Watu Credit empowers riders like Elly, providing affordable financing, training, and tools to grow safely and responsibly.
Life in Kibera is busy, bustiling with activity day and night. Right in the heart of these activities are motor cycle riders, who like in any other area, play a big role in ferrying people and goods around at affordable prices.
Among those weaving through the narrow packed streets of Kibera is Elly Kegode, fondly christened ‘Kidole’. Elly is a boda boda rider whose journey in the business started back in 2016 he secured his first motorcycle through Watu Credit.
Watu Credit is a financing company that gives individuals and small businesses access to affordable credit. Watu fills quite a crucial gap, since capital is the biggest hindrance for aspiring entrepreneurs. By bridging this gap, Watu helps thousands of people build successful businesses, feed their families, grow local economies and ultimately the national economy. For Elly, this support marked the beginning of his path not only as an entrepreneur, but also a leader in his community.
Elly’s first motorcycle brought with it independence and dignity. After all, with a steady income he could provide for his family and even plan the future. With time and diligent financial management on his part, he has since been able to expand his fleet to six motorbikes which he assigns business to serve different purposes. Two of them handle school drop offs and pickups, two transport passengers around Kibera and environs, while two are part of his mobile training school where he teaches safety and professionalism to new riders.
Elly’s days are quite organized, starting with a simple breakfast before heading to the stage to ferry passengers heading to work. As a respected chairman within the sector, he later gets into office mode and meets up with fellow riders for catch up on matters like welfare, challenges, road safety, discipline and customer service. Mid morning finds him at his training school where he imparts knowledge about safety, helmets, licenses and best practices when riding. His afternoons from 2.00pm are spent working, but not before creating time for banter and camaraderie with his colleagues. He then winds down his day at 7.00pm.
Elly’s story is a clear testimony of two things. How financial support uplifts the business ecosystem, and how patience and consisency builds good business and impact. He is not only a leader but also a mentor and a strong voice for safer transport.
So passionate is he about safety that he started the mobile school mentioned above to promote professionalism within the sector. So far, he has trained more than 15,000 riders across Nairobi and in other towns like Machakos, Kisumu, Ahero and Mombasa. Out of these, 7,000 now have valid riding licenses. This initiative is helping change perception about the boda boda industry, and lord knows we need that.
Elly cannot emphasize enough what the support from Watu meant for his business. Aside from financing, the company also provides other accessories towards safety, like helmets, refrectors and training. This all round approach ensures that not only do riders own motorbikes, but they are equiped to operate them safely and responsibly.
For Elly, his bikes are more than just income generating. They represent his children’s futures since he’s able to pay fees, food on the table, and ripple effects of empowerment into the communities. This is moreso because as much as his story is a shining beacon, it is not isolated. It mirrors the stories of thousands of riders who are breaking cycles of unemployment and poverty through the boda boda business.
Looking ahead, Elly’s has great plans for expansion of his road safety nationwide, with a dream to have every rider fully licenced and safety consious, which will work towards making boda boda riding a respected busiess for the essential services it provides.
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