 Good morning to you. Thank you so much for being part of Y in the morning. We are coming to you live from the broadcasting house here in Nairobi, Kenya, where we are streaming live through our website, that's at www.kbc.co.ke-y254. Now my name is Ram Aguco. It's a pleasure being with you on this fine Tuesday morning. It is entrepreneurship Tuesday if you are just joining us. This is Y in the morning and of course we value feedback. The hashtag is always Y in the morning. Tag me at Ram Aguco and at Y254 channel which is our official station handle. Now you just in time for the next conversation of today and it's all about entrepreneurship. Joining me in studio a fantastic lady. She goes by the name Lydia Nakumichia. She is an entrepreneur and the founder and proprietor of Pishi Bora Spice and also an alumni of Zuri Foundation of 2022 Karibusana. So even as you continue I would like first of all to ask you to tell us a bit more about what you do and what Pishi Bora is all about. Pishi Bora is a spice company that I started in the year 2021 at the peak of COVID-19. Pishi Bora was inspired by a number of factors, number one the job market was a bit turbulent that time so most companies were firing some kept hiring so I wanted to cushion myself financially so I thought I had this idea of Pishi Bora for quite some time you know the way you have ideas and then you don't yeah they are stole there at the back of your head you're like I have this idea but I don't know when I'm going to execute it so I was like wow this is the time to do this and interestingly you're saying that's the time to do it when most people are closing shop yeah because business spices people use spices every day right whether whether you like it or not at some point in your house you're gonna have tea masala pilau masala even just basic curry powder for your food we eat every day so I feel like spices are like the heart of a home so you whatever no matter what happens you will need spices like so essential yeah regardless of the season that we are in at the country yeah spices always have to be in a home you know they're like the heart of a home so this idea has been with you for like so long yeah I I love cooking I am a mother of three I really love cooking so I I kinda also struggled with getting the right spices so I was like well how about I start my own chain of spices my own brand of spices then I'm able to get the right spices for for cooking so that's when Pishibora was born wow yes so how long have you been having this idea for having your own chain of spices and coming up with Pishibora you said you've been you've been having it for a long time yeah the idea was at the back of your mind for close to two years I was basically sitting on the idea then one day it said let me just go with it wow yeah it took me a long time it also took me a lot of thinking because you know it's not easy to start a business here in Kenya especially for small entrepreneurs right there's there's so much government regulations which I understand it's a part of the process just to enable the end user get the correct product so government regulations are a bit tight on upcoming entrepreneurs so so that's what was holding me back also now for many SMEs they complain especially the beginning yes that capital is an issue yes and they always say that starting is always a problem which which interestingly you've also said starting is always a problem yeah and you know you may have an idea and it takes even years and years for you to actually implement it yeah how is it for you you know coming up with the capital and trying to you know get it on the road so um number one I had I had a savings yes when before you start a business you have a plan right you sit down and do your own business plan the the entire plan involves money so where am I gonna get this money to start the business right so I had some savings I got some money from my friends I got some from the family members yeah and then I started on a very small very small scale and and how is the reception from friends and family oh I have a very good network of friends and my family is also very very supportive so when I when I raise the idea that guys I think I'm going to start selling spices but I'm going to start on a small scale but even the small scale I'm not big enough to go alone so you guys you know I have very good friends who are like let's help you do a business shower so we did a mini business shower for me you know the way you do like a baby shower a baby shower yeah I was trying to say it could be the best idea here so you have friends you know for many people um they are friends who tell them you know what um um that's your problem deal with it deal with it yeah it's your idea yeah it is your vision go with it go with it the way you want don't bring me on board I know yeah you don't need to add me in that WhatsApp group of I don't know you I'm starting a business yeah but interestingly you your friends are different you didn't have such kind of reception let me tell you I have it's taken me a very long time to get to where I am in terms of even my closest friends I am I have a very close need uh circle of friends these are people that I have known some have known them for less than five years some from childhood and as you grow up um you keep dropping people along the way you know people grow up people have their own visions they have their own dreams and um it's it's normal it's very natural because they can drag you yeah the person you knew when you were 12 13 14 15 in your early 20s when you're in campus and you guys are very tight then you finish campus you start your internship you start your job you're about to start your business you keep dropping people along the way and it it's not in a bad way it just means that their season in your life is over you know you're moving on to the next the next step in your life so as you move on in life you meet people you meet people that really value who you are as a person like they believe in your ideas you know they believe in your aspirations they believe in your dreams and when so when I flagged my idea to my friends they're actually like four very close and tight uh they advise me and this is how you can go about it this is how we can come in as your friends and that's how I started so got the initial capital I took the train to Mombasa because I had to go source for spice vendors you know I was told uh the spices in Isili the spices in town the spices in river road the spices in everywhere so I went to all those places first here in Nairobi and then I took a train to Mombasa I went to Mombasa for a whole two days just sourcing spices from different people because I wanted to find the right spice but but then how how are you able to see about what is original from what is faith from what is good from what actually just lies and then you know ends up spoiling everything you get good vendors and they will tell you this is grade one this is grade two you get good vendors they tell you this is grade three and this is not very good those are very honest vendors these are people who've done spices from the 70s even the 50s they will tell you this is a grade one this is a grade two so I collected spices for spice samples from about six vendors I never knew that spices come in in grades they do they never knew that so there's grade one yeah and grade two and three but if you do not know you'll just buy spices you wouldn't know then I'll just buy yeah you will just buy then when you get the brand to the market then people who know spices I have friends who have grown up in families that literally started cooking with spices when they were two so they really know how to to sieve out a best spice in terms of aroma when you cook food so I will give them I will give the samples to my friends and ask them to test and it wasn't good believe me it wasn't good at first the first try it wasn't good they gave me feedback you know so instead of me sarking and saying ah you guys amniskili I was like okay this is this is feedback what am I gonna do about this I went back so now I was introduced to a certified spice manufacturer in Mombasa the guy the guy buys brings in imports by males and now sales so when you want pilau he'll give you all the spices that all the spices that make up pilau masala mix for you nicely in good quantities and sell it to you so so you've got you you you you did it you got the first try out um your friends told you know what this is horrible yeah it's horrible did not discourage you you still continued and the same same friends yeah connect with somebody who knows these things yes so I met a lady through a friend she lives in Mombasa she was like I know this guy who does these spices can we try this guy so we went there he's a big company uh he's been in the business for his profile says from the 1950s so this is someone who's well he's he's so old it's a family it's a family business yeah it's not an individual it's a family business that's been running for quite some time for decades so this is where I got my good spices like what I wanted the best ones you know best in terms of flavor freshness yeah so that's when I started now going forward with the brand but but but then um um I'm also wondering uh you you you have yet a different background yes in terms of uh academia yes you have a background in procurement yeah um now I'm looking at you getting into the hotel business yes and and and food industry how does uh these two uh areas come together or have you left one for the other so I started procurement but I did I think I have practiced procurement for only six years in my entire life since the since since college so I have I have and I I have um as you said I am good at marketing I'm very good and I've done marketing all my life I've done machinima I've done marketing I've done key accounts um so you look like you're in business only in high school you know you know you know I don't know if if you you guys know such a person in school there's only that person who comes from home with the with stuff to sell in in high school no I did do that I never did that I never did that but I've done marketing most of my life so I know how to market a product I know how to get a mark I know how to get a product to the supermarket I know how to move it I know how to you know I know how to get shares in on a shelf so procurement comes in handy also but mostly I've done marketing my entire life yeah all right and now let's look at the markets um itself you know how was it now you've you've you've acquired your products now you want to to to market them outside there you want to sell them you want to ensure that you're felt um so that when somebody goes to the supermarket or to the uh to a particular store it is your product that they get okay so number one I'm still on a low-skill level but my product is out there I've been doing um remember when you started I mentioned government regulations there's the standardization mark you need to get for the product to get to the market right so when I started uh I wrote on the fact that my supplier my my supplier in Mombasa has this standardization mark but apparently we need to get into a contract for him to say that I am strictly going to stock his products which are which which are past the standardization so um so that is a process that I'm currently undertaking it has to be like a partnership so it means going forward I will only buy from him which is fine because so far his prices have been good so far there is a good rapport you've you've you've ensured that everything is good everything is safe number two I need to so the product has been in the market without the standard standard mark um and uh I want to say I thank the Zuri foundation for enabling enabling me meet the cabs officials who are able to take me to through the process and then I started the process so I'm in the process of getting the mark then now I'm rolling out the brand yeah in June so what I've done mostly currently I'm doing social media social media is a very powerful marketing tool statistics say that 37.8 billion people on the planet use use use social media that's approximately 48 percent of the total global population and uh it also says that um we spend an average of 2.5 hours on social media in a day so you can imagine the power of social media very powerful yeah that's how you get in a gathering and everyone is on their phones they're on social speaking of social media now how can somebody find you on social media as even as you continue this conversation so that we do it you know as we talk yes I'm on Instagram at Pishi Bora Spices and Facebook Pishi Bora Spices I'm also on Twitter as Pishi Bora Spices so check her out yeah check her out Pishi Bora Spices on social media so you've managed to grab hold of this particular uh you know media platforms and you're taking your photos there yeah and and your clips are up there I do photos I do tutorials I do um I do testimonials I do so mostly I do I do videos on stories like I post twice a week just so I don't overwhelm my also my customers and my fans and I also do just when there's a weekend I do photos of what's gonna be happening you know so I keep the social media very engaged and currently how much 1200 followers which is a good thing for me because that's a good thing yeah I started from one to two to three and then I'm at 1200 and the brand is still young so I believe the brand is as the brand grows social media also grows but also um most of myself come from the social media from referrals someone interacts with my brand they they share their testimonials I put them on social media somebody else comes in and reads and uh gets to try the brand I love the fact that you appreciate small beginnings and the value baby steps I love the fact that you know you're you're not in a hurry to expand quickly you want to take a step by step even as you consult but throughout this particular journey what are some of those challenges you faced those things that you know right right now you can remember you're like wow that was that that was something number one just identifying the right spice was a big problem for me I come from western Kenya we used to eating normal food you know grew up in the village so there's am I right yes yeah so for me to even just start this spice business getting the right spice you know freshness you know um the aroma you know the authenticity it was a journey for me that's why I had to go back and forth back and forth until I got to the right spice but at some point don't you quite a loss because you end up buying what you it's business that's business you if if you come if you start a business and then me kama to tom dogo when that baby starts crawling am I walking they always fall are they gonna sit down and say I'm not gonna work again because I'm gonna fall no you wake up dust and move on it's business as as much as it's a small business and the finances are a bit tight you do not settle for failure you're like you I was like you know what this didn't work but I need to move forward I need to move forward to the next thing until this works yeah yeah and and and I love that one comes to now the your own setup at you at the the family setup um do you now have like you know you know for example I have this friend who sells food products okay so when you go to his home the whole sitting room um is full of you know items that they are they are selling and you're like oh uh so where do we sit because I hope I'll be a sit up oh wow okay yeah so it's it's a big yeah so it's a big challenge for for this guy to you know try to move around but I love the fact that uh you're doing that as you're you know trying to make ends meet but let me come to the aspect of you being a mother and I'm not going to ask you how you balance okay that's not what I want to ask because I believe a woman has the strength and the power to do so yeah yeah so I want to ask this particular question how is the reception at the family level being that yes you are a woman and for many they would consider that some of these businesses you know you know there's that aspect of gender based uh uh you know um uh gender based perception yeah but who should do what yeah there's that biasness yeah and what priority should we give to somebody how has it been for you um let me take you back I was uh I was raised by a single mum who was seven of us yeah my mum back then when I was young that is early 80s my mum was very resilient so my mum trade my mum was a grocery trader she would bring lorries of groceries from Mount Elgon to Mumias I grew up in Mumias wow yeah so my mum will bring lorries of groceries from Mount Elgon tomatoes onions cabbages kumawiki and sell to people back then yeah back then people had this notion