Cash is king, but that doesn’t always mean layoffs
- Name: Pauline Otila
- Job title: Managing Director
- Company: Apiculture Venture
- Programme: Survive to Thrive
- Country: Kenya
Celebrating Pauline Otila, MD at Apiculture Venture Limited in Kenya for Choosing People
Located in Nairobi’s busy industrial area is the Kenyan company Apiculture Venture, a beekeeping business that stays as busy as the bees they keep. This is thanks to Pauline Otila the founder and Managing Director, who is known by all as the “Queen Bee”. Apiculture manufactures and offers training on modern beekeeping equipment, they provide pollination services to large scale farmers. They also process and package honey under the brand name, Golden Bee Honey.
Pauline describes 2020 as a tough year. “For a moment I thought about closing the company so as soon as I heard about Survive to Thrive, I automatically applied.”
Through the programme Pauline got a chance to interact with other entrepreneurs which helped her find immediate solutions to keep her company afloat. Communication was among the first key lessons she learnt.
“Talking to other participants in the programme was one of my main highlights. Just by listening to other business owners from across Africa share how they were coping with the pandemic, I started looking at things differently. One of the participants shared how he took the step to openly talk to his team about what was happening which pushed me to also go ahead talk to my team. Together we came up with a working schedule, an alternating office duty roaster that enabled us to continue our business operations. I’m so glad I didn’t have to lay off any of my staff.”
Pauline Otila also known as Queen Bee describes herself as the kind of manager who would never involve her team in decision-making but because of the programme, she has come to realise that without involving her team her dream to grow Apiculture Venture will forever remain as her dream. She also attributes immediate impact in her business to one of the virtual sessions in the programme where they got a chance to review their strengths and weaknesses.
“There’s a particular session where we talked about the strengths and weaknesses of our businesses. I had never thought about it but after the learning session I went ahead and spent some quiet time and wrote everything down. To date, the things I wrote are on my vision board, both for my business and for me as the main driver of the business. I actually usually reference it a lot whenever we go into meetings with my staff,” she says.
Apiculture Venture currently offers services to the 47 counties of Kenya. They have partners in Tanzania with a lot of growing demand in Kenya and a few other countries in Africa. “This increase in demand and opportunities is one of the reasons as to why I decided to join the programme. My hope is that eventually we will grow, expand and have the capacity to explore beyond Africa.”
91% of businesses who have completed Survive to Thrive say their businesses are stronger as a result. “The beekeeping industry has very few women. In my company, out of seventeen staff, only six of us are women. This programme not only empowered me with knowledge and resources to run my business, but it also gave me the confidence to keep pushing, speak up and continue encouraging other women entrepreneurs out there.”
Related posts
Which African countries promote entrepreneurship best?
The Alan Gray Centre for African Entrepreneurship has created the African Entrepreneurial Ecosystem Index (AEEI) to address poor-quality data in Africa for analyzing entrepreneurship. The index consists of seven components that assess the entrepreneurial ecosystem in each country. Mauritius has been ranked as the most friendly country for entrepreneurs, followed by South Africa.
The power of infrastructure to boost business
Infrastructure is crucial for business growth and productivity. It includes transportation networks, energy grids, and telecommunications systems that reduce operational costs and foster innovation. Modern infrastructure attracts investment, spurs economic development, and empowers businesses to thrive in competitive markets. By providing the essential framework for commerce, infrastructure drives sustainable business success and propels economies forward.
AMI Impact Insights Report: Women create more jobs for women after Business Development Support
AMI has released new data highlighting key findings related to women entrepreneurs across Africa in a report titled Greenshoots for African female entrepreneurs – with a forest still to grow.