Jane Njogu is the founder of Daughters of Hope International. Having relocated to Canada with her family in 1996, she has lived there for the past 27 years. She’s spent most of her time working in the nonprofit sector and running businesses.
While working at the International Trade department at KCB Group back in Kenya, Jane managed an export-imports business on the side. Her position at the time afforded her insights into the trade that has helped shape the business empire she has built today.
“I used to be the Head of International Trade while at KCB. That is where I learnt about import and export because we had clients that were doing that. Just learning what they do, I also learnt something from that and started my own import-export business,” she said while speaking to Daring Abroad’s Alex Chamwada.
Her first business gigs involved exporting containers of French beans to the Netherlands. Occasionally, she traveled to Canada on a work permit.
This exposure, over time, allowed her and her sisters to start selling curios and fashion apparel to the Canadian community. Over time, her business grew to include customers in the US and Europe.
Beyond the love for fashion, she noted that it was difficult to secure employment in Canada. She shared that many people despair as their academic qualifications often go unnoticed despite having extensive knowledge and experience.
Jane recounted the experience of one of her sisters, who struggled to find employment in Canada despite holding a degree.
Determined to make progress, her sister took an entry-level position as an on-call bank employee, starting from the ground up and seizing every opportunity that came her way.
“You have to start from scratch. Take whatever you can, don’t ignore small things. It’s very hard for men, especially those with master’s degrees, to adjust. For us women, we were willing to take cleaning jobs because we knew it wasn’t our destination but a route to somewhere,” she advised.
Currently, Jane’s business model for her fashion enterprises entails supporting Kenyans. She and her team come up with the design and send it in to Kenyans tailors for implementation.
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This is how the idea for Daughters of Hope International came to light. The nonprofit society that seeks to make an impact back in Kenya. They sponsored several students to study, built hostels for children and supported with social enterprise machinery.
Jane advised those planning to move to Canada to remain open-minded and adaptable, urging them to consider opportunities outside the traditional fields they might first expect.
“When you come, don’t come with the mentality that I was an engineer, I have to be an engineer here. Come in and observe where the niche jobs are that will make a demand of you so that they will always call you,” she urged.
She also cautioned against immigrating into Canada hoping to change the visitor visa into a work visa. She asserted that the law system in the country works, urging Kenyan to take caution against being sold into dreams that don’t exist.
“Canada has opened my eyes in terms of creativity, but this is in terms of how I can give back home…My passion is, whatever I learn here I can transport it and change home with it,” she concluded.
