For Kaberia Bariu, an avocado tells a story about why so many small businesses in Kenya struggle to grow. In his village, he says, a farmer can sell an avocado to a broker for as little as Sh5. By the time that same avocado reaches Nairobi or another urban market, it may fetch between Sh30 and Sh50.
The product has not necessarily changed. What has changed is how it is presented, packaged, and sold. There is branding. There is packaging. There is market information. There is an understanding of what customers want and how much they are willing to pay. For Bariu, this knowledge gap is one of the biggest obstacles standing between many small businesses and growth.
“Most of these farmers sell to brokers at a throwaway price because they do not know how to brand and package their products to fetch the best price,” says Bariu.
It is this that pushed Bariu, an Actuarial Science graduate, away from what might have been a conventional career path. In August 2019, he founded Setpace Consultancy Limited, a corporate training, team-building and advisory company. Seven years later, the business has grown from a three-person operation distributing flyers to potential clients on foot to a company with 13 full-time employees and a network of 31 specialist associates.
The journey, however, has been anything but smooth. It has involved surviving a pandemic barely months after launching, operating without an office, cutting prices to win clients and navigating the rising cost of doing business. The company currently offers training programmes in areas such as sales, marketing, taxation, strategic planning, customer service and market penetration for clients across Kenya and beyond.
The company's progress has been gradual. Bariu remembers the early days when finding clients meant walking around Nairobi's Westlands area distributing flyers. There were no guarantees. A brochure handed to a potential client could be ignored, a phone call could go unanswered, while a meeting could end without a contract.
For a young business, rejection was part of the job.
Kaberia Bariu, the founder and CEO of Setpace Consultancy Limited, at the company's office in Spur Mall, Ruiru.
Photo credit: Pool
“The early days were difficult because you had to convince people to give you an opportunity,” Bariu says. But the company continued building relationships and has also expanded its client portfolio beyond Kenya. For Bariu, however, the most satisfying measure of growth is seeing businesses he has worked with expand. He recalls a client who approached Setpace in 2021 as a two-person startup requiring assistance with basic business registration. The company has since grown into an enterprise employing more than 40 people and operating three branches.
“When you see a business grow and eventually create jobs for other people, that is when you feel the work has made an impact,” he says.
Setpace's growth has also attracted recognition. The company has received the Jamhuri Kenya Leadership Award and the Ujasiri Labour Awards. It has also featured among the Top 100 Most Dependable Brands and received the Star Brands Award as an SME to watch.
“The most important thing is whether you are solving a real problem,” he says. At the centre of Setpace's operations is what Bariu calls the “Three Ps” philosophy: People, Planet and Profit.
The first pillar is people. The company seeks to design programmes that empower individuals across different levels of society. That could mean training a Mama Mboga on basic business principles or helping a technology startup strengthen its leadership structures.
The second pillar is the planet. Bariu says the company is conscious of the environmental impact of its activities, particularly outdoor training and team-building events.
The aim, he says, is to ensure activities do not leave a negative environmental footprint.
The final pillar is profit. Like every SME, Setpace must generate income to survive. But Bariu believes businesses should balance financial success with community responsibility. The company has occasionally offered pro bono training to marginalised groups. This philosophy is also reflected in its involvement in the NYOTA programme, a government initiative aimed at providing entrepreneurship education, skills training and work experience for unemployed young people.
For Bariu, youth unemployment is not merely a national conversation; it is something he encounters in his inbox.
“Every day I receive so many emails from young people asking for work opportunities,” he says.
Despite its growth, Setpace is not immune to the challenges facing businesses today. High operating costs are making it increasingly difficult to price services. Transport is more expensive, accommodation costs have increased, and hotels and conference facilities are charging more. At the same time, clients are also under financial pressure. Corporate training and team-building are sometimes treated as discretionary expenses.
When companies begin cutting costs, such services can be among the first to be postponed. This leaves service providers in a difficult position.
“If I charged a client a certain amount for team-building services in Mombasa in 2021, it is simply not viable for me to charge that same price today because transport and accommodation costs have doubled. The entrepreneur then faces a difficult decision, since raising prices may lead to losing the client. One could maintain the old price, but that would mean operating with lower margins.
“So you have to decide whether to increase the cost and potentially lose a client, or stick to the initial pricing but operate at a loss,” he says.
