Bountiful Safaris is one of the leading tours and travel operators in the country and as the famous adage goes, gold must go through the furnace to stand the test of time.
For the company to live up to the phrase, Esther Njeri Njoroge, the founder and CEO, had lost her job as a sales representative in another travel company, run low on funds and at one point attempted taking her own life.
However, in an interview on a YouTube channel, she narrated that her valuable friendships, encouragement from her family members and her pastor's prayers, were a source of hope that saw a dream fulfilled.
Events began unfolding in 2013 when she was working as a sales representative in one of the travelling agencies. Njeri believes that her bosses undermined her and would hurl unprintables on her and other staff members.
“I remember an incident in the office whereby my boss told me blatantly before everyone that I should just quit and go open a brothel since that was the only field she felt I would prosper in,” she stated.
The relationship with her employers worsened and in November 2013, she and three of her friends were dismissed. Njeri narrated that life became so difficult that she decided to end her life at one point.
On the said day, she would take a bunch of painkillers that made her unconscious. Fortunately, her friend found her in good time and rushed her to hospital.
“My friend found me unconscious in the house and rushed me to hospital," she narrated.
During this low moment in her life, her mother encouraged her and assured that things would look up.
"I remembered that a webmaster had helped me create a website sometime back which I had named 'Bountiful adventures'. It had been inactive for sometime but I decided to try it out. I requested the webmaster to upgrade it for me. At the same time, a friend of mine helped me create a Facebook page."
Njeri and her friend would tour hotels in Naivasha, take photos and post on the Facebook page.
In December 2013, the CEO got her first client who paid a total of Ksh1 million.
"They wanted to deposit the money immediately but I did not have a bank account. I contacted a friend who worked for the bank and she helped me create an account."
Another challenge presented itself because Njeri needed a physical address. Her brother was gracious enough to allow her use an office in Kileleshwa which belonged to his friend.
She used the office for only two months before she set up her own office in Westlands.
“My elder brother paid my rent for the first three months, and that’s how Bountiful Safaris was born,” she disclosed.
Through the company, Njeri has learnt to be persistent and aims to demystify the notion that travelling is expensive by offering affordable holiday packages.
