Betty Kainyu narrates her journey into self-employment & owning a catering business

David Kiarie

January 5, 2021 8:44 PM

Soon after completing high school education, Ms. Betty Kainyu went out looking for employment, and guess what, she got a job as an Mpesa attendant. She would later get employed by her former high school as a peer teacher, and months later, she was selling mitumba in Ngara, Nairobi.

Ms. Kainyu currently owns “The Rainbow Plate”, a catering services company

Ms. Kainyu who currently owns “The Rainbow Plate” a catering services company based in Kasarani started thinking about self-employment, a journey she says has been very beautiful and full of lessons.

“My self-employment journey has been very beautiful, it has taught me things like patience because sometimes there’s plenty of work, and sometimes there’s no work at all, and I have learned that I’m not supposed to be extravagant when there is work because there are also low seasons. I’m not supposed to lose hope, and look at low seasons as a challenge and find a way to make it better. It has taught me how to network and teamwork,” she said.

Kainyu who is now her own boss says she has been able to achieve this, with the help of 2jiajiri, whose launch she saw on TV and was interested in joining the program. She applied and was called for an interview and later awarded the scholarship.

She noted that 2jiajiri has supported her in many ways, including; registering her business, getting licenses and county council permits, and also in upgrading her kitchen so that she can be efficient and effective.

“One of the greatest support KCB gave me was training, they gave me a scholarship, paid for the entire course where we were taught life skills, and entrepreneurship and then we were given chances to go for internship and I chose to begin the business immediately because I believe the training we underwent was good enough to help me soar,” stated Kainyu.

2jiajiri is an enterprise development programme that aims to catalyze job and wealth creation for youth across Eastern Africa. The youth are trained in: Agribusiness, Automotive Engineering, Beauty and Personal Care, Building and Construction, Domestic Services, and Information and Communications Technology sectors.

The program is designed to prepare them for entrepreneurship, thus spurring the growth and development of Micro, Small and Micro Enterprises (SMEs) in the region.

Betty Kainyu added that 2jiajiri made her independent and can sustain her family. They have also helped her add value to other people’s lives by creating employment and she now has four employees. She hopes to employ more in the future.

Betty Kainyu said that despite the support, she faces challenges like having inadequate personnel, lack of machinery, and appliances like a fridge, which means she cannot sell certain foods.

She added that 2jiajiri is a program she recommends to any young person looking to start a business soon. 2jiajiri also allows for skilled young people to seek employment if it works for an individual.

"To join 2jiajiri, all you need is your personal details and the zeal. To young people who do not have money to start businesses, I urge you to enrol with 2jiajiri and KCB will sort you from there,” said Betty Kainyu.

David Kiarie