Mary Ngendo Njuguna, a Kenyan teacher turned a businesswoman in Thailand shared the reality many Kenyan job seekers face abroad in a bid to earn an income.

In an interview with Nation Mary revealed she relocated to Bangkok in Thailand in 2016 in search of greener pastures.

As an English teacher, she thought she would quickly land a teaching job in an Asian country since it was in need of its citizens learning English, one of the world’s most popular languages.

However, to her shock, she had to enroll in a college for a diploma course, which opened her way to Thailand’s teaching job market.

She taught for some time before discovering a challenge that needed to be addressed in the country, which became a business opportunity for her.

According to Mary, sending money back to Kenya was not convenient and took between 4 to 6 hours via Western Union, which was an unreliable option in case of an emergency.

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The businesswoman would later decide to start a financial services agency to address the challenge.

Her firm, MNN Services, receives money in foreign currency, then converts it to Kenyan shillings and sends it to Kenyan recipients via M-pesa.

“The available option was Western Union and it took too long (4-6 hours) which was not convenient in case of an emergency. I discovered I wasn’t the only one facing such an issue,” she said.

MNN Services also gives loans to its clients and earns back when they repay with interest.

While the business has, over the years, proved to be the real deal, it has had its fair share of challenges, among them loan defaults from various clients and scammers using the platform to scam online users.

“Recently, I had my accounts blocked after receiving money from somebody who was scammed online. Thank God the Kenyan embassy was able to vouch for me and the police unfroze my account,” she says.

She, however, believes that challenges are part of growth in business, and her business has expanded to offer other services, including dry foods and beauty products for Kenyans in Thailand.

The entrepreneur advised Kenyans looking for greener pastures to tap into various opportunities available in Thailand.

”The only thing one needs is consistency, transparency, and good friends who will support you in the business journey,’’ she notes.