Growth means many things to Kisumu-based agronomist Maurine. There’s skillfully nurturing the growth of her seedlings, and then there’s diligently growing her sales. Both are crucial.
Earlier in her career, Maurine had focused solely on grafting, weeding, pruning, and potting. Now, having built her own business and trained her colleague Millicent as a nursery assistant, she can focus on operations, inventory diversification and innovation, and providing personalised service to her clients.
Despite the challenges posed by sourcing supplies from over 300km away and servicing clients across the region, Maurine remains determined to grow her business for better economic sustainability. She envisions passing down her skillset and business to her son, recognising the diminishing formal employment opportunities in Kenya. She aspires to establish more branches in the future and contribute to the economic empowerment of her larger family and community.
The importance of the informal economy in Kenya cannot be overstated; it accounts for 24% of Kenya’s GDP and also employs five times more workers than the formal economy.
TRANSFORM has been working to understand the current realities and future possibilities for the millions of entrepreneurial Kenyans who hustle to sustain livelihoods across the informal economy (read more about the context of the work here).
Brink, Procol Africa, Busara, Laterite, Ideas Unplugged, and TRANSFORM have collaborated throughout to deliver this work, alongside hundreds of ecosystem actors and informal economy entrepreneurs.
These blogs offer an insight into the lives of some informal workers we spoke to over the course of the project, told through images.
