Agatha Nkirote, a Kenyan content creator and entrepreneur, recently shared her story of business failure on her YouTube channel, which boasts over 50,000 subscribers. In her video, Nkirote recounts the challenges she faced after investing all her money in a mitumba (second-hand clothing) business.
Previously employed at a well-paying Chinese company, Nkirote felt unfulfilled in her job. Driven by a desire to venture into entrepreneurship, she decided to leave her position and start a second-hand baby clothing shop at the bustling Toi Market with a friend.
“I believed that baby clothes in the mitumba business would always have a market since children are constantly being born,” Nkirote explained.
Initially, everything seemed promising until they purchased their first bale of clothes from an Indian vendor along Mombasa Road. This bale, worth Ksh 13,000, turned out to be mostly rejects.
“When I opened the bale, I almost cried. Nearly the entire bale was filled with rejects. I was devastated. If you don’t have someone to guide you on which bales to buy, you’ll face many challenges,” she said.
Despite this setback, she managed to sell the few good items, making Ksh 4,000. With the help of her friend, she found a different supplier for her next stock.
“I got another bale, and it looked promising. The next weekend, I sold Ksh 5,400 worth of clothes and was thrilled. I always had at least Ksh 1,000 or Ksh 500 during the week from passers-by,” she added.
Nkirote’s goal was to reach the earnings of her peers, who made over Ksh 20,000 daily. However, her aspirations were derailed when the COVID-19 pandemic struck.
A viral video claimed that second-hand clothes from abroad could carry the virus, causing people to avoid buying mitumba clothes, particularly baby clothes, due to their sensitivity to diseases.
“Who would buy clothes for their kids with the risk of infection? There were no customers at all. We would open the shop and sit outside, waiting for a single client, but no one came,” she recalled.
The situation worsened when the government introduced social distancing in public transport, leading to increased fares. Nkirote found herself spending Ksh 500-600 daily on transport, without any customers to offset the costs.
Unable to afford daily commuting, she decided to only open the shop on weekends.
“Within a month, I was so broke I couldn’t even afford the fare to go to the shop. I started going only on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, but still, no customers came,” she explained.
Her stock remained unsold, with another bale stuck at the port of Mombasa for three months. Eventually, she had no choice but to close her shop. Nkirote attributed her business’s failure to a lack of proper research.
“Entering a business with the fantasy that people are making money, without thorough research, will lead to failure,” Nkirote warned.
