Being self-employed allows her to pursue what she loves the most besides being her own boss.
Her entrepreneurship journey began three years ago when she founded Rosefit Apparel, an American online company that sells personal training gear to customers in Kenya and United States (US).
She tells the Enterprise that she entered into the activewear business because its popularity was growing tremendously in the country as more people embraced fitness.
If there is something Rose Njeri loves it is working for herself. After leaving the university, she has never been employed anywhere.
Being self-employed allows her to pursue what she loves the most besides being her own boss.
"I have mainly worked for myself. I fell in love with entrepreneurship," the degree holder in Family Science says.
Her entrepreneurship journey began three years ago when she founded Rosefit Apparel, an American online company that sells personal training gear to customers in Kenya and United States (US).
"I started Rosefit Apparel after five years of personal training. I used to buy activewear all the time so I figured it was best to use that money and invest in my business."
"I started out with selling tanks tops and t-shirts only. Once I introduced leggings and sports bras I had clients ordering from Kenya which inspired me to bring the clothes to Kenya to avoid the high shipping fees from the States," she says.
She tells the Enterprise that she entered into the activewear business because its popularity was growing tremendously in the country as more people embraced fitness.
According to Spa and Wellness Association of Africa (Swaa) Kenya Chapter, Kenya's fitness and wellness industry hit Sh5 billion in 2019.
Another market research and analytics firm Euromonitor International revealed that the health and wellness tourism in the country recorded a value growth of 9 percent in 2018 to reach sales of Sh2.5 billion.
"Kenya is waking up to wellness, and the diaspora has created a demand not only on the continent but also internationally. But spas in Kenya need to raise their standards to cater to the demand from well-travelled wellness tourists seeking international and indigenous treatment. We can't compete globally with sub-standards and indigenous treatments," Swaa executive committee chairperson Jasnil Danjal earlier said.
Some of the products that the online marketplace sells include sports clothes like leggings, sports bras, tank tops, plus sizes and men's activewear.
"The price ranges from Sh2,000 to Sh5,000," she says Njeri, adding that she started the business with an initial capital of Sh100,000.
She says that the company does deliveries countrywide from the US with set delivery fees, which depend on location.
"Our customer is truly everyone, we have activewear that caters to everyone. We have now introduced menswear and hopefully, next, we will have children's activewear too. Why? We never want to leave anyone behind. We want everyone to find comfortable activewear from our brand".
Ultimate goal
"We have our store in the US but we do get Kenyan clients from all over the world ordering."
The goal is to have a physical store in Kenya, which she reckons will create employment for hundreds of Kenyans.
"Right now we do photoshoots in Kenya, we love using Kenyan models and talented photographers."
Aside from Rosefit, she runs a construction business in the US that flips houses (purchases distressed properties, fixes, and then resells them for a profit). In Kenya, she has invested in the real estate firm 88 Nairobi, among others.
"We are a new brand growing in Kenya and so the biggest challenge is getting people to learn about our brand. We are still making a name for ourselves," she concludes.
