Episode 40 — transcript

She Quit IFC, No Plan. God Said Go. Now She Makes the Nets on Your Tomatoes Juliet Ndanu Msafi-Net

This transcript is generated automatically by YouTube and has not been checked by a person. It misspells names and mishears words, particularly around Kenyan English and company names, so read it as a guide to the conversation rather than a quotable record. Each timestamp opens the video at that moment.

0:03 [Music] Greetings ladies and gentlemen and welcome to episode 40. Would you believe we celebrate this milestone of 40 episodes of the African Do podcast where we tell stories of excellent Africans executing excellently in Africa. So today we are privileged to have uh Juliet Womba of Blue Osprey Limited, but you probably know her products better by their trading name, which is Msafiet. If you have ever bought onions or tomatoes uh from a supermarket, they are that stretchy nets that that you get and you pack things in. That's Msafinet and Juliet Womba is behind that. So Juliet, welcome to the African Do podcast.
Thank you. Thank you so much for having me here.
So Juliet, uh let me start a bit differently and and take you on and say that uh I found out that you are once a banker. Yeah. And not only a banker, but you are a banker with IFC.

1:07
Yeah.
One would argue that uh that's the epidome of banking. You're playing with the big boys. You're playing in the big leagues. and yet you you leave all that behind and come into the world of entrepreneurship. So maybe start before you even get to IFC take us back. Where did you come from? What did you study? And how did you end up in your entrepreneurial space?
Great.
Yeah.
So as I said, my name is Juliet. Uh most of the people out here call me Danu, but you can call me Juliet. I am a finance professional.
Uh my background is in accounting. I am a certified public accountant and I'm also a BCOM finalist. Okay.
At a degree level.
Mhm.
Um I'm also um I have done work in capital in the capital market sector. That's where I started my career off immediately after school. and uh um in 2015 I I became a consultant for the World Bank Group.

2:17
Okay.
Um I started off uh supporting projects in banking on women in uh theme banking and then uh I think in 2019 I became an analyst a financial analyst. So I have uh I've I would say I have about 9 years of experience working with banks in uh in Africa.
Yes. um supporting uh financial institutions in terms of developing products for for women formemes for uh risk management for the different um instruments I would say that
uh that banks deal with uh when it comes to supporting their clientele.
Yes.
Um so um just to you know um just give you a brief uh transition and how it happened. Um uh so I had I had worked in this institution for 9 years which is IFC the International Finance Corporation

3:22
and it's the private uh uh sector arm of the World Bank Group.
Yes. Um and uh by the time I was in year 8, you know, um I don't know if it is something that happens to everyone, but for me, I started asking myself the questions of uh uh how long am I going to be here? How long am I going to be an analyst? How long am I going to to to move in this institution? Like what is what is the timelines that are set in place for me to work in the departments that I'm in? So the the question started hitting loud on a daily basis and
from a dissatisfaction perspective or how
it was more of a I need a bigger challenge.
Okay.
Not a dissatisfaction per se but it was more from I need a bigger challenge. I've done this for 9 years and I feel uh I have grown into the skill

4:20
and now I need a bigger challenge. So um come year 9 uh I asked myself the difficult question am I in the right place uh is my challenge going to come from this institution or where is it going to come from and um I prayed about it I'm a believer
I prayed about it and um in seeking of understanding where I'm going to go
I remember the Lord speaking to me clearly and telling me if you trust me you will have to leave this job.
Mhm.
It was not easy. It was not an easy decision to make.
Um but it had to be made. And uh
so you're a you're a cold turkey. You just work at the papers and there's nowhere you can't see where you're going.
You didn't have something. You hadn't created something.

5:14
I had nothing on my hands. I I didn't even know I was going to go into manufacturing.
Okay.
At all at all. So you just write your resignation and
I resignation without even knowing where the next step was. And the the the challenge that I received from God was I know where I'm taking you but I will not
give it unto you now.
And I think as I look back now it was because where I was going to if he had told me where I was I would have said no I'm not really
but how how is that received on like a family front? You know we we are creatures of the society. Now
you're probably being celebrated there in Wukani. You know you're at IFC. You know your uncles and aunts speak loudly that daughter of ours in IFC and then you here you go.

