Newton Owino, one of Kisumu’s fast-rising entrepreneurs, can trace his newfound fortune back to a trek through a dumpsite littered with fish waste and birds of prey.
With a degree in leather chemistry from an Indian university and no work in sight, Owino decided to follow a flock of birds around the Kisumu International Airport.
His deed was motivated by curiosity and a general desire to pass the time, only to discover the one thing that would transform his life forever.
The pungent fish waste was both enticing and nasty, but Owino recognized a chance to apply his university expertise.
“I immediately concluded that with the knowledge I had, I could turn the waste into a source of economic advantage for myself and others by creatively exploring the free raw material,” he said.
His first move was to persuade the National Environment Management Authority (NEMA) that his company would not only be financially feasible but also environmentally friendly.
Owino’s plan astounded NEMA and Kisumu County government officials, resulting in the establishment of Owino’s Alisam Development Product and Design Industry in Kajulu, on the outskirts of Kisumu City.
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He rapidly identified and trained Kisumu natives on optimal methods, and he was soon earning millions.
The 40-year-old entrepreneur transforms fish scales and other garbage into valuable products for the domestic and international markets.
“We export tanned fish skin mainly to Europe and some African countries and use it locally to make shoes, jackets, designer women’s handbags, drums and belts,” he stated.
Interestingly, the term ‘waste’ does not exist in Owino’s establishment.
Fish intestines are tanned to obtain strings that are used to manufacture ladies’ sandals, and the leftover bones are cooked into glue for binding.
Whatever remains of the flesh is scraped off and used to feed chickens and other animals. Fish companies near Kisumu generate approximately 150,000 tons of fish waste each year.
Following his meteoric ascent to success, Owino founded the Kisumu Leather Dealers Association to assist him in qualifying for Small and Medium Enterprise (SME) loans from Kenya Industrial Estates (KIE).
Aside from the shoemakers distributed across Kisumu City who rely on his fish leather product, at least 300 local women who collect and clean fish remnants, as well as 17 employees, make bread through his revolutionary enterprise.
15 years later, Owino is creating market opportunities for 80 local farmers who supply the leather factory with a variety of sustainable products, including papain, a papaya extract used as a leather softener, and bleaching agents and dyes derived from moringa, hibiscus and other local plants.
