From Struggles to Success: Anne's Journey with Fanikisha
Updated: Aug 24
Anne had a business before Fanikisha. She was already out there, selling sugarcane juice, making tea and chapatis, and hustling every day. This is what Kenyan women do when there is no alternative.
She had a husband and seven children. Her daily routine revolved around keeping her family and stall alive. But then COVID came, and everything changed.
I went from not having food to making Ksh 12,000 a day.
The Impact of COVID-19
The stall did not change. The street remained the same. The products stayed the same. What shifted was how Anne managed her business.
During the pandemic, survival became impossible. Customers vanished, and income dried up. A woman with seven children looked at her empty kitchen and felt despair. Yet, she kept going. That’s what you do when there is no other option.
The Business That Was Already There
When Anne joined Fanikisha, she was not a blank slate. She was an experienced businesswoman ready to be equipped. She had built her business and knew her customers and products. However, she lacked the knowledge to make the business work for her instead of just through her.
Money came in and went out, but at the end of the day, she often struggled to know if she made a profit or merely survived another day.
What Fanikisha Taught Her
Joining the Kianda Foundation's women's economic empowerment program changed everything for Anne. The program provided her with the language to understand her business better.
One crucial lesson was about credit. Anne shared her experience:
I expected those who buy on credit to come back and buy more with money. But they just disappear without even paying.
Every trader in Kenya knows this story. The customer who promises to pay next week. The regular who runs a tab that never closes. Anne had absorbed these losses for years without realizing their full impact.
Fanikisha opened her eyes. She stopped selling on credit. She learned to separate her business earnings from family expenses. Now, she could see her margins clearly, allowing her to understand exactly what she had and how to grow it.
The Transformation
Ksh 12,000 a day became her new reality. The same products, the same stall, but a woman who now knows her business's worth and charges accordingly.
The Marriage That Made It Possible
Anne will tell you that her business did not grow alone.
By the time you are married and have seven children with someone, you have to have chosen them.
She chose her husband, and he chose her. Their partnership, built over the years, became a strong foundation for her business.
Anne prayed at their wedding for God to help them grow old together. That prayer and partnership are integral to her success. A woman who feels secure at home builds differently than one who carries the weight of an unsupported marriage.
What Her Children Are Watching
Anne's seven children witnessed her struggles during COVID. They saw her go to the stall, even when she came home with less than enough. They watched her choose the stall, the chapatis, and the sugarcane press because giving up was not an option for her.
Now, they see her making Ksh 12,000 a day. The same woman, but their perception has changed. This is the Fanikisha multiplier in action—not just in numbers, but in how her children understand their mother’s capabilities and, in turn, their own.
The One Thing That Changed
Before Fanikisha, Anne had a business. Afterward, she had a thriving one.
The difference? Knowledge. She learned that customers who buy on credit and disappear are not loyal; they are a leak in the business. She understood the importance of separating incoming money from outgoing expenses. This knowledge transformed her struggling stall into a Ksh 12,000-a-day success.
If you are running a small business in Kenya, consider Anne's story. If you mix your business money with household expenses or sell on credit, you might feel stuck.
Anne's journey is for you. And so is Fanikisha.
Fanikisha is Kianda Foundation's women's economic empowerment program, running since 2003 across Kenya.
If you know a woman who is ready—tell her.
Want to make it possible for more women like Anne to access Fanikisha?
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