6:04
Exactly.
Residing Bah for plan sensitizing them.
So how how was that handled on the family? No, you know, um my in fact, um my parents, I want to speak about my mom. Um every time she would introduce me to her friends and family, she would always be so proud to highlight she works at the World Bank. In fact, she used to say the World Bank and I would be quick to
like look at her with a corrective
uh site like it's not the World Bank. I work for IFC. But she would want to in fact she used to say IMF.
Yes.
Initially she used to say IMF and I was like no IMF is a totally different
institution
and then she moved to the World Bank
and then now to come to this decision where I have to resign.

6:56
Um it it was it was a very sensitive period and uh my parents my my dad and my mom uh had to sit me down. In fact, they they were so generous that when I asked when I said that I'm quitting, they took me out for lunch at Eka Hotel.
Mhm.
At the spas.
Yes.
To buy me steak because they knew of a food I can say anything.
Yeah.
So, I'm sitting on the table with them to Mula. We we we're full. We are done. And now now they ask me now tell us what has happened like why why that
there must be some kind of crisis why did you just decide to quit your job like that are you depressed um their concerns were is there someone who has hurt you at work
a book give us your boss's number we want to call your boss and find out

7:52
why did you make that decision like that
mhm
and uh I knew if I told them before I made the decision, it would never have happened because of, you know, the
the this is a good career, this is a good paying job. Why would you leave it? You know, it didn't make sense to anyone.
Um, but then immediately I got consent from my husband, my immediate family.
Then I knew it was time.
Yeah.
And everybody else would have to align to how the journey is is falling out. So I I I I held a conversation with them and while I was talking to them, that was after I have handed over my resignation. While I was talking to my parents is when um my my mom quickly said something and it struck that is the thing that I'm going to do.

8:47
Um she after after I've explained and told them that I'm not leaving because someone has done anything. I have not done anything. I've not disrupted the whole career by getting into any messy deals or anything like that, but it's just a decision for a new season that is coming in. I don't know what it is,
but I know I'm walking into it. So my mom said uh my mom is she moves on quickly into ideas and things and she quickly grasped that my daughter is is is about to be uh available for something that I have been chasing for in my dreams and she would be the perfect candidate to to bring it to fruition. Mhm.
So she quickly says, "By the way, Danu, you know, you can you can get into manufacturing and you can do the nets business

9:40
and I remembered uh my mom is a manufacturer as well."
Okay.
Um she does uh packaging bags. So when she said it, I remembered conversations we'd held before because every time we'd meet with her, she'd be like, "Aka, I want to do this business so bad, but I can't because I don't have the capacity in terms of time."
Yeah.
So she told me because you you you are my daughter, I know you can do it. And I knew that moment
that this is what I was going to walk into.
So that's how my parents were like now we're starting a new thing and let's do it.
Uhhuh. So, how does that look like?
So, um I walk into this um um new space that is uh a go down.
Mhm.
That is empty. And this is a whole new story where my mom's go down is here and mine is the next one adjacent to it. The coincidence of that happening is one in a million.

10:40
But then the tenant comes over to my mom and says, "I'm tired of this space. um I want to get into another business. So I want you to take over this go down before the landlord gives it to somebody else. And apparently the same time my mom is having a conversation with me
regarding the nets business. M
so um I resigned my job in October 31st and my dad who is the chairman of uh our family group businesses um he tells me your reporting date of your new job is November 1. So I didn't even have time to to to to is it moon or is it to cry over the the last job I have had for 9 years. So it tells me on October one on November one you're inside your office. So I go into this space uh there's nothing in the go down except the

11:33 previous tenants items which were like hook candle
and um I am sitting in a go down that has nothing
except one chair
and uh I don't know how or where the things are going to come from but I know that they're going to be there. M
um so um that was in October. So my parents
What year is this by the way?
This is in 2023.
Okay.
Yes.
Yeah.
So my my parents because we've identified the business uh we start having conversations with the suppliers of the machines and uh we start discussing about how we're going now to import the machines. So my parents supported me into purchasing some of the machines.
I used my pension funds
to support to to buy the machines.
The pension from now your IFC job.

