Finding a niche in business can often be a challenge in itself for many entrepreneurs, but for Christine Moraa, founder of Kenyan PR company Tendai Communications, her journey was inspired by her personal business experiences.
LoA found out more about this tenacious entrepreneur and her mission to help other entrepreneurs to stand out in the marketplace.
What does your company do?
We elevate brands for their target audiences through public relations.
"Having been a marketer for six years now and been in business for half of those years, I realized that your brand will speak for itself, as will the personal reputation that you and your business carries."
What inspired you to start your company?
Having been a marketer for six years now and been in business for half of those years, I realized that your brand will speak for itself, as will the personal reputation that you and your business carries. I also realized that consistency in the values your business is based on is what propels it forward in the marketplace, and people will want to associate themselves with you as a result. This realization led me to give birth to Tendai Communications. We are a boutique Public Relations company, fully Kenyan owned. We work specifically with start ups to brand them and ensure their target audience knows about them. We also ensure that the whole package is delivered. This therefore causes us to work with this brand to help it in instilling the values that are acceptable to the communities it serves.
Why should anyone use your service or product?
We ensure that the business brand always meets its target. We also ensure the relevance of a business and its brand by always aligning it to an organization's strategic plan, since we have to communicate knowing where it wants to be in 5 and 10 years’ time.
"We ensure the relevance of a business and its brand by always aligning it to an organization's strategic plan, since we have to communicate knowing where it wants to be in 5 and 10 years’ time."
Tell us a little about your team
We are a young team of five. I give guidance to the team by ensuring that Tendai's vision is shared across the team. We have two consultants on board who advise the whole team on project by project basis. We also have two sales reps whom I work very closely with. They especially come on board whenever a client needs a sales job done.
Share a little about your entrepreneurial journey. And, do you come from an entrepreneurial background?
My entrepreneurial story would never have happened if I hadn't been fired from two jobs. I tried my hands as a food vendor selling mandazi, a morning East African sweet street food, in Kenya. As small as it was in terms of scale, this is the business that taught me all the business disciplines you can think of, from Financial Management, Personal Branding, Packaging, Marketing and Communications, all aimed at reaching my target market who were shop owners in the town. I would never exchange the experience I got during this time. I'd wake up at 3 a.m everyday to cook the mandazi, package them attractively so that they could sell, get to town by 6.30 a.m and sell them before breakfast was over. This was the first firm business I'd put my hands on that made me appreciate everything about business. I also sold clothes and that was quite an experience since it led me to some tough encounters with the town law makers. By this time, I had developed a tough skin and was a tough cookie. These two experiences led me to want to focus my entrepreneurial efforts on promoting brands to key target markets, and ultimately to the birth of Tendai Communications in 2016.
"My deepest desire is to see the great ideas and innovations that we have in Africa come to light."
What are your future plans and aspirations for your company?
My deepest desire is to see the great ideas and innovations that we have in Africa come to light. I long for a time when people will believe in themselves enough to work on their businesses until they get established in the marketplace.
What gives you the most satisfaction being an entrepreneur?
The fact that my experience in business still provides part of solutions I offer to my clients. I also draw satisfaction when I see our clients happy with the work we do with them and for them.
What's the biggest piece of advice you can give to other women looking to start-up?
I'd advise my fellow women to get over the fear that easily keeps us from meeting our destinies and when you get your foot in the door, remain persistent till you fulfill your destiny. While running your business, always remember consistency is key in whatever you do.
Contact or follow Tendai Communications
WEBSITE | FACEBOOK | EMAIL christine@tendai.co.ke
Why LoA loves it….
There is often lots of talk about how tough it is to be an entrepreneur and how learning from challenges and the ups and downs of business along the way is part of the journey. If anyone knows this for a fact it is Kenyan entrepreneur Christine Moraa, who has experienced her fair share of challenges on her business building journey. However, she is proof positive that it is possible to shape a vision for that journey by taking the learnings from every business experience and then harnessing those experiences to build a successful enterprise in the future. Today, she is helping others to realize their entrepreneurial dreams and bringing all her experience of brand building to the table. --- Melanie Hawken, founder and editor-in-chief of Lionesses of Africa