My name is Stephine Nguta. I am the founder and CEO of an app called Mama Fua which is an app that links households to verified cleaners that I established in 2021. We have about 7500 operators (mama fua) and housekeepers. I started the app to help women in my community access more jobs easily. I was inspired by my mum who was a Mama Fua, and I could see the pay she got was not standard, so I wanted to create something to change that.

What I enjoy the most is seeing these women use the app to get jobs easily and see their pay rise from what used to be a job where a woman would wash heaps of clothes the whole day and get only 200 Kenyan shillings. Seeing the women I have trained and providing them with proper clothing makes me happy and the impact I have in the community fulfils me. I solved underpayment and reduced cases of domestic abuse. We have grown from operating online to having an office at Laundromat and now a cleaning school.

The training has been amazing, it has lived up to its name, “Jiinue.” When I saw the advertisement, I knew I would come and become a better businessman. I learnt a lot when it comes to preparing my business for external funding. The training has offered me an opportunity to interact with other entrepreneurs, and they have challenged me to do better in my business and continuously improve my app. I have met people who are willing to mentor and hold my hand as I scale up my business.

With these new skills, I feel more confident in overcoming the challenges my business faces. I plan to track the performance of the Mama Fua app closely, including monitoring user engagement and feedback to ensure continuous improvement. By keeping detailed records of earnings and expenses, I’ll be able to manage cash flow more effectively and pinpoint areas for growth. I’m also optimistic that, with the support of the Jiinue Growth Program, I’ll be able to secure funding to enhance the app's features, expand its reach, and provide even more opportunities for women seeking cleaning jobs.

Despite where I am today things haven’t been smooth, along the way I have faced a lot of challenges at first I did not know anything about intellectual property from my brand name, concept and idea and how to go about it and I ended up partnering with some people who ended up derailing my progress but that opened my eyes to understanding that in your journey you need to lose some people and create space for new ones who share your vision as an entrepreneur.

My advice to a person who wants to start a business is to start. Things will fall into place along the way. Simply have the idea and the vision of where you want the business to be in 3 months, one year or 20 years. Just start and God will bring people around you who will hold your hand and guide you and correct you when you go wrong. Do not partner with others too early when you do not understand the partnership. You do not need to operate like a big business know your limits and operate within them as you grow slowly.

My vision is to empower women by providing them with reliable opportunities to earn a living through the Mama Fua app, helping them connect with cleaning jobs that offer flexibility, financial independence, and dignity. I aim to create a platform that supports women in securing steady work and fosters a sense of community and confidence. By offering accessible job opportunities, Mama Fua is designed to break down barriers, give women the tools they need to succeed, and ultimately transform the cleaning industry into a space where women can thrive, build sustainable careers, and improve their lives and the lives of their families.