12:29
Yes.
And then now the business came to play.
What is uh what I need to highlight is I'm not doing this on my own.
Yes.
Uh my husband is also a part of this story.
Okay. So um he's uh he his background is in venture capital and he has worked with uh an institution that was supportingmemes in Rift Valley in terms of accessing uh funding or for their capital needs.
So my husband is at work and then one day he comes to this new office the go down and he looks at it and he looks at me and he's like you can't do this on your own. I have to be here with you. M
so he also made a decision to leave uh his job.
Okay. And uh uh him he came he okay he officially came in a little bit later than I.

13:25
Yes.
But then we both uh came into it and uh we bought the machines from China.
Uh came in hired staff h brought in um uh expertise to set up the machine the engineers that are required. Uh worked with the regulators and all those things. And uh now we have uh four machines that uh do the manufacturing of the packaging nets.
So let's speak a bit about this product. Yeah, this net product. So what's its base? What's the base? What raw materials are you using
uh to input and and and then create that?
So we have a two uh most important uh uh plastic type of materials. I don't want to get into the scientific knowledge of it but it's a propri material. It's pellets. They are like small pellets. And I pray that uh as part of these conversations if you can come to the site and see the specific um material but that but we have a high density one and a low density one. There's a ratio of mixing the two.

14:40
And then uh if you know the nets they come in different colors. So we have red, we have yellow, we have green,
purple, black, different. So there's another component of including the color that is usually added which is the master batch. Right? So that's what we use to mix in. And then it goes into this machine that is heating at about 260°
and it mixes the plastic together with the master batch. And then there's a dye where the holes are put in into the the the mixing and then it comes out like a net. I can't explain it unless I show that works for us. I guess we we have an understanding.
So would we say that
you benefited? Yeah.
Mhm.
From your mom's entrepreneurial experience because one in identifying the need um the opportunity let me call it that not the need in identifying that this thing is an opportunity.

15:42
Yeah.
Uh so you didn't have a long period of ideiation you know what business am I going into because you became a beneficiary. Is there is there truth to that?
Yes. There is a lot of truth to that.
Yeah.
Um and the transition was easier because my my parents have been there done that.
Um only that their focus is on a different type of product, right? But the I I I leveraged on their level of experience in the manufacturing sector
and um it really helped me to have a covering because you know um you know most of these businesses because of the process of ideation from concept up to implementation it takes even years for some for some people like you have to sit you do research you do but my parents having been in the market for some few years they knew the customers would come to them and say you know what why don't you do this for us why don't

16:45 you make this for us
and they would say I'm it's it's I'm working on it I'm looking for the capital I'm trying to figure out how it's going to be done so um and that's my parents and my brother too because my brother is equally uh he has contributed a lot in terms of uh bringing uh marketing and you distribution channels. Uh,
so you're all there.
We are all there.
The whole family is there.
All of us, we are there.
That's fabulous.
We are all of us there. So if you come, the office is our home. That's what my dad says. We spend more time here
at the office
than in the house. So in the house is just a mattress to sleep at.
Yes.
And a TV to watch news. But most of our days are spent in that space. So you you you come from with a very keen lens into manufacturing because you're from the other side the I call it the side that we struggle you know you're from the banking side and I know

17:47
many a Kenyan entrepreneur the the frustration we have is that we feel that
banking in a Kenyan context has very little understanding
of how entrepreneurship businesses in
a Kenyan context work,
you know.
Um, so what has your experience been now as a banker? You have now moved to the other side of the aisle.
Yeah.
And you're a manufacturer.
I think, uh, one of my major lessons that I have learned
is that there's a big opportunity for banks.
Mhm.
Um, and the banking sector at large to support businesses in in Kenya. um the vanilla way of doing it in terms of giving loans in terms of giving a basket as we were discussing
where someone can put in money
that is about to change

