Denis Opudo
Aggrey Odhiambo is an entrepreneur who makes carpets and doormats. The 48-year-old father of two runs his business in Kisumu Kenya opposite the town’s main bus stage. He got the knowledge of making the marts from his close Zimbabweans friend while staying in Botswana. He used his three years that he stayed in Botswana well by learning how to stitch carpets.
Odhiambo started the business on 20th July 2017 after getting back to Kenya using a starting capital of sh14, 000. But the journey has not been smooth since then. The main challenge that he faced was where to get the right stitching needles. He first used to import the needles from South Africa. According to him, he met two Tanzanian citizens who used to make punch needles in Kisumu. From them, he discovered that he was in a position to make his own punch needles through improving on his own needles.
He now makes the needles by using the locally available materials like other needles and wires. This has made him expand his revenue generation where he now sells the needles at a price of Sh 300 each. On a day when the business is good, he can take home Sh 1,500 from the sale of the needles. He admits that the business has been a success given the fact that he has managed to train more individuals on the same field. However, he generates most of his income from selling of carpets and doormats. He has gone ahead and perfected his art of making the products via YouTube videos.
Odhiambo works with his brother Musa Ochieng. Ochieng is an artist by profession. He helps Odhiambo by designing the patterns before starting the threading work. According to Ochieng, he uses maker pens to have drawings of patterns on a piece of sack. He uses various drawings from flags of different countries, social media emojis, cartoons, colorful images, and flowers. He says that they do make good use of locally available materials to come up with neat carpets.
Apart from doormats and carpets, they make toilet rags and table mats of different designs and sizes. The price of the smallest doormat is Sh 750 and the floor carpets range from Sh 15,000 and Sh 30,000. They usually make sales of Sh50, 000 on doormats, carpets, and needles. They have customers in Kisumu, Mombasa Nairobi, and Kampala, Uganda. Ochieng who was trained by his brother on how to stitch the carpets also teaches individuals on how to stitch at a cost of Sh500 a day.
According to Odhiambo, he received a mixed reaction when he started. This is due to the fact that others used to tell him that he was doing the female job. The only way that his critics went silent is when the business becomes successful. Currently, many people have joined the business with a good number of men in it. He has so far trained not less than 1,000 people on the same. He has received a good support from his family and his three daughters know how to stitch. The eldest of them is in a position to make needles. Odhiambo says that the business has helped him pay for his daughter’s school fees. He adds that one needs a starting capital of only Sh1, 000 to put up the business.
