Everybody loves flowers because they make the environment beautiful. However, if you don’t have a flower garden and you are seeking to make your living environment exquisite, the only way of making this happen is to get yourself a flower vase.
As Covid-19 pandemic continues to impact the economic lives of Kenyans, a young Kenyan entrepreneur has come up with a brilliant idea of bringing the beauty of flowers to the home or workplace.
James Osewe, an ambitious and dazzling young Kenyan with a firm base in Kisumu city, has established a company called “Top Vases”.
Through this venture, James is seeking to bring quality flower vases to Kisumu residents to help populate rooms, office spaces, business premises, hotels, restaurants, hospitals, public spaces and other human-infested environments with flowers.
Kisumu City News had a chit-chat with James to dig into the circumstances surrounding “Top Vases” and his plans for the future.
According to the young Kenyan, the idea of setting up “Top Vases” was born out of the shortage of quality flower vases in Kisumu city.
“I decided to start the business because I noticed that while there was a demand for vases, many buyers were sourcing their vases from sellers in Busia county”.
James says that Busia is far away from Kisumu and an idea quickly struck his mind that he could venture into the flower vase business by merely filling the vacuum.
“Since I made my first vase last year, I have witnessed the business grow step by step”, James told Kisumu City News.
He said that he had noticed a big advantage with his vases because many flower-lovers are used to the old-style vases. He is coming in with unique, top-of-the-range and classy vases that are “irresistible” to flower lovers who have come into contact with his vases.
The vases have a variety of colours while one of the most popular offers the company is putting forward is “custom vases” designed as per customer colour specifications.
James says that their current production capacity is 50 pots per day and that he intends to increase this number to 300 pots because demand is on the rise.
“I started this business to fill a vacuum, but as time went by, I realised that I might be on the road to building a “Vase Empire” in Kenya because there is no one in the market offering my type of designs.
For now, James says that he has a workforce of three, but he intends to increase this number to five as soon as the Covid-19 pandemic goes down to allow for more business activities.
According to james, unemployment among young people is on the rise. University graduates are jobless. The government can no longer be relied upon to create jobs and that under the circumstances, young people must learn to be innovative.
“This business ensures that I can be financially independent while at the time being my own boss and I love it that way”, James told Kisumu City News.
The price range of the pots run between Ksh 800 to Ksh 300 depending on size. James says that given the quality of the vases, the price is very realistic, adding that people love affordable but quality things.
“I am currently in discussion with major supermarkets to explore whether “Top Vases” can become the leading supplier of quality vases for supermarket customers”, he said.
“I also intend to expand my operations to other counties with time, so while the sky remains the limit, outer space is my main destination”, an excited James told Kisumu City News.
The pots are distributed through the company’s out-lets at Airport Road and Nairobi Road with an online shop set to be launched in the next two weeks.
He said that he will soon be opening a shop at Kondele and appealed to residents to support his business. “we have the capacity to deliver the vases to your door-step under our new home delivery services”, he said.
According to James, there is a need to educate the public about the culture of flower vases. He says that while vases can be used for holding flowers, they can also be used as beautiful storage contraptions in the house.
James has very big plans and hopes to become the biggest supplier of vases across Kenya and beyond. He believes that he has a vision but admits that he still needs to do a lot of work to convert dreams into reality.
The young entrepreneur will soon be setting up a fan base on Facebook and other social media platforms as a means of expanding his business outreach and increasing his customer base.
James appealed to the Kenyan government to help young entrepreneurs across the country to grow.
According to him, the private sector is the main force behind employment creation and providing the youth with opportunities that will see them get off crime, drug peddling and numerous illegal activities.
The Kenyan thanked Kisumu City News for sourcing news “from the grass-roots” and exposing business people to their customers through online platforms like Kisumu City News.
Kenneth Ochieng
