Shamim Quresh is the founder of Koro Gaia, an African skincare brand built around African botanicals and research for melanated skin. She talks about the realities of manufacturing in Kenya, including 60 to 70% tax on imported inputs, what happened when funding stopped and she shut the business down in 2023, and how third-party manufacturing helped her generate income while rebuilding. She also shares why founders need to ask more questions, even when they feel like “dumb” questions, and her vision for African beauty.

Lorna Joyce has lived several lifetimes in one. She lost her father, her brother, and her mother before she was 18 — and found herself caretaking, surviving, and building from scratch while most people her age were still figuring out what they wanted to be. That foundation of loss, faith, and raw determination is what eventually gave birth to Binti Marvels, one of Kenya's most purpose-led femcare brands.

In this episode, Lorna takes us through all of it: the 100,000 pads she brought in with almost no capital and sold shop-to-shop from a van, the investor who pulled out and forced a full shutdown, the 30 employees she had to let go, and the therapy that finally helped her process decades of grief and control. She also shares why she came back — with Mrembo, Kenya's first locally manufactured pad designed explicitly for the African woman. If you've ever had to pause something you love and wondered whether to go back, this one is for you.

What happens when you come back home and the thing your daughter needs simply doesn't exist?

You build it.

Grace Muritu is the founder of Elite Gymnastics Academy in Nairobi. A former pediatric nurse who returned to Kenya after 12 years in the US and created a competitive gymnastics training facility from scratch. No blueprint. No investors. Just land she was willing to sell and a vision she couldn't let go of.

This week on So, How's Business?, the real story behind Elite Gymnastics. The build, the coaches, the children, and the Olympic dream she's quietly working towards.

So, How's Business? is a weekly podcast documenting African women entrepreneurs — the real experiences, hard lessons, and the stories behind the business. New episodes every Tuesday.