On the 30th July, The Kenya Gazzette issued a notice of intended dissolution of Softa Bottling Company Limited. This gives the company three months to show a cause of contrast without which the company will seize to exist by 30 October 2019. The notice came after the company failed to run its operations, as a result of high operating costs and lack of capital.
In 2016, the company required at least Ksh500 million to stay adrift. Such an amount could only come from a strong investor. However, according to Peter Kurugu, the owner, the business had a fall out with strategic partners. Most investors urged the businessman to reinvest 60% after which they would devote the remaining 40%; a deal that did not appeal to the entrepreneur. The family business sought to get rid of the assets and capitalize on space to bring back the foregone revenue
So Much Promise.
Softa showed so much promise. In its infancy days, the company recorded high production from its two manufacturing plants, producing up to 2000 crates in an hour. Once Coca Cola’s local competitor, the company was eyeing to list on the NSE as well as export its beverages to Somalia and other markets in the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA).
While the fate of Softa is clear, Peter Kurugu is bloodied but unbowed. He still hopes to take lessons from his failure and invest in other businesses in the future.
