On ‘African Start-Up’ this week, CNN profiled Trushar Khetia, one of Kenya’s most successful entrepreneurs, who has built his multi-million dollar business on the congestion that so often fills the streets of the capital, Nairobi.
Trushar Khetia is the founder of Tria Group, an outdoor advertising firm which uses buses to market leading consumer goods, and now has revenues exceeding $1.3 million.
‘African Start-Up’ described how Khetia turned congestion into a selling point for the Tria Group’s clients
“We have a captive audience here. You’ve got people waiting for the buses and they might wait of five, 10, 20 minutes depending on their routes… So, if you look at this hustle and bustle, for me as an advertiser I’m thinking my brand is getting so much eyeballs and mileage everywhere in terms of visibility.”
Founded in 2013, the Tria Group initially started with just Khetia’s savings and a laptop, but now the Tria Group offers its clients a one-stop shop for advertising, from concept and design to printing and pasting.
Khetia told ‘African Start-Up’ how he tried to set the Tria Group apart from its competitors
“We needed to be disruptive… I said ‘let’s find a specific niche to aim for’ and that’s what we did with Tria… For me it’s always been about having the client first.”
Three years on from the launch of the Tria Group, Khetia continues to look towards the future with the launch of his retail venture, Society Stores, which has become one of the most popular supermarkets in the Nairobi area since opening in 2014.
Khetia said that in addition of Society Stores to his business portfolio to ‘African Start-Up that supermarkets and putting retail businesses in Kenya changed life. It changes the lifestyle of everybody in that town or the area that you put it in. He said you get to employ 80-100 people per store, you get to work with 350 suppliers, working with 30,000 product lines, I mean, as a retailer you make everyone around you thrive.
‘African Start-Up’ followed Khetia throughout his working day, which ends at 21:45 in the evening. However, for Khetia, it’s just another aspect of the job
“This is what it’s all about, dedication. I have to be here because I love every aspect of it. Dedication and passion – that’s what make you successful.”
