Interview in Kibera, largest slum in Africa

      Elizabeth being interviewed By Gideon from uganda and Saga from Denmark (Global Citizens)

Challenges faced by small scale business in Kibera, Nairobi city, Kenya

Early this we visited Elizabeth who finds it competitive to run her own business in Kibera. She faces the challenge of earning enough money to pay her rent and sent her children to school. She moved to Kibera in 1998 together with her husband and children because it was closer to school and her husband’s job. After some years living as a housewife, she found it difficult that her husband didn’t earn a permanent monthly salary so she decided to open her own shop. In 2004 Elizabeth went to the local market with only 300 KSH in her hands and bought: sukuma wiki to resell it in her local area. That was how she started her life as a businesswoman. Over the years her shop developed and she started to have a bigger assortment. She started to save up for her dream of getting her own kiosk, which meant that they had a lack of diversified food. In December 2013 her dream came true and she opened up her own kiosk just beside her house in Kibera. There a 1 million people living in Kibera and the conditions are extremely poor, and most of its residents lack access to basic services, including electricity and running water. Everyone has to make a living and earn money for rent and school and many has their own business just like Elizabeth, which means that the competition is very high. She collaborates with the competition by advertising her shop threw her regular customers and making good deals. Her main focus point is her costumers so she offers good customer care and is always willing to help and negotiate. The biggest challenge of this competition is that there is no permanent monthly salary, which means that sometimes she can’t afford to pay her rent and her children’s school fees. Elizabeth has got 4 biological children and 4 orphans that she is taking care of, and that also means that sometimes it’s too expensive to afford medical help. She is dreaming about extending her shop, so she could get a bigger monthly income and secure her children’s future and health.