that uh business minded women were from a certain tribe you know yeah business minded women were probably from the Kikuyu tribe my mum is Luya and she was able to do all this on her own so that all of us could go through school you know so my mum has been like I draw this for my mum you know the resilience my mum was able to fight buyers back then my mum was able to fight I mean uh all sorts of uh worlds against women entrepreneurs back then so I look at her and right now as an entrepreneur I tell myself there's nothing I can't do there's nothing that I can't sell there's nothing like you're a woman and this is not your space you know I can exist in the entrepreneurial world knowing that I'm a human being apart from being a woman and that I can achieve whatever I want my family has been very supportive because um they understand where I'm coming from as much as um you know you have that sister who always wants to sell things to you in the family I have one I can relate I'm that sister like I have this I'm gonna buy um I've even sold handbags I've sold fashion accessories and everyone in my it always starts with support from the family my brothers will buy my sisters my sister in laws you know everyone in the family so everyone has been supportive to me and that helps me to even just be confident in propelling myself father and when it comes to the interest itself have you you know gone through um or experience that aspect of gender-based biasness in the industry as you're trying to get your progress out there so seeing and of course marketing yeah because um pishibora is still very young but some people think there is me and somebody else you know who's who's pishibora pishibora is just for pishibora is latest nahumisha semi behind it there's no other person behind it it's my it's my baby I call it my fourth baby so when people ask who are your partners I am the founder I am the proprietor of course as the company grows there's going to be partners on board but currently I am them you know so appropriate of the yeah yeah and and I love the fact that you say you know people always have this perception that okay you are alone um who's there who's back there with you you know you're not alone tell us who's on the side with you if behind a man there is behind as I said from mother is a woman not about behind a woman there must be a man somewhere there's no man the only man behind my back are my sons yeah and my brothers yeah now um what is that now inspires you every single day because I'm looking at you um starting a business during a time of covid yeah when everyone is closing shop you're starting on yeah in terms of of of of gender you've managed to say what you know what I'm going to influence other women to do to do better yeah I picked up from my mother and I'm going to transfer it even to other women outside there what inspires uh you as a person number one I have passion for what I do um every day when I wake up in the morning I want to see my brand out there however small it is I want it to be I if I ever manage to do a statistics of how many houses I've reached here I'll share with you one day but I have passion for what I do number two I want to see better for myself even do you know when you grow up from a certain background and then now you're like my kids are not gonna grow up like me my kids are gonna have better so it keeps me going every single day because you have a better future for somebody yeah I want a better future for them for my children number one and then also for for the women that work with me remember when Shibora uh it was at the peak of covid right so there was this um there was isolation for this group called the mamafua you know mamafua waliwa nakanga in jaget yeah families isolated them because they did not need to someone to clean for them because now everyone was working from home you don't need extra help so most of these women were stranded I was also um unemployed an employer of them at some point because they would come do laundry for me but now I'm working from home I don't need anyone to do laundry so what am I what's gonna happen so some of them will approach me and they're like kakuna kibarua I'm like kakuna but niki skia nita kwangbia so when I saw a pishibora was like there's branding there's weighing there's branding there's a lot of activities that take place for the product too you know to stand out so I I go to of them two that are known for quite some time so they come every time I'm doing the packaging branding the every the whole process they come help me then I give them something small and even as I I grow I grow as the company grows I'm planning to employ more of them they only need few special skills which can be trained you know and then now by doing that I feel that like I'll be empowering somebody else you know if I'm giving them this job and they don't have very special skills but I can train them they'll have food on the table for their kids they'll have a guaranteed salary you know yeah so I I I want to see better for everyone else through pishibora I want to see that um I bring happiness and joy in people's home when you come home imagine coming home to a pilau you know cooked with pishibora coming home to that whole tea cooked with pil pishibora to masala look at the bbqs on Sundays you know uniting families that is my passion and I that's what drives me every day yeah now I want us to wrap this and not to give you time to have a final word I'll take on for the day but even as you do that speak to somebody watching it this morning somebody who wants to do what you're doing they are still