Betty Wanjiru.

Chang’aa has minted her millions

She started off 15 years ago as an illegal chang’aa brewer and had expensive run-ins with the police. Fours years ago, Betty Wanjiru started the process of making her brewing business legal and she is the first Kenyan to get a licence to operate a chang’aa brewing plant. Now, she runs BetPet Industry and Investment Company, which is worth Sh10 million

By Bernard Gitau @benagitau
Does it matter how the journey started? Betty Wanjiru, the proprietor and director of BetPet Industry and Investment Company, which deals with distillation and packaging of chang’aa says not. When she narrates her story, she is not shy to say she grew up watching her mother sell chang’aa. Consequently, she says brewing and drinking was perhaps one of the things she knew how to do best.
“I mastered the art of chang’aa brewing business from watching from my mother,” she says. After years of cat and mouse games with law enforces, Wanjiru decided to become legit and she runs a business she estimates to be worth about Sh10 million. However, this came at a cost. “Before people accepted my packaged chang’aa. I had to drink quite a few pints.
There are few days when I went home sober,” she says adding that she does not regret. She says that is water under the bridge because she was the first chang’aa entrepreneur to acquire a licence from National Authority for the Campaign Against Drug and Alcohol Abuse (NACADA).
Other authorities like Kenya Bureau of Standards, Kenya Revenue Authority have licensed her to manufacture and package chang’aa. According to KRA certification, Wanjiru is authorised to produce 12,000 litres of chang’aa annually due to the industry capacity and licenses applied. At the moment, she packs her chang’aa known as ‘Cool One’ in 250ml and 205ml bottles.
And she relishes seeing her bottled brand. Wanjiru says she sold chang’aa illegally for 15 years before deciding to turn over a new leaf three four years ago. She has employed 12 permanent workers and six casual labourers. But how did she end up selling chang’aa?

Betty Wanjiru.

The 40-year-old mother of four had to take over the role of breadwinner for her six siblings after completing her secondary school education in 1990 after her mother quit her business in Koibatek, Maji Mazuri area. “I moved from Koibatek to Nakuru at Mwariki Estate in 1997 where and I set up chang’aa joint,” she says.
Wanjiru says she made good money, but most of it went into bribing police. Wanjiru says the highest bribe she paid was Sh100,000. Her turning point was in 2012 after she lost chang’aa worth Sh900,000 and raw materials worth Sh400,000 after a police raid. “That is when I started thinking about brewing chang’aa legally,” she says.
She says Nacada officials were not at first receptive to the idea despite the fact that the government legalised chang’aa in 2010. Wanjiru says the reason many brewers have not gone legit is because the application process is long and tedious. Manufacturers are supposed to send samples to Nacada for analysis. If approved, they are issued with a Certificate of Analysis from Nacada.
In total, one is supposed to have around eight licenses that cost around Sh1.6 million. “All these cost money that many people are not willing to part with,” she says. Wanjiru says it took almost two years to get the right certification, but adds that her patience was worth the wait. Now, she runs BetPet Industry and Investment Company, which is worth Sh10 million.
According to her husband who is also the company co-director, Peter Macharia, their liquor is pure. “The process starts from fermentation room where we mix 80 litres of water, 90kg molasses,100gm yeast and 0.5kg millet in a drum for six days,’ says Macharia said.
On the seventh day, the mixture is taken to the distillation area where it is heated and collected ready to be taken to a laboratory for testing. “They test alcohol and methanol content, which is determined by the quality of molasses,” Macharia says. Wanjiru says she has not diversified into other areas of investment because she wants to build an empire in the liquor industry.
On whether she is a worthy role model, she says. “Women who are venturing or are already in business should not despise a humble beginning. Her motto for success is: “Go into the business or venture with a blind, furious optimism. In the end, there will be a reward,” she says.