I have been in Kenya for about a month now. Before leaving, I remember being told, “the internship is what you make it.” I didn’t really understand what that meant until I arrived here. We are given a tremendous amount of freedom in our work, and it took a period of adjustment before I truly appreciated it.
Our progress for the past month:
- FITI has obtained KEBS approval (Similar to ISO approval in North America)
- We have determined a short, medium, and long-term strategic plan of objectives we hope to accomplish by next month, end of summer, and end of one years’ time, respectively
- Made progress on a preliminary financial model comparing different methods of probiotic yogurt production, reported on local competitors, and are now working on a potential partnership report for our supervisors
- Sold yogurt on campus (70 bottles sold within 2 hours!), sold yogurt in Migori (rural town 8 hours to the west of the capital, Nairobi)
- Posted a job vacancy in search of a permanent manager for the kitchen
For the next couple weeks, we plan to:
- Try producing yogurt with Uji and Mala. Uji is a popular Kenyan drink that is also consumed in other African countries (under some variation in name). Mala is similar to yogurt, but is longer-lasting and cheaper. From some preliminary market research, we have discovered that yogurt is consumed by middle and upper class in Kenya, which may present challenges in entering into rural communities, which are the Kenyans we are ultimately intending to target with our product. However, Mala is consumed by rural citizens as it is cheaper to store as it does not need to be refrigerated and easily accessible by lower-income families.
- Officially launch Fiti in JKUAT to create awareness for our product.
- Conduct in depth target market research among JKUAT students and rural communities.
- Purchase equipment in preparation for opening our yogurt kitchen!
- Hold interviews for the management position.
- Approach 10 local stores and Uchumi supermarket headquarters to try to secure contracts for Fiti.
Some interesting things that have happened in the past few weeks:
- There was a bed bug issue with our apartment in Juja, so we spent about a week in a hotel in Nairobi. The day we came back to Juja, we had no mattresses, no electricity, no water, no bedsheets, no pillows, no blankets, and our rooms smelled of fumigation chemicals. We ended up sleeping on four newly purchased mattresses laid down on the floor side by side in a vacant apartment downstairs. I remember sitting on the staircase in the dark and preparing financial statements. Despite the situation, we somehow made it work.
- We went to Migori, a rural town 8 hours away from Juja on a JKUAT bus with 25 other students to participate in a JKUAT empowerment program. Our boss was so generous and kind enough to host us with her in her home. It was definitely interesting to share a house with about 35 other people (including our boss, her employees, and the drivers). While we were there, a few of us went to the marketplace to sell yogurt. At the market, a stray bull came running down the middle of the dirt road. People started shouting and about 10 men went running after it to hunt it down. It was definitely my first time being part of such a scene!
- Our neighbour partied for 30 hours straight in celebration of his brother getting his cast off. (He fell off the 3rd floor and broke his leg.)
I can say with all honesty I’m proud of how far I’ve come in the past month. At first, I was extremely nervous about doing anything by myself. Only looking back, do I realize how comfortable and well adjusted I’ve become in a short amount of time.
- I was nervous about navigating through the streets or even to campus alone in case I got lost. Now, I have no problem walking to/around campus, or taking a boda boda (motorcycle taxi) to the bank, or the supermarket alone.
- I was nervous about taking the matatu even with other people (kind of like public transit but operated by private companies/individuals). Now, I would not have a problem taking the matatu to Nairobi (about 30 minutes away from Juja) by myself.
- I was so terrified about not having ready access to wifi. But I realized, when I had a bit of free time in a place where I had great wifi connection (which has been rare in the past month), I realized there was nothing I really needed to do on the Internet.
- I was nervous I would not be able to meet people and make new friends, and that I would only be interacting with three other people, but now I can say I have my own friends. In my free time, I am even working on other start-up projects with Kenyan friends I have made.
This has been the most amazing and interesting internship experience so far. I feel like I’m learning something new every day.
Until next month!
Sophie