BY JAMES KARIUKI
Peggy Ollode was nursing her newborn baby when her firstborn son returned home carrying school books soaked in juice.
The 36-year-old mother, who was then working as a general manager of a local microfinance, decided to improvise.
She sewed a small waterproof drawstring bag and packed her son’s lunch in it before placing it inside his school bag.
Her modest idea generated interest among parents at his primary school and, not long thereafter, she got an order to supply 60 such bags complete with the institution’s logo and slogan.
After completing this tender early last year, somebody referred her to a local bank, which needed gym bags for gifting during its corporate functions. The order was for 500 bags, which was closely followed up by three fresh tenders from her son’s school.
This led to the birth of Drawstrings Kenya – a company which specialises in the mass production of special light bags.
“I really strained to produce the bags. I had to outsource labour and hire a sewing machine. Since I knew parents share my story, I started approaching other schools seeking business,” she said.
But a new challenge arose.
Her husband Paul Ollode was hesitant to support her move to quit formal employment.
He, however, injected more funds into the business, which Ms Ollode used to purchase a sewing machine and recruit a full-time tailor.
This allowed the budding entrepreneur, who was still on maternity leave, to scale up marketing, making use of social media platforms to introduce the idea to potential clients and close deals.
“An old friend handled my social media marketing campaign on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. This provided me with an avenue to display every product I made,” she said.
Ms Ollode ditched employment last December when she received a huge order from a betting firm, an order which forced her to increase her staff to meet the tight deadlines.
Her decision to quit her job and fully concentrate on her bags business could not have come at a better time, what with the country’s General Election just four months away.
Using her connections, she secured a couple of political clients (aspirants) who ordered 1,000 pieces for giveaways complete with their slogans and promises to the electorate.
“I charge politicians a premium price, but some unscrupulous businesspeople import readymade drawstrings from China that they sell cheaply, undercutting us,” she said.
Ms Ollode, a Bachelors of Commerce alumnus of University of Zambia, said she makes between Sh200,000 to Sh250,000 every month, and has her sights set on growing her business.
This means that in a good year, she is able to make a cool Sh. 3 million!
She has since designed two types of drawstring bags and forwarded the same for patenting to protect her designs from intellectual theft, which is a growing risk as the business expands.
Some of her clients, especially those she secures from Facebook, simply purchase plain drawstrings and label for onward sale to their clients – a tactic which Ms Ollode says is complimentary to her business.