Everybody loves a good grass to grace story, and in this article, Nairobileo.co.ke, takes a look at the life journey of Charles Njiru Mkombozi, a humble tailor who rose to own a multi-million empire.
Njiru is the definition of self-made, he made his way from the bottom to the top. He is the owner of Nice Digital City and Nice Rice Millers in Mwea.
If you have travelled along the Makutano-Mwea-Embu Road, high chances are you must have seen the establishments as you go through Mwea town.
Njiru started working in the 1980s. He was a tailor and made about Ksh300 per month. He would later switch employees and he began earning per job done. For every trouser, he earned Ksh2 and Ksh1 per shirt.
He later quit tailoring and went back to his Karaba home where he ventured into farming. He grew tomatoes and french beans on a 10-acre piece of land.
The agriculture venture too proved tough. He had only managed to save Ksh2,500 after four years of farming. He decided to sell second-hand clothes.
Njiru took a loan of Ksh500 from a friend, topped up his savings, and ventured into the business. After two months, he quit.
“I then saw an opportunity in agrochemicals. I bought a carton of several products and started hawking them in Mwea town,” Njiru told Business Daily in 2015.
He has also had a stint in the agrochemical business. The venture took off well and Njiru made Ksh300,000 in just six months. However, competition became stiff and profits began to take a dive.
The Nice proprietor quit after three years.
Njiru also ventured into the matatu, transportation of sand and construction material, and brewing businesses. He however quit all of them for various reasons. Dishonesty and high operation costs were some of them.
“My life in business has been so hostile, but I believe that in every adversity, there is a way out,” he told the publication.
Rice milling eventually became his breakthrough. Njiru had set up a brewery for Ksh3 million but after he failed to secure a licence, he converted the premise to a maize milling company.
There was a prolonged drought in the region and maize farming was gravely affected. However, one crop was thriving and had overwhelmed millers with supply, rice.
“Farmers were waiting for three months to have their rice milled at government-owned mills.
“Rice farmers started flocking my maize mill looking for storage and eventually I started milling for them," Njiru said.
Mwea became a popular stoppage point for travellers who wanted to buy rice. Due to the boom in business, Njiru saw an opportunity and constructed a mall. According to Business Daily, the mall cost Ksh1 billion to construct.
The property rests on 8 acres of land and is a major attraction to travellers and revellers.
“I own and operate all the facilities in the mall except the chemist which I have rented out.
"Visitors can use the gardens for free as long as they commit to spending on drinks and food from the hotel," Njiru said.
The billionaire businessman runs the empire with the help of his family. His wife and three children are all in charge of different sectors.
His two sons run the hotel, supermarket, and petrol station while his daughter oversees over 300 workers in his other business.
By 2015, Njiru had become a multi-millionaire with the first-ever rice wagons worth Ksh13.2 million that distribute about three tonnes of grain from his milling factory to various counties on a daily basis.
Nice Rice Mill mills 150 tonnes a day and is responsible for about 70 per cent of the over 40,000 tonnes of rice produced in Mwea every year.
According to Njiru, the factory is worth over Ksh300 million. It mills farmers’ rice at Ksh3 per kilogramme and also provides storage facilities and market space for free. He also sells farmers’ rice for an extra commission.
The business has over 80 permanent staff and about 5,000 others indirectly through transport and retail.
He has since ventured into rice wagons – fabricated vehicles that deliver Pishori rice to Tharaka Nithi, Kirinyaga and Embu counties. He has since expanded to Nairobi, Nanyuki and Nakuru.
Njiru incurred a total cost of Ksh13.2 million in assembling the 24 wagons. He uses them to distribute about three tonnes of rice from his milling factory to three counties every day.
“Mobile shops are the model of the future. I learnt this during visits to India, China and Dubai,” the 59-year-old entrepreneur said during the interview.
“My dream is to have a wagon in every town in the country.”
Njiru's business empire comprises Nice Digital City, Nice Rice Mills, Nice Charcoal, Nice Mineral Water, Nice Bakeries and Nice Jikos.
Nice Digital City has a supermarket, a 75-bed hotel, swimming pool, chemist and gardens, among other amenities.
All the below photos are courtesy of the Nice Digital City Facebook page.
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