Gladys Anyango, founder of Glad-Ice Enterprise, stumbled onto a business opportunity that many people overlook every day. She now runs a profitable ice production business from a 150-square-foot room in her compound in Ndwaru, along Nairobi Road, supplying clubs, restaurants, fishmongers, hospitals, and supermarkets across Nairobi.
Her path to ice began in 2015 when delayed salary payments while working in Juba, South Sudan, forced her to find alternative income. Temperatures in Juba regularly reached 40 degrees Celsius, creating constant demand for chilled water and ice. She entered ice production in 2016, buying a machine for $6,000 and building a client base before civil unrest forced her back to Kenya in 2019.
Her return coincided with the COVID-19 pandemic and a shrinking job market. She brought her machinery home and started marketing on Facebook before fully installing the equipment. Restaurant owners, bar operators, and fishmongers began making enquiries almost immediately, confirming significant unmet demand for quality ice in Nairobi.
Today Anyango produces up to 150 kilograms of ice per day, rising to 250 to 300 kilograms on weekends and public holidays. Monthly operating costs reach approximately Sh74,000, covering electricity at Sh25,000 to Sh30,000, packaging bags at over Sh20,000, water filtration, and labor. Despite those costs, monthly profits exceed Sh100,000 with profit margins reaching nearly 59%.
Her key lesson for aspiring entrepreneurs is direct: validate demand before investing. “Market first, manufacture second,” she says. Advertising on social media before completing setup allowed her to confirm demand before committing additional resources.
She has since expanded from Facebook to TikTok advertising, which she describes as equally promising.