18:47
and the reason I'm asking is the reason I'm telling you this is because um having been there for two years now um and I look back to the times when I would develop I would help banks to come up with products uh financial products for uh addressing the needs of businesses. The conversation was being held from one side of the table, right? M
and u and by one side of the table I'm saying that there's the the the financing arm the the the donors the the DFIs the development finance institutions who are sitting together with the bankers on this side of the the the table right but on the other side of the table is the person who has done the business right um if you look at uh most businesses and I want to as we discuss this um if at all anyone will leave this

19:49 place with something is uh the focus on family structured kind of businesses. you know, uh, for some families, um, I would say out of what God has done for them and the blessings that he has brought upon them,
there's no need for capital,
right? The capital bit has been taken care of.
And also because of the cash flows, the the way the business is able to sustain itself,
sell and return back the money to buy material and sell and return. Yes,
that has been taken care of, right?
So, the bank account is probably being used as a channel to pass the money through.
Yes,
the customer uses the same bank account to pass the money through and that has been taken care of. The bank is already doing that. They've been doing that for years, right?

20:44
If there is need for financing, the bank has already done that. But for some institutions, for some clients, I would say for businesses, they've already skipped that hustle. I would say my parents went through the hustle of, you know, getting financing to set up their business and do that that conversation they held back then. But there's this next generation which is being taken care of maybe finance-wise by the parents. Yes. Yes. You see, so I don't need to walk into a bank to ask for a loan because that aspect of funding has already been taken care of from the family side.
You understand? So um it it it it it begs um or rather there's there's a big opportunity for banks to come in and ask themselves if if anme is able to get um um a bank account if anme is able to get funding what else can I give these people for me to remain as a relevant st stakeholder in the success of that business

21:57
and that's where the conversation needs to be held. So these people who are sitting on the other side of the table, they're happy to get banking services, they're happy to get uh funding if it is needed from the banks, but what more can be done, right?
So do you feel
first of all a couple of questions you've raised some very interesting
um I think you need to recognize the uniqueness of your family.
Yeah. and and and kudos to your parents in that regard
because um I've talked with many an entrepreneur
who suffer the opposite of your challenge in the sense that where they feel that they would want an opportunity for their parents
to give them that capital base and capital foundation to enable them to go and try something different. So the fact that you've got it is huge

22:54
even in this context.
So my my my my first my first maybe is a compliment not a question that compliments to your parents for enabling that kind of environment and giving you the space to go into this new thing and run with it and see where it takes you. That's great. But do you feel that uh the banking that vanilla banking structure you just described do you feel it's holding us back as a nation you know to unlock this potential that we'll speak more about as we get deeper into your business and who you're selling to and and where your business is located and so on. Do you think that the lack of that understanding of the businesses by the banks and that that table you described with IFC and the local banks or the DFIs and the local banks lacking the input solid input of the entrepreneurs on the ground? Do you think we're losing out?

23:53
I think we are. And the reason is a conversation that can never be held will never help to identify where the problems are.
Right? So um while I I I acknowledge that uh that there are businesses which are taken care of from the family side, there are still other entrepreneurs that have to go and access the funding. Yes. from the banks or from the venture capitalists or wherever they they can access the funds.
That is still an idea that is needed to be pursued. But I understand that when I'm when I'm when I'm letting you know that there's an opportunity for banks to go beyond that
is because when they do that when they get to understand how do I support this family
that has figured out

24:56
this element.
Yes. What more can I bring them to?
What does the beyond look like for you? Maybe we should go there. What does the beyond?
The beyond is going international.
Yes.
You get
regional scaling.
Yes. I want to be able to to to supply packaging nets even to the US.
Mhm.
I want to be able to get even to the Chinese market, right?
And the the the markets that are not easily accessible um in terms of any infrastructure that is available transport wise or anything. market because I have four four machines, right? But probably where the bank needs to come in and have a conversation is to dig deep and find out, are you sure you're comfortable with this space? Because the way I look at you, I see you can be able to set up several plans in different

