SoapWorks

 

In 2013, Kenterprise started collaborating with Mrs Irene, a self-employed grandmother of 2 who ran a small-scale soap making business to support her family.

 

The SoapWorks team identified several aspects of Mrs Irene's business in need of improvement:

- Soap recipe: too expensive, low quality. Total cost for 5L (container, ingredients): 300KSH, revenue: 500KSH

- Health & safety: chemicals and storage space

- Expanding the business and increasing profits: limited storage space means Mrs Irene only sold on order to friends and relatives, thus greatly limiting her market.

 

We have addressed these problems by coming up with the following solutions:

- Developed a safer and better quality alternative recipe by incorporating vegetable oils

- Mediated an agreement with another of our beneficiaries to provide working and storage space

 

As a result of increased storage space Mrs Irene will now be able to produce soap in bulk, thereby decreasing her raw material costs, increasing efficiency and in the future allowing sales to corporate clients such as markets and supermarkets. As a term of our contract, Mrs Irene has already started giving soap-making workshops to potential soap entrepreneurs. This will maximize our input and ensure the sustainability of this project, by giving disadvantaged individuals an opportunity to start a business.

 

Early data from the project show a 250% increase in profit.