Peter Nyagah was born and raised on the slopes of Mout Kenya in Embu County. His dream as a child was to be a banker like his father. “I really admired my father’s work and as I grew up, I just wanted to walk in his footsteps”. He would keep this dream alive albeit temporarily because as he became older, his interest in banking began to fade and his inclination towards engineering started to rise. “As I grew up, I found myself getting interested in electronics and electrical devices and how they work. It was at this moment that I changed my mind from wanting to be a banker to being an engineer”.
Upon completion of secondary school, he was admitted to the Jaramogi Oginga Odinga University of Science and Technology in 2015 to study for a degree in Renewable Energy, Technology, and Management. He graduated in 2019. But like many graduates in Kenya, he didn’t secure a job after completing his studies, rather he found himself doing small hustles for a penny. Later he landed a job with OPPO Kenya as a sales agent before another window of opportunity opened and he got employed at a Christian organization as a sound technician and media coordinator.
As time moved by, he wanted to make good use of the skills he had thus acquired and turn them into profit-making venture. He identified a gap in the marketing industry. After four and half years, he left his job and founded the Petrus Marketing Agency; the company he today runs as a managing director.
Business Journey
Like many children, Peter never envisioned himself as an entrepreneur, however, while at the university, he used to read stories of young men who owned companies and he admired them. “The idea of starting my own company didn’t come to my mind until later at the height of COVID-19”. It was during this moment that he saw an opportunity and decided to pursue it.
Out of fear of failing, Peter wouldn’t register the company. So, he put it aside and only considered it seriously after COVID-19 in November 2022. After starting operations, his fears became a reality because he didn’t do well but through passion, dedication, and commitment, he pushed on and in August 2023, he finally registered the company and worked hard at it. It would eventually pick. Today, working with a team of skilled designers, writers, and social media experts, they are dedicated to providing exceptional service and driving results for their clients. He provides customized marketing experience to his clients in Embu County and has big dreams of not just serving national but international markets as well.
Customized Marketing and Advertising
As a marketing and advertising agency, Peter says that while providing a wide range of services including brand strategy, digital marketing, social media management, and content creation he uses a data-driven marketing approach in helping businesses of all sizes to achieve their marketing goals. ‘’We work closely with our clients to understand their target audience, their business objectives, and their competitive landscape to develop customized marketing strategies that deliver results. Whether it’s increasing brand awareness, driving website traffic, or generating leads and sales, we have the expertise and tools to help our clients succeed” Peter affirms.
Integrity in Business
In 2023, Peter attended business ethics and compliance training provided by Twiw’ane Investments Ltd, a franchise holder for the Center for International Private Enterprise (CIPE), in collaboration with the Kenyan National Chamber of Commerce. The training focused on developing standards and procedures, as well as policies and compliance, to help firms decrease risk, create stability, allow for growth, and maintain integrity.
According to Grace Nzou, the founder and chief trainer of Twiw’ane Investments Ltd, the seminars are designed to help businesses run more professionally, with a focus on core business areas such as finance, human resources, procurement, and customer management.
Participants are mentored in business development and strategic growth, as well as encouraged to follow ethical and compliance norms. Businesses that employ these methods are listed on the Ethics 1st Platform. Ethics 1st is a multi-stakeholder initiative led by CIPE that assists companies in emerging markets, particularly in Africa, in standardizing their business practices, developing sound corporate governance and business integrity systems, and demonstrating compliance with global partners and counterparts, paving the way for accountable and sustainable investment in the region.
Chairperson of the KNCCI in Embu County John Mate attests to the outstanding impact of these trainings, claiming that business owners now run ethical and compliant enterprises adding that “it is cheaper to run an ethical business than unethical one, the trainings were good, and came at the right time”.
Peter, like many other business owners who attended the course, agrees with the critical lessons he learned about compliance and company development. The workshop helped to improve business strategies, human resources policies, and record keeping, decreased turnover, boosted clients and revenue, and improved understanding of government regulations such as license and taxes remittances.
Peter now uses these standards to manage his company thereby promoting a better work environment for him as the managing director and his employees. In the future, Peter hopes to be a CEO of an ethical company with global outreach.
Grace reports that the training has so far impacted 150 small businesses in four counties, with 100 of them categorized in the Green Category. The Business Ethics Program’s success highlights its role in developing ethical, compliance, and appropriate business practices.
