THE AFRICAN BUSINESS FORTUNE-COVER STORY
suming, cheerful go-getter Mayur unveiled soon after he became CEO.
By now the story of Kenafric’ s business transformation is familiar.
While growing up in a family of four siblings and the youngest son of Mr. Velji, Mayur was somehow bestowed a bit more freedom and benefitted from being the youngest. His father had travelled from Gujarat, India by steam boat in search of better breaks and finally settled in Kenya – a place Mayur fondly calls home.
“ Kenya is my home, my family. My dad constantly kept reminding us that we were born here and that this is our destiny,” he says, with a thoughtful expression.
With hardly a penny in his pocket and help of family connections, Velji got a job at a wholesale store in Karatina, Nyeri County, but was hungry for more.
Mayur’ s father later moved to Nairobi to offer his children better schooling in the city, from which he settled and set up a warehouse.
Velji worked as a warehouse manager then went into business in 1969 soon after settling down and later converted it into a retail trade that fast grew into a wholesale business and advanced into a supply business.
According to Mayur, the company was very successful in the seventies and early eighties, until an ill-fated tragedy ensued in 1982.
It’ s a period he reminisces with nostalgia, a year his father’ s empire came crushing down, following a heart-rending coupd’ état.
“ We lost everything, but God is great. We picked ourselves up, dusted and rebuilt from,” he recalls.“ We opted to help our dad reestablish,” says the alumni of The University of Wichita.
Mayur had worthy intentions to build on his father’ s legacy; but his entrepreneurship instincts drove him to a different path, manufacturing. Inception and initial struggle The concept of legacy or inheritance has always been a part of most Asians’ DNA – and Velji’ s family is no different.
No one in the family had ever thought of converting the family business into a company until Mayur and his eldest brother, Bharat Shah took charge.
Mayur’ s story is the epitome of how such a legacy has been preserved after his father started on the efficacious journey.
As hot sun beat down on his head, young Mayur sat on his family’ s business
30 THE AFRICAN BUSINESS FORTUNE MAY- JUNE 2016
In 2013, Kenafric Industries opted to deploy SAP’ s All in One, Financial and Control
and considered his prospects. He took off his chances and promised God that he would better the company from what he’ d inherited.
“ We were relentlessly focused to have the business on its feet – it was a divine journey. Our first product was made in house,” he says.
Built on the cornerstone of value-formoney service, Mayur took the baton and inaugurated their first capital acquisition of Sh4.5million( borrowed at I & M Bank) coupled with supplements from personal savings.
During his stay in the United States, Mayur tells me of how the manufacturing industry was flourishing. He thought of replicating similar business in Kenya an idea he says clicked, and in 1988 Kenafric was born.
He had returned in the country in 1987, starting out as Kenafric Shoe Industries.
The firm gained market share faster than Mayur could actually comprehend. His tricks were aggression, innovation and acumens from schooling abroad.
The company started extensive export business in 1995 with entry in Uganda and Tanzanian, with the latter proving a viable market that saw Kenafric recoup in excess of $ USD 30, 000- USD 70,000 a year later( 1996) as a single souk.
“ At that time, this was a lot of money and this encouraged us,” he opines.
But more was to follow for the young peppy entrepreneur who was beginning to enjoy his time as a full time businessman.
It didn’ t take long for the company to enter new markets, and today Kenafric rakes in excess of Sh10billion in terms of turnover and growing.
“ God has been with us, and I’ ve got to admit it’ s been a team effort, my staff, employees and more importantly my family have all played crucial roles in the company’ s success,” says Mayur.
But just like most companies, Kenafric still grapples with challenges, such as counterfeits, rigid taxation regime as well the continued perception among local consumers who prefer imported brands to locally-manufactured products.
“ The government needs to liberalize the industry to create a level-playing field for all traders,” he advises.
His immediate plans are to see Kenafric products spread across key markets in the continent but have not ruled out the possibility of the company listing at the Nairobi Securities Exchange( NSE) – in the coming years.
About Mayur Velji Shah Founder, Kenafric Industries Ltd Place of birth, Karatina, Kenya Married to Daxa Shah with 2 children: Kushali( 22 years) and Diya( 13 years)