Nairobi: The sound of clanging metal echoes across a dusty yard in Kericho town. Piles of scrap twisted iron, broken machinery, and discarded plastics stretch across the store. To most people, this is simply waste but to Khan Lelei, it is a pure opportunity.
According to Kenya News Agency, at only 36, Khan has built Trevas Limited into a thriving Jua Kali business, proving that wealth can be created from what others throw away. His motto is simple: takataka ni mali. Khan's story is not one of easy beginnings. With a business degree and a short stint as a part-time lecturer at Kisii University's School of Business and Economics, he expected a formal career. Instead, joblessness forced him to choose between despair and innovation.
He chose the latter. 'After school, opportunities were so few. I had to choose between sitting idle and creating something for myself. That's how this business was born,' he recalls. Five years later, Trevas Limited is a lifeline for many in Kericho. Khan directly employs 20 young men and women and sustains another 20 indirectly through transport, collection, and related services.
His yard also doubles as a training ground for interns who gain practical lessons in loading, sorting, and handling scrap. 'I tell them even manual jobs are opportunities. You start small, you grow,' Khan says with conviction. The journey has not been without hardship. His business grapples with rising licence fees, unreliable access to raw materials, and frequent losses during demonstrations when goods are stolen or destroyed.
'Sometimes you lose a whole consignment in transