Wamu Export Investments Ltd: One Proprietor Too Many Managers

Abstract

one bright morning in (month), 1988, as she sat in her office as a senior nurse at the University of Nairobi, Kenya Peris Muriuki felt that the job she was doing was not challenging enough t. “I need to do more”, she thought. “I need to do something more challenging, nursing is not. It has become more routine, she continued”. Around her, was the community that was struggling with their produce to get some small income out of farming, she thought that farming was the right direction for her. “is this what she really wanted? Would it work for me?” these and many more questions ran through her mind. She pondered over the options that were available to her. Should she leave the formal employment at the University of Nairobi, a job which had given her a steady income though inadequate for her family expenses, she thought. Should she continue with her subsistence farming and pay close attention to expanding the business into a big one, but also pump a lot of funds to realize adequate income?. Should she enter into export business which was lucrative and profitable at that moment, but dominated by African and Asian men and pay close attention to finding a sustainable market? Thinking through these questions, Peris realized that the export business was the way to go. It was going to be difficult at the beginning, but she was convinced that with her leadership abilities, she would make a successful export business.