Meet ‘SunRays Rent-a-Car’ Director Francisca Rangya

Francisca Rangya is the managing director at Sunrays Rent A Car Safaris Limited, a car hire, and tours and travel company based in Nairobi.

She shares some quickfire tidbits about the business.

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We started this business in 2005. We have hit a number of milestones over the past sixteen years. But there is no milestone that beats the pride we got from getting a contract from the American Embassy in July 2015. We were contracted for the transport and logistics of the historical visit of Barack Obama to Kenya. I took a lot of prestige in that job. It was a moment of vindication that even a local company run by a woman can be trusted.

I have had the opportunity to be part of the SheTrades Commonwealth Forum. This is a forum that trains and supports women-owned businesses with over 51 percent shareholding by women. Out of this, I have learned the importance of separating personal and business accounts. You cannot achieve cash flow if you use the same account for your individual and business expenditures, investments, and savings. The forum has been seeking to connect up to one million women entrepreneurs to the global market.

I currently do not have a money-saving method. Previously, I saved my money using the money market fund. I don’t save without a goal, and prefer to direct my funds elsewhere until I get a solid financial goal. I have learned that there is no reward in hurrying to make more money. Be patient. There is no quick money in business. It takes time to build a solid enterprise and for the money to come in.

The year 2020 was not good for business. The coronavirus resulted in our biggest business loss yet. Our revenue relied 80 percent on corporate and international clientele. However, we managed to stay afloat by leveraging on our partnerships. We have since shifted to the business to business model (a transaction between businesses) within the local market which is working out well. Since July last year, we have been on the recovery journey. The business is now able to pay for its statutory bills and salaries despite the prolonged impact of Covid-19. At the very least, we have broken even from the economic ravages of year 2020, and can now aim for profits.

Passion and efficiency go hand in hand. You must love what you do for you to be effective. Sweat it out until you accomplish your goal. Manu Chandaria, one of the business leaders I admire, says that you must never stop until you can feel the heat in your belly.

Sunrays Rent A Car Safaris is a family business. Family businesses can be both the easiest and hardest to operate. We have seen giant family-owned businesses collapse due to a lack of proper systems and structures. To avoid this route, we have deployed several strategies which include consistency, passion and commitment, personalized customer service, infusion of technology, and merit-based decision-making processes.