(So) How's Business?

About (So) How's Business?

(So) How's Business? is the podcast for African women entrepreneurs who are figuring it out as they go. Hosted by Alma Mabachi, a bootstrapping founder and mother, this show trades polished success stories for raw, honest conversations. Every week is a candid look into the lives of women entrepreneurs and hustlers navigating the messy middle: the pivots, failures, small wins, big dreams, and what it actually takes to build something from scratch. Connect with us @sohowsbusiness on IG, X, Facebook, Tiktok, and Linkedin. Send us an email on sohowsbusinesspodcast@gmail.com

Publisher

Alma Mabachi

Category

business

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

27 Oct 2025

Latest episode

27 Oct 2026

Latest episodes

32 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   27 Oct 2026

   Ep 31- Hiring Wrong, Firing Late and Managing Gen Z | Juliet Gateri

   Why do so many founders hire the wrong people and hold on to them for too long? Juliet Gateri is the founder of Alternate Doors, a Kenyan HR consultancy that helps small and medium businesses hire, build and manage their teams. Over 13 years in business, she has seen the same people problems play out again and again, including in her own company. In this episode of So, How's Business?, Juliet shares how she started Alternate Doors with no plan B, a Gmail address and a round of cold emails after being pushed out of a startup she helped build. She talks about her first hires, who approached her clients for jobs and walked out after payday, and why that experience made her start paying herself first. We also discuss the most common hiring mistakes first-time founders make, what culture fit actually means in a small business, how she tells founders when they are the problem, mental health and addiction in the workplace, managing Gen Z employees, using AI in recruitment and why firing fast matters more than founders like to admit. A practical conversation about hiring, leadership, boundaries and the people side of building a business. This is So, How's Business? Follow us for more honest conversations with African women entrepreneurs and the realities of building businesses.

2. 

   13 Oct 2026

   Ep 30- Burnout, Twins and a Bridal Business in Kenya | Ogake Mosomi

   What does it take to build a successful business without losing yourself in the process? Ogake Mosomi is the founder of Ogake Bridal, a Kenyan fashion brand specialising in bespoke bridal and wedding gowns. Over 15 years in business, she has experienced the highs of a growing brand, the challenges of managing a team, creative burnout and the realities of balancing entrepreneurship with motherhood. In this episode of So, How’s Business?, Ogake shares the experiences she has rarely spoken about publicly, including employee betrayal, depression and postpartum depression while raising twins and continuing to run her business. She explains why she chose to downsize, how she approaches pricing and profit margins in bespoke fashion, and why she is exploring consulting and training as new ways to use her expertise. We also discuss the challenges facing Kenya’s fashion industry, the importance of business skills for creatives, access to funding, and what it means to build a business that works for your life rather than consumes it. A candid conversation about entrepreneurship, mental health, motherhood, money and redefining success on your own terms. This is So, How’s Business? Follow us for more honest conversations with African women entrepreneurs and the realities of building businesses.

3. 

   29 Sept 2026

   Ep 29 - Building a Gluten-Free Food Business in Kenya with Anna Wanjiru of Home Chef

   What happens when the foods you grew up with, chapati, mandazi, bread and cake, suddenly aren't an option? Anna Wanjiru, founder of Home Chef, joins Alma to talk about building a gluten-free food business in Kenya after her daughter had to go gluten-free. What started as a mother's search for better food options became three years of experimentation, a bakery, a gluten-free flour business and a much bigger question: how do you build a scalable food company in a category that people are still learning about? Anna shares how Home Chef went from producing chapati, mandazi, samosas and other baked goods to shutting down the bakery and focusing on flour because the original model wasn't scalable. They also talk about getting rejected by retailers who thought gluten-free was too niche, educating customers, building trust, getting into larger corporate relationships, why investors can be cautious about category-building businesses, and what it takes to scale a food business across Kenya and East Africa. Anna also opens up about being a solopreneur, decision fatigue, being underestimated as a woman founder, running multiple businesses before learning to focus on one, and why entrepreneurship takes longer and more work than you expect. It's a conversation about food, entrepreneurship, category creation, resilience, scaling, investment and what it actually takes to build a business when there is no playbook. This is So, How’s Business?

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Guest appearances

Books guests

Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.