26:07 countries according to how the bank is or or rather how the bank is willing to support you financially. Right? I'm looking at it from that angle. Um while these the there are some people who are still at that level of ideiation and getting financing for concept uh you know their concept notes. There are other people who the concept part which is where most banks usually find it risky to to finance uh most businesses. You go to a bank with a startup. If I had gone to any bank with that startup, no one would have given me that money because that's a risky venture. True.
Right. But because I have a family that has tested and tried the grounds, they have been in this business for some time and the customers whom they serve, they know this product if you bring it, it will bring value to the market. So what does my family do? They come in where the bank is not able to do that. You see when they do that they have given me a mile

27:14
right so that's where uh it is important for banks to come in and see how do I stand with these people otherwise um the the landscape is changing the financial landscape is changing now we have uh crypto coming in we have other um you um legal I would say currencies which are coming in now
and there is yes there's a lot that is that is going to start you know making people
want to figure out how does this bank help me how does this bank support my business how does it support me generations to come right and that's where the banks now need to to start
being more courageous on right while there's policy While there's regulation, while there's all of that,
there's still an understanding that the the the the world is not stopping, things are moving and the bank needs to move at a faster pace.

28:18
Very true.
So, let's now come into the the product. You invest in the machines, you're next to your mom, you you start producing the nets. Yeah.
Um, first of all, the the the name. Yes. Where does the name come from? Mafi net. Yeah. So, so this was just a conversation to be honest. There's no va voom to it.
Yes.
Uh we were just seated and uh how do we call this? And we started saying safi. So my mom has a a product a packaging bag that is called safi that is made out of virgin craft paper.
Okay.
It's called saffi. So we were like do we call it safet? No. We were like no safi you you have safi your bag and then my brother says let's call it mafi
okay
and mafi came to be

29:10
okay
and uh you produce
yes
but um where do you start selling it and and maybe we walk through a bit about how that journey has been of developing the customer um uh yours sound like a repeat uh kind of business so who's buying the net how does that landscape look like how do you distribute and so So I am a new manufacturer.
Yes.
Totally new manufacturer. Like no one has ever heard of Blue Osprey. No one has ever heard of Musafinet. So my husband and I um of course with the support of our parents and my my brothers um we really had to be very strategic on how we would come into the market. Mhm.
Um number one, we identified top talent. That was important for us. Um and by top talent, I'm talking about the the production team.

30:09
Mhm.
Uh we we we had to ensure that uh the team which is coming in has experience. They're not starting from scratch, but they have experience with um producing the net. Okay. Uh number two, we also had to look for top talent in marketing, right? Um I would say we didn't even look for top talent in marketing. The marketing professional themselves, they walked in when they heard that we had we had set up the business. So they came in and they said I can add value to your company. So it was more like a
it was more like a season of favor for us. Even for the production team, we identified like three four people who had experience and there were people who came and told us we've heard about this company that is owned by an African and we want to be part of the story.

31:06
Wow.
And the reason is because the net business is predominantly owned by Indians. Yes.
Right. So we were coming in with many machines. We were coming in with a lot of work and the production team was sure that there's a there's a form of job security in this place.
Okay. So the marketing person comes in and says I want to be part of this story because the production team I think you know how people talk to each other and say yo there's this company that's been set up are you interested go see them and see whether so the guy walks in and he says I want to help you with your marketing and that's where we we we we were given a a complete head start because it would have been We would have

31:58 to go fast and sit with our customers, introduce ourselves, build trust with them that we are able to meet their demand or the requirements that they have. But the marketing officer did that for us.
They came, they saw the machines, they are working, they're producing to the capacity that is needed in the market and they went out there and spoke for us and they did.
Who buys? Who are your buyers?
Who are our buyers? Our wholesalers.
Okay. We deal mostly with uh wholesale uh traders. These are the people who buy most of their stock from manufacturers and they stock them in a central place where retailers can come in and buy from them.
Okay.
So retailers are people from across the country,

