At the 2015 Great Lakes regional awards, Jennifer Mwijukye, the
founder of Unifreight, was named the most influential woman CEO in the
logistics and shipping industry.
The 2016 MTN Women in Business
Awards added their voice on her growing stature honouring her as the
keynote speaker to challenge women in business to “up their game”.
As
a champion of change in the industry, Mwijukye explains how she built
her empire that extends to Kenya through dedication and hard work.
Until 1994, Mwijukye was a purchasing assistant at British American Tobacco (BAT) as a purchasing assistant.
She worked with BAT for five years after graduating from the National College of Business Studies, Nakawa (current MUBS) from 1989-1994.
Afterwards she joined Urgent Cargo Handling. This is when dots connected. At BAT she was involved so much into client service provider basis and she got to know all about clearing and forwarding. The prior knowledge at BAT gave her an edge during the job interview where she was recruited as a customer service supervisor.
After two years, she spotted an opportunity to start her own business.
“I
started with one of my clients who saw potential in me to be a
businesswoman that I didn’t know,” Mwijukye recalls. Zak Fontana, the
owner of Fontana Auto Parts, encouraged her to start business.
In 1996, she opened doors to Unifreight to do customs clearing with a partner who left in 2002. At the time she was interested in doing airfreight which she thinks was her biggest advantage.
“I think I was good at coordinating airfreight. There was little sea freight at the time until 1995 when the Nairobi offices diversified into trucking,” she adds.
