Hustle Gang: What you need to know about the t-shirt printing business
sde.co.ke - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from sde.co.ke Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Hustle Gang: African history inspired my t-shirt printing business
Tajiri founder Ferdnand Muganda. Photo: Courtesy.
Ferdnand Muganda, a communications graduate is the brain behind Tajiri, a luxury brand currently producing t-shirts. He shares his experiences in the t-shirt branding business, challenges, opportunities, youth unemployment and more.
What’s the inspiration behind the Tajiri brand?
Mansa Musa, the tenth Mansa of the Mali Empire who’s considered one of the richest people to ever live. He was so wealthy that at one point, he was going on a pilgrimage to Mecca and when he made a stopover in Egypt, he caused an economic inflation. He inspired the name Tajiri.
Hustle Gang: Exorbitant courier fees inspired my business- Mate Tongola
What spurred your business idea?
I wanted to send a birth certificate to the U.K to one of my relatives and when I approached several courier companies, they were charging around Sh8,000. This was too costly given my package weighed less than 10 grams. I resolved to look for a solution to the problem. I approached a cargo company and we struck a deal that if I brought them more business they’d give me a good discount.
The business is named after my son Maleek who’s turning six in January. I want to change the narrative that you have to take your kid to school, afterwards they go for attachment and start looking for a job. I want to save him the hustle.
Hustle Gang: I sell eggs from a Mercedes Benz, employ masters students There are no white collar jobs, but if you look around, there are many other job opportunities.
Salesio Njiru cuts a confident figure as he stands at the back of his gleaming Mercedes Benz to sell eggs from the boot of the car. It is around 6 pm and the car is parked on a busy street near the Embu-Nairobi bus park for maximum exposure to customers. For Sh10 per egg, while shops and supermarkets sell an egg at Sh12, customers stream in to buy the commodity. In two different streets in the same town, and also in the neighbouring towns, Njiru has employed agents to sell eggs for him on a commission basis. Njiru counts his unique marketing model that has created jobs for scores of youth as one of the successes and fulfilments for pursuing self-employment. In 2005 when he was 47 years, the former agricultural extension officer with the Ministry of Agriculture quit his job to delve into agribusiness.
vimarsana © 2020. All Rights Reserved.