industrial Training Authority (NITA) to study electrical engineering, a move that laid the foundation for her future enterprise.
“I was always interested in creating something of my own,” she said.
It was not long before she discovered a method of modifying a standard 1,800-watt heating coil to consume less electricity while maintaining its effectiveness. The innovation would later become the backbone of her energy-saving cookers.
Operating from her workshop, Kasera now manufactures four types of electric cookers designed to be affordable, safe and energy efficient. Despite their varying designs, all the cookers are engineered to work safely with ordinary household sockets.
“We use the same size of wire, the same plug and a special technical formula so that the cookers don’t burn the socket,” she explained.
Her most affordable model, the stool-type cooker, retails at Sh2,800, while a box-type automatic version goes for Sh3,800.
Other versions fitted with switches cost between Sh4,500 and Sh5,000, while the largest double box-type cooker sells at Sh7,800.
To ensure durability and efficiency, Kasera uses carefully selected materials including aluminium tops, heat-resistant electrical cables and metal plates of different gauges.
Over the last 18 years, she has built a loyal customer base drawn from different professions, among them teachers, nurses, police officers, students and doctors.
“At first, most of my customers were family people, especially men. But later, I realised I also had many clients in the security sector,” she said.
Kasera attributes the growing popularity of her cookers to their energy-saving capability and ease of repair.
“The reason my customers are happy is because our cookers don’t waste energy. We discovered how to make coils that are both efficient and user-friendly,” she said.
She noted that many imported cookers are expensive and difficult to maintain due to the high cost of spare parts, while her locally manufactured alternatives rely on components readily available in local electrical shops.
“Some imported coils can cost up to USD3,500, but ours are available in local electrical shops at a fraction of that cost,” she said.
Drawing from her science background, Kasera has become a strong advocate for technical and vocational training, saying practical skills offer young people an opportunity to create jobs instead of waiting to be employed.
“Professional courses are important, but they often lead you to seek employment. Technical skills allow you to create your own opportunities,” she said.
Her workshop has also created employment opportunities for several young people involved in welding, metal work and assembly.
Starting with only two cookers due to limited capital, Kasera has gradually expanded her operations and now hopes to scale up production further to serve more households across the country.
“This is a product with energy-saving and user-friendly properties. I hope to expand and serve more people,” she said.
According to her, customers using the cookers have reported substantial reductions in household energy expenses.
“Some households use tokens worth Sh50 to cook hard cereals, while others have reduced monthly cooking costs from about Sh3,000 on charcoal to roughly Sh800 using these cookers,” she said.
Kasera is now encouraging Kenyans to support locally manufactured products, arguing that locally made solutions are often more practical, durable and easier to maintain.
“Some imported products do not meet our needs. We should focus on what we can produce locally,” she said.
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