Kelvin Macharia: Sunrise Tracking success story

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Growing up in Nairobi, he says, inspired the idea due to the rampant cases of vehicle robbery and carjacking incidents, after which many vehicles would never be recovered despite having a tracking device. He says he saw this as a challenge for motorists that would only be solved by adding an innovative feature to the vehicle tracking products that were already in the market. "Sunrise Tracking is a company that offers authentic innovative security solutions for both vehicles and buildings. The business started operating in the year 2012," he says.

Just like any other new business, Macharia reckons that putting up Sunrise Tracking was challenging, mainly due to capital shortfall and market skepticism. He had Ksh30,000 in savings from pocket money during his high school days, but it was too little to cover all expenses for setting up all the required structures for the business to run. "I decided to start with two units of tracking which I would market by word of mouth and social media posting. My bet was that the innovative feature on my designed product would sell easier and faster," he says.

He says he reinvested the profits after selling the two units, which enabled him to rent a proper operational office. According to Macharia, Sunrise Tracking is currently dealing in a range of products, which include tracking systems for vehicles and motorbikes, alarm systems for vehicles and buildings, and surveillance cameras for vehicles and buildings.

The services on offer include fleet management, fuel management, vehicle recovery and mobile-based surveillance. He says the security industry is highly competitive due to proliferation by international companies, adding that he has managed to get a fair market share through innovation and customisation of products according to the needs of clients. However, he says the business has achieved consistent growth since inception, mainly driven by provision of products and services that are innovative and authentic. "In the next five years I see Sunrise Tracking being a noble fleet management provider to the entire East African region of Sub-Saharan Africa," he says.

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