25/06/2023
*CEREAL BUSINESS IDEA IN KENYA – WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW*
Africa is a hungry continent and you can never go wrong if you invest in food business. Everyone needs to eat and the escalating rate of rural to urban migration means more new mouths to feed every day.
That is why the idea of starting a cereal shop is a good one. This is one of those businesses that you can start with as little as Ksh.20,000 and scale up to Ksh.1,000,000 in a year if you play your cards right.
Would you like to know more? Read the next few paragraphs.
Note: When i talk about cereals i mean dry grains e.g. maize, beans, green grams, groundnuts etc. Not breakfast cereals like corn flakes.
*Step 1: Getting Started*
First identify an ideal (preferably residential) location. This should be a place that is densely populated. Places like Githurai, Mwiki, Ruai, Kamulu, Thika Makongeni, Mtwapa e.t.c.
Generally open a shop in an area that is densely populated preferably with people of the lower and upper middle class income levels. A good room with enough foot-traffic in these areas can cost you anything from Ksh.5,000 per month.
*Step 2: Plan On What To Stock*
You don’t have to be a farmer to get your stock of cereals. There are many wholesalers who can supply you with your initial stock at a reasonable price (in Nairobi wholesalers are mainly found in Nyamakima area).
Alternatively you can plan for a trip to the rural areas so that you can negotiate for even cheaper prices. For instance, you can get cheaper rice from places like Mwea and Kagio or cheaper maize from Chwele in Western Kenya.
*Tips For Buying Stock*
*Make sure the grains are properly dried to prevent rotting as this could “burn” you.
*Timing is important. For instance, it is cheaper to acquire your maize stock when farmers are looking to empty their granaries awaiting the next harvest.
Some of the fast moving products out of a cereal shop include:
Beans: Nyayo, Rosecoco, Yellow beans, Mwitemania, Butter Beans, Gituru and Gachuma varieties.
Porridge Flour: Baridi, Wimbi, Mawele, Mtama, Ndimu.
Green Grams: Ordinary, Nylon, Makueni, Lentils.
Nuts: Njugu Mawe, Groundnuts.
Rice: Pure Mwea, Thailand, Pakistan, Sindano, Fivestar, Basmati, Brown Mwea.
So now up to this point, you have identified a good location and identified the best places to buy your initial stock. What next?
*Step 3: Get Licensed*
You only need to go to your sub-county offices to get this. The officers there will give you some forms to fill and then they’ll come to visit your premises. Then depending on the size of your premises they will issue you with a single business permit charge.
In some counties like Nairobi, you can book a 3 month, 6 month or 12 month license depending on how flexible you are financially.
*Step 4: Do Business*
It is likely that the first days of opening the shop will be dry days in terms of few customers. But instead of sitting in the cereal store and whining the whole day, the best thing would be to start by visiting institutions around you.
Make friends with the caterers, give them a good deal and they will gradually become your customers. Apply for tenders from local organizations also.
As for the day-to-day customers, sell to them on a cash-only basis – avoid selling on credit. From my research, credit sales are the main cause of failure for small cereal and whole grain outlets.
*How Much To Invest*
Ksh.20,000 – Ksh.80,000
*How Much To Expect*
Returns vary depending on where you buy your stock and how aggressively you resell it. On average you get 25% net profit.
Also think of having a posho mill along side this business so that you can tap more profits.
*Final Word*
The good thing with starting a cereal shop is that unlike other ideas you can start this immediately. Typically, apart from securing a good location, quality stock and the county license there are no other major requirements for starting.
And you don’t have to spend the whole day in the shop to ensure your workers conduct themselves appropriately.
So in other words, you can either start this as a full-time business or as a side-hustle. You only need to invest in stock cards so that you can track how and when every kilo of cereal is bought from your shop.
The returns are however not as mouth-watering as you would expect especially if you are one of those who dream of getting rich overnight.
This is the kind of business where you start small and grow big especially as you build connections with institutions and hotels around your place.
Also don`t forget to join our training on Raising Business Capital.
We have created a WhatsApp group called, *RAISING BUSINESS CAPITAL*
In this group we are going to train and teach you for 21 days, various ways of raising funds to start your business or grow your already existing business.
About six years after I have been studying every aspect of entrepreneurship, I discovered that the same tactics we men are using to woo ladies (and which ladies are using to attract men) are the same tactics that smart entrepreneurs are using to get all the capital they need to start or grow a business.
That is why in this business training, I will be relating getting capital with getting a girl you love.
Since love affairs between men and women are practical life`s situation all of us can relate with, you are going to enjoy this training. You will not only enjoy this training; it will change your financial life forever.
The training will start on Wednesday, 5th July 2023.
We have prepared a program or schedule on how our Training will be conducted.
Our training on how to Raise Business Capital will take 21 days (Monday to Friday, excluding weekends)
We will be educating/teaching you from 9.am to 2.pm by posting articles, images, PDF documents and videos. And from 2.pm to 7.pm the group will be open for discussions, questions and answers.
*NOTE*: The training won't affect your daily schedules. You can access all the information posted in the training group at your own free time.
Also our training will be on weekdays only, Monday to Friday, excluding weekends so that those who will be busy during the weekdays can catch up with our training over the weekend.
Below is a schedule of what will be learnt on each day of our training.
DAY 1: Introduction to raising Business Capital and evaluating if your Business idea is really a Good One
DAY 2: Preparing your mindset to deal with the challenges involved with raising capital
DAY 3: Crafting a great business plan
DAY 4: How to Write a Fundraising Proposal
DAY 5: Choosing your Path to Fund Raising (Debt Vs. Equity)
DAY 6: How to raise seed capital from family and friends
DAY 7: How to raise capital by liquidating assets
DAY 8: How to raise capital by Bootstrapping your business
DAY 9: How to raise capital through Supplier Credit & Customer Lenders
DAY 10: How to successfully raise funds from financial institutions (Banks)
DAY 11: How to raise funds from SACCOs / Chama
DAY 12: How to raise funds from Angel Investors
DAY 13: How to raise funds from Venture capitalists
DAY 14: How to raise funds through Crowdfunding & Peer-to-peer lending
DAY 15: How to raise funds through Hard money loans and Shylocks
DAY 16: How to Get Business Grants (Grants from NGOs and Government business grants)
DAY 17: How to Raise Funds through Competitions (prize money, in-kind awards)
DAY 18: How to Raise Funds through Mergers and Acquisitions
DAY 19: How to Finance your Business Expansion with Equipment Leasing and Outsourcing.
DAY 20: Taking your company public through IPO
DAY 21: Conclusion
To join our *RAISING BUSINESS CAPITAL* WhatsApp group, it will cost you only Ksh.200.
This Ksh.200 is a small fee to enable you receive all the training on how to Raise Business Capital for 21 days.
You can make your payment of Ksh.200 only by Mpesa to 0702253176(Ziphorah Musyoki) and we will add you to our *RAISING BUSINESS CAPITAL* Training WhatsApp group.
Don't miss this training. It's a once in a life time opportunity.
Remember this training will be for 21 days and starts on Wednesday, 5th July 2023. Make your payment early to avoid last minute inconveniences.
For inquiries,
Contact us on WhatsApp or Call;
Godfrey Wambua
Businessman and mentor
0112466482
Ziphorah musyoki
Entrepreneur
0702253176.