US-Based Kenyan Entrepreneur Reaps Big from Fitness-Wear Business

A US-based Kenyan entrepreneur has opened up on how she has built a successful fitness wear company with an initial capital of Sh100,000.

Rose Njeri, who holds a degree in Family Science, decided to venture into entrepreneurship straight after college.

"I have mainly worked for myself. I fell in love with entrepreneurship," Njeri tells The Enterprise.

Three years ago, she founded Rosefit Apparel, an American online store that sells personal training gear to customers in Kenya and the 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.

Her decision to invest in activewear business was informed by its growing popularity in Kenya as more people embraced fitness.

Her online shop mainly sells sports clothes such as leggings, sports bras, tank tops, plus sizes and men's activewear. "The price ranges from Sh2,000 to Sh5,000," says Njeri.

Njeri sends products to her clients in Kenya 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,” she adds.

Njeri says plans are underway to open a physical shop in Kenya, which she reckons will create hundreds of employment opportunities for Kenyans.

"Right now we do photoshoots in Kenya, we love using Kenyan models and talented photographers."

"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.”

Njeri also runs a construction company in the US that flips houses. This involves buying distressed properties, fixing them, and then reselling them for a profit. In Kenya, she has invested in real estate companies, among them 88 Nairobi.