Enterprise

Ex-Kisumu MCA eyes firm niche in managing events

mca

Mr Eddy Anayo and team assemble equipment at an event. PHOTO | ONDARI OGEGA

Former lawmaker at the county assembly of Kisumu Eddy Anayo is keen on creating employment and growing wealth as businessman.

He is also keen on education. Mr Anayo says he holds four diploma certificates in insurance, county governance, human resource managment, and procurement. For a university degree, he holds one in accounting from KCA University.

Saying he believes in employment creation, Mr Anayo explains that helping to “earn an extra coin” makes a lot of sense.

He represented Milimani Ward and became a Minority Leader in the Kisumu County Assembly but now says he “realised that’s not what I wanted.” He explains: “I want to multiply what I have; my agenda is not amassing wealth.”

His entrepreneurial bug pushed him to launch an events management company — Homeland Events — despite hiccups and missteps.

For six months, the business idea could not see the light of day, forcing Mr Anayo to throw in the towel, abeit temporarily, and donating the Sh100,000 equipment to his church.

Probably this donation opened “the floodgates of Heaven” since eight months later, the proprietor saw the Homeland Events dream come true.

“The point is this, whoever sows sparingly will reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will reap bountifully,” Mr Anayo said, adding that he believes “so much in God.”

He quotes 2 Corinthians 9:6-7: “Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.”

For capital he mortgaged one of his properties to “raise a few millions” when setting up the events comany that provides public address system for between Sh50,000 and Sh700,000 for sound, LED screens and lighting.

Homeland charges are based on the number of people being hosted, the number of days, kind of event, and the relationship between the properietor and the client. “I have provided services to ODM [political party] for Sh400,000, which was a discounted rate for that kind of event,” said Mr Anayo, who also runs Phiaton Travels, which he once told a local daily, manages 40 cars.

“The hosting of one of the biggest political rallies in Migori County in the run up to the August 8 General Election was one major breakthrough in my business,” says Mr Anayo.

READ: Meet event organiser out to raise profile of remote Kilifi

It was a good platform to market his enterprise, which enabled him to handle several other political activities during the prolonged electioneering period. He also manages concerts, graduations, wedding receptions and corporate launches like that of Silverstone Airline in Kisumu.

The Kisumu-based investor chose who has employed 30 casual workers says high demand for events services like hosting of wedding receptions, sports events, political rallies, award and graduation ceremonies, parties, conferences convinced to take that route.

Before Homeland was born “most people in the region sought services of Nairobi-based firms, which made the deals quite an expensive affair.”

Homeland now secures sub-contracts from Nairobi-based firms, but the proprietor is keen on winning such contracts on his own.

“The acquisition of a 100 kVA generator has given me an edge in Western Kenya,” he says

“Our arrangement allows our clients to exclusively focus on proceedings while we customise experiences”.