32:46
different places um and also even outside the country. We have customers going all the way even to DRC.
Okay.
Yeah. Do you do you distribute to some wholesalers who are not Nairobi based?
Yes, we have wholesalers.
And how do you handle that distribution that logistics sides of thing? Do you have you outsourced it? Do you do it yourselves or how do
we work with the transport sector in this country?
Okay.
There are people who can be trusted, people who are reliable.
Yes.
You don't need even to meet the customer face to face. M there's there's a in fact I have a customer in Kital.
Yes.
We are good friends on phone.
You've never met?
I've never met him.
Me I know he he stays in Kital. I've been told he wears the moccorino thing.

33:34
Yeah. He has a tabor. Yes. I've never
you've never met him.
You never met him. He's never met me.
But we have such a good relationship on phone. We talk on a weekly basis. So walk us through uh that kind of using maybe that customer you've mentioned as an example. So how does it work? He calls.
So so he calls he says uh I want uh maybe like 10 bills right?
So what happens is um
I take the 10 bills I have a delivery person. He he takes it to the transporter
in town right in CBD. M.
So the transporter takes it and then delivers it to him amongst many other things to him. Yes.
Wow.
So we have
and your payment how how is his how how how does he pay?
He pays to he pays to the bank account.

34:25
To the bank. Okay. Straight to the bank. Okay.
Okay. And are you uh this this you're doing countrywide?
Yes.
I have not one not to so many.
Yes. people who are willing to do this business and the business is is is heavily re relying on trust.
Yes.
Yes. Everybody who is on that chain must be a trustworthy person
from the manufacturer all the way until the customer receives their goods.
Yeah.
Manufacturing in Kenya,
yes,
is something that many people are struggling with and lamenting about. We see if you're not a manufacturer
and you read the the news or or just you depend solely on on what is in the public domain
uh you'll hear a lot of uh doom and gloom you know cost of power

35:20
um e imports uh policy whether it's duties and so on. So maybe talk us through a bit from that angle of the business. How has your experience thus far been as a manufacturer?
Um I'll start off by this. Uh you know the Bible says that be as innocent as doves
and be as wise as serpents.
Mhm. So um I I understand that there are pain points in manufacturing
but uh what carries the day is that there are many people who are in manufacturing. In fact, when I went in, you know, I thought um like I thought I'm going to be like like one of the largest in the country until I started doing sightseeing and other manufacturing plants and I realized yo there are people who are doing big things here

36:20
and and they are truly achieving a lot in terms of production capacities. Um and when you look at that you see you know things like electricity costs you're seeing rental you're seeing um you know uh human resource the kind of payrolls that they manage and all of that
and it brings you to a place of doing your mathematics from
like when you look at your profit and loss statement right um if you're dealing with an actual profit and loss statement you'll be able to see that the topline revenue which is the sales determines all these other costs which are going to be uh be funded by for a business to make sense if you're going to run a profitable business the sales will be able to address the expenditures that are in the in the in the in the

37:14 company right
so if you're going to get into any manufacturing if you're going to uh do production of any sorts you need to sit down and do that modeling before you start.
Okay?
And measure yourself up to the ability that you can you can manage, right? And I usually have this conversation a lot
that is doable. You can do it.
Okay.
Yes.
If you look at a toothpick,
you just need to sit down and do the modeling of it. This one toothpick, what does it cost? How much do I need for a whole set of toothpicks to be on my table? What do I need to do? You start from there.
You look at Scotch, the thing for washing dishes.
How much is it? If it's less than five shillings, then and you are able to do the math and it makes sense to you, then you start from there. You start with one machine. When you get more money, you reinject it back as capital expenditure. You buy another machine. You buy another. By the time you know it, 5 years down the line, you'll have gotten so many machines at work.

