Nakuru ASK show fails to meet expectations of small business vendors
Kennedy Kulabi a boiled eggs seller.
The just-concluded Agricultural Society of Kenya (ASK) fair may have been a successful event for farmers and agricultural enthusiasts.
But for small business vendors, the event that they had hoped to make a profit from turned out to be a loss-making venture, despite the hundreds of people who made their way to the fair.
Lincy Imali, an ice-cream vendor, tells Mtaa Wangu that after camping at the fair since Friday, she has yet to achieve her sells goal.
Lincy Imali an ice cream vendor in Nakuru.
"I am not even close to what I make when I am out and about in Nakuru. I decided to set up camp here at the fair in the hope of doing good business with the people who come to the fair. On my normal working day I sell more than 30 cups of ice cream from outside, here I have not even reached half of my target sales," Ms Imali said.
"Hata mia tao sijapata leo ...... I barely made Sh500 today. On a good day, during my usual rounds I make between Sh1,500 and Sh3,000," she said.
For Ms Imani, this is a big disappointment considering that as a businesswoman she had to pay Sh2,300 as entry fee.
Kennedy Kulabi, who sells boiled eggs, reads from the same script as his counterpart.
"Hakuna kazi ... there is no work," he laments.
Mr Kulabi says he regrets coming to the show. Since he is used to selling three crates of eggs a day. This amounts to Sh6,000. Since setting shop at the trade fair he has not managed to sell even one crate of eggs.
He also had to pay an entry fee of Sh2,300 which he has not been able to recover.
The ASK Fair opened its doors on July 12 and was officially opened by the Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua on July 14. The fair closed on Sunday.
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