The family business owner's gamble that grew a Sh50bn turnover retail enterprise

Zipporah Wanjiku Kinuthia’s most difficult job when starting the retail shop that would ultimately become Quickmart supermarket was convincing her husband John Kinuthia that the venture made financial sense.

The family had been sustained for nearly two decades by their bar, lodging and butchery business in Mang’u, Nakuru, and he saw no need to sink capital in a venture that had lower margins than his existing enterprise.