38:24
So, you're a you're am I right in saying you're a glass half full kind of person?
Um,
you're not you you you you you're in the opportunity
and despite the challenges, they are not stopping you from doing what you need to do.
Actually, um that is the mentality that you need to have. Yeah. You move as the opportunity presents itself
and as you go there will be somewhere you'll have failed. There will be somewhere you'll have won but trust you me you cannot fail in everything.
Have you had some failures?
Something I have.
Okay. Do you can we speak about them?
Yes.
Mhm.
Um of course after I set up the net business uh the saying that goes you cannot put all your eggs in one basket.

39:13
Yes. I became a bit uh cautious in terms of just dealing with one business and I tried to get into another one.
Yes.
Yeah. And uh it was not right.
It was not
it wasn't right.
Yeah. I got that slash proper.
Okay.
So I learned that lesson that uh where I am right now it's I've not set it up enough to be able to move to something else. Okay.
So I took a pause on that.
Okay. Okay. Okay. And um maybe now's a good time to talk about the future.
Yes.
Yeah. So what what's you you're now two years in uh doing well build a robust customer base. What are in the dream pipeline for Blue Osprey and where do you see where do you see yourself going as a business?
Um I would say still on manufacturing. Mhm.

40:08
Um, now that I have been on this side of things,
I have seen a great opportunity where Kenyans can play
and I would love to call as many
people who maybe are at my age or even if you're younger than I or even older and you're a Kenyan and you want to do something, if you can consider manufacturing,
um, I I still believe there's an opportunity in packaging the market is evolving
um and what we are using today as packaging material is not what will be used in the next 5 years. So that's where I am right now. Still doing R&D
trying to figure out what's the next uh era looking like
and how we can start uh investing capital wise and knowledge wise as well and also training our staff to be able to grow into this new sphere.

41:08
So that's where
uh my my family and I are are currently sitting at.
Okay.
But still growth amitions.
Yes.
Yeah.
We intend to grow. Okay,
we intend to grow. There are markets who they don't even know what nets are.
They don't even know that that nets are actually better than nyo.
They don't.
Mhm.
They don't know that nets are more environment friendly
as compared to nyo
and there's an opportunity for us to get into those markets.
I'm looking at countries in West Africa. I I see
I see trucks heading that side. uh machine tracks not not stock tracks trucks which are carrying machines to go and set up plants in in in the sides of West Africa.
I also see um an opportunity in transport as well

42:03
because most of these goods that we have even with our wholesalers
they would want to participate in other bigger markets.
Yes. But uh one challenge that is there is the fact that
transport is a problem.
Okay.
Right. How so?
So um because of there are people who cannot go to certain places. Right.
So if you if you want to transport goods to certain countries, it will be difficult for you to get to those countries. Okay.
Because of transport. Yes.
Because of road infrastructure. uh um and also tracks which are able to get to those sides.
Okay.
So that's one of the things that I want to focus on.
Okay. So you mentioned briefly that you're also you're supplying and um regionally in Kenya.

42:55
So what has your experience been with um the export opportunity? You said you have clients in DRC. Maybe you can spend some time and speak a bit about that. um this East African community that we talk about on paper, what does it look like for you from the perspective of uh manufacturer?
So, as I mentioned to you, my my customers are the wholesalers. The wholesalers are the ones who have customers in DC.
Right. Right. Right. You're not supplying directly to No. Okay. Fair enough. Fair enough.
But they are the ones who they supply there. So what we want to do is to be able to support them to grow into those markets, right?
Because as a manufacturer, you need to choose where your struggle is. Do you want to do

43:45
manufacturing
or do you want to get into the nuances of accessing markets, right?
Yes. Distribution, which is more a distribution play.
Yes. But at the moment because of the value we want to bring into the market, our focus mostly right now is on quality and our quantities, right? That we are bringing uh to the market something that is needed,
something that is going to be considered. This is a good net for packing our goods. the thing that makes us not have sleepless nights is whether our net can like a net which is in the market if you if you if you are a manufacturer of nets and you you you sell to the market you know there are certain standard like a 20in net should be able to carry 3 kgs as we want to focus on that 20in net being able to carry like 7 kgs double

44:47 that
because the person at the end who is the end user the mamoga when they receive that net and they're packaging and someone comes and says I want tomatoes uh 30 bob I want onions I want this they're looking at ways of cost effectiveness right and so if that one net can be able to carry many things why not
and you do that what from innovation perspective R&D you said you're doing some R&D in your business Yeah.
Okay. Okay.
Wow. I mean it's it's really refreshing to to see and hear a story of that nature. One because I think you have addressed very many subtle issues but that that are quite weighty points. You've talked about accessing capital.
You talked about leveraging uh family capital which is I think another huge opportunity. um you have gone you've talked about the foray into into manufacturing but what I also like is um your story of and I repeat again your parents because them

45:52
one um
when you go into entrepreneurship you just don't know what you don't know
you know and to have someone who's a fellow entrepreneur
yes
who can tell you oh this way
yes
is you know it'll be better if we go this way or if we go this way, we'll get back. Not stopping you from
making the mistakes that need to be made in order to learn,
but kind of offering some handholding mentorship guidance. And it's it's really good to hear that you have had that benefit from your mom.
Yeah.
So, um yeah, I I I remained in in in awe of that. M.
So I think um I think to wrap up um maybe we can you can speak to the audience and tell them uh where can we find
Msafinet?

46:42
Um if if if we want your product,
where can we find it or which wholesalers or and anything else you think is relevant for the audience to understand about your business?
Yeah. Um I think um just before I let you know where you can find the product,
I would like to encourage um the young people who are the genzies, the millennials, right? Um if you have any opportunity and I'm not going to say any idea but I will say any opportunity in terms of time or uh you've been in the career world and you want to transition into business the very first place if you are blessed to have a family is to start from there. Um, I know sometimes people say that that that was my father's dream, right?

47:40 Um, I I have my own dreams, but there's an opportunity to honor our parents by living their dreams fast
and taking advantage of that opportunity to build yourself and scale up while you're at it. So that by the time you're at the 50s or you're at your late 40s when now you start implementing your own dreams, you'll have garnered a lot of experience and you'll have leveraged on the family to use um the resources that are available and walk in in humility to serve them first before you serve your own dreams.
So there's an opportunity at that, right? um where you can find our products.
I don't have a specific customer whom I can vouch like I can say who you but if you go in OTC if you go into OTC

48:40
any wholesale shop
and say I want Msafet
you will get it.
Okay.
Yes. So I have as many people who are
and what size what size does it come? What's your your product range?
The most popular size is the 20 in size. Mhm.
So that's like a 50 cm um kind of size. And uh uh we have different colors. We have red, orange,
brown, purple, black,
green,
uh tquis blue. We have so many based on what you want to use it for.
Okay.
Yeah.
Excellent.
Wow. Julieta, thank you very very much for being a guest on the 40th episode. That's quite a milestone for us of the African do story and what a story.
So we wish you all the best. We wish Blue or Osprey all the best as you continue to grow and develop.

49:37
Thank you. And we celebrate the fact that you're you're in manufacturing and invite other people who may be struggling in corporate or or maybe feeling the need to to have a greater impact or to do more for the economy of the country than just collect a salary to join you in this world.
Yes.
And we hope we can start some kind of entrepreneurship revolution and build wealth on this African continent for us.
So ladies and gentlemen, thank you very much. That was episode 40 of the African Do podcast featuring Juliet Danua of Blue Osprey Limited who is manufacturing safinet that are available all across the country. We thank you very much for joining us and we h invite you to subscribe to our YouTube channel. Uh Dan of Sema Box told us some worrying news about Spotify. So, we're temporarily not uploading onto Spotify

50:32
uh but uh we'll continue on YouTube and we look forward to you walking this journey with us as we tell stories of excellent Africans executing e excellently and building wealth on the African continent. Thank you very much and see you in the next episode. [Music]