Damiana Mwende Musyoka is one of the many micro-entrepreneurs in Kenya who, after participating in one of Hand in Hand’s projects, now runs a thriving business.
Damiana Mwende Musyoka is a chef and runs the small restaurant “DM&G Raw and Fried Fish” on Ngong road in Nairobi, Kenya. Here she prepares and serves mainly fish, tilapia and Nile perch, with french fries. Also various snacks. In addition to on-site sales, Damiana now also delivers fish as a raw ingredient to restaurants, churches, and congregations. Initially on a small scale, but from the start with great courage and high ambitions.
Participated in Micro-Enterprise Success
Damiana was one of the participants in Micro-Enterprise Success, one of Hand in Hand’s many projects targeting women and young people running small businesses in Kenya. The project was implemented in Nairobi’s informal settlements (described by the UN as some of the most densely populated, unsanitary, and unsafe slums in the world) and aimed to strengthen local economies, create jobs, and lift families out of poverty.
“I learned to understand profit and loss”
In the project, Damiana and the other participants received training in entrepreneurship and knowledge about marketing and digital tools. By starting to use digital tools, it suddenly became possible to take small development steps at a low cost. Such as marketing through social media, being able to handle transactions through mobile phones, as well as licenses, permits, and bank account management.
“I started my business very small-scale. Often with sales of just around 1000 Kenyan shillings (about 77 Swedish kronor). On a better day, it might be double that. It wasn’t until Hand in Hand’s training that a change occurred. I gained better business knowledge and learned how I could sharpen digital marketing.”
Business flourishes with digital marketing
Today, Damiana works with social media to attract customers. Therefore, DM&G Raw and Fried Fish is on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and WhatsApp for Business. She takes photos herself with her mobile phone and has also become a skilled copywriter and creative content creator. Thanks to digital marketing, where she posts something every day in her various channels, Damiana can now, on a really good day, sell for about 30,000 Kenyan shillings (about 2300 Swedish kronor). As business flourishes, Damiana says she has Hand in Hand to thank for a lot.
“The amazing thing about Hand in Hand is how close they are to us entrepreneurs. That they continuously follow up on how we’re doing and constantly help us grow!”
Damiana Mwende Musyoka is one of the many micro-entrepreneurs in Kenya. The project, despite being carried out in the midst of the pandemic, has achieved great success for all participants. Among other things, with a perceived increased economic resilience in over 80% of them.
