Meet Ruth Mawia Mwanzia, Owner of Koola Waters and Founder of AfriBiz Academy

At the age of 28, Ruth Mawia Mwanzia, is breaking the barriers as an entrepreneur, founder of her own water company, Koola Waters and AfriBiz Academy, an entrepreneurial platform that offers mentorship, consulting and coaching to budding entrepreneurs.

Her journey has been like that of any start-up; facing various challenges in penetrating the market, getting funds and securing her first costumers. Now, her Koola Waters brand lies stocked in supermarkets and shops all over the country.

Here’s her story:

Who is Ruth Mawia?

I am a born again Christian and I am the director of Koola Waters Company and I am also the founder of AfriBiz Academy. Koola waters is a company that specializes in manufacturing, distribution and packaging of pure drinking water, we are KEBS Certified and we are based in Karen, Nairobi Area.

AfriBiz Academy is a platform for entrepreneurs who are at the Idea stage or starting out or have started out but they are feeling stuck. At AfriBiz Academy we offer mentorship, consulting and coaching. The reason why I started AfriBiz Academy, was after I started my company Koola waters, I faced a couple of challenges, just the normal common challenges that every start up faces, things to do with market penetration, getting the first ten customers, funding, just to name a few, and after overcoming most of these challenges, I decided to give back to the entrepreneurs who were having similar challenges.

What made you want to venture into Koola Waters?

The reason why I decided to venture into this is because I grew up in Kitui, a region that experiences semi-arid kind of climate and rain is not promised, as a way of addressing the challenges that my community was facing, things to do with drought, water scarcity and water shortages, thus I decided to venture into the water industry.

I strive to be unique with my product and the collective commitment shown by my staff to see that Koola Waters is in every boardroom, supermarket and home is what I believe sets us apart.

Describe your typical day.

I wake up early in the morning and begin my day with a prayer and a short devotion, I have breakfast and then I meet with my staff. Most of my day is spent talking to clients, replying emails, marketing my product, going to the field and looking for business opportunities.

What is the most favorite aspect of what you do? And what have been the most satisfying moments in your life?

My favorite aspect of what I do involves talking to my clients and customers, just seeing that I am able to make a difference in their lives means the world to me, the most satisfying moment is when I am able to solve a challenge by providing a solution to the problem.

Kindly tell us how you ended up starting your company, what your company does and what you intend to achieve.

I started Koola Waters, my first company back in 2014; after starting my company at 25 years old and building it from scratch, a lot people approached me that they needed mentorship and guidance because they wanted to pursue entrepreneurship and I decided why not give back to the startups and the young entrepreneurs, so that’s the reason why I decided to start AfriBiz Academy. AfriBiz Academy is an entrepreneurship platform for startups, people who are at the idea stage of business and feel stuck, or startups that feel stuck, we offer mentorship, coaching and consultancy for these businesses.

What did you study in school? Is that what you always wanted to do/pursue when you grew up?

I studied Mass Communication (Electronic Media Major) for my first degree at African Nazarene University and I am currently pursuing my Masters Degree in Peace, Security and Governance (Peace Specialization) in the same university.

If you had a chance to start your career life all over again, would you have chosen a different path and what would you have done differently?

I have learned in life there are no regrets, just lessons learned, I have learned and therefore I would not change anything.

If you had the chance to change people’s perspective especially the youth, about growing their own businesses and chasing their dreams, what would you do?

I would encourage the youth to pursue entrepreneurship because there are opportunities everywhere. I faced challenges including competition from already existing brands and being a young entrepreneur, I would have chosen to give up but I didn’t.

The youth need to learn how to pursue their dreams no matter the challenges they might face.

Who has been your greatest inspiration so far?

My main role models are Ben Carson; he came from a very humble background but he worked to be one of the most respected neurosurgeons in the world and Richard Branson; because his work ethic redefines modern business cultures and he was able to succeed even with what people said about him, among others.

What would you say are the top three skills needed to succeed in what you do?

Passion, drive and the ability to take risks. Business is a learning process and the ability to take risks has to be up your sleeve.

Where you see yourself in around 10 years?

Growing and expanding my businesses throughout the African Continent.

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