Obadoh Obadoh, the proprietor of the Cafe Deli chain in Nairobi narrated how he grew up in poverty and had to sell chang'aa.
He was born in a polygamous family and had 13 siblings who were raised by his stepmother in Budalangi, Busia County.
During his early years in school, Obadoh was so bright that his primary school teacher made him skip class seven.
Losing his father while in high school made him the breadwinner and hence, he started brewing chang'aa in his village.
“In Form Two, I started brewing chang’aa and selling charcoal to cater for my schooling and the family that my father left behind," Obadoh told Nation.
The entrepreneur explained that he worked hard in everything he did because he hated that life and wanted to change the situation so bad.
"I wanted to move further away from poverty and that is what drives me to date,” he recounted.
Instead of joining the university, he travelled to Nairobi in search of a job and was fortunate to land one at Norfolk hotel as an apprentice chef and lived in Dandora.
With his newly acquired skills, he moved to Sarova Group of Hotels after four years at Norfolk. It was at Sarova when he realised a gap in the market.
“The cakes that were available were of poor quality. I was working for a five-star hotel and I understood what quality is. I wanted to give the middle-class quality at a price they can afford. I had one goal and that was to bridge the gap,” he explained.
He then assembled a group of investors and together, they opened a pastry shop in Westlands before he later sold his stake for Ksh800,000.
He injected the money into establishing Nanjala Limited which is the brand behind Cafe Deli.
In 2011, through a friend, Obadoh met financiers who helped him buy a restaurant in Nairobi for Ksh12 million under Private Equity Fund arrangement.
Just two years after opening the first Cafe Deli along Moi Avenue, he had already paid off his loans.
“I managed to repay the loan because I did not change my lifestyle; my main focus was repaying the loan,” he explained.
The same investors have financed his two other branches, having injected over Ksh100 million. Once Obadoh clears the entire loan, he will fully own the businesses.
In 2015, the proprietor told journalists that the hotel chain was undergoing a Ksh315 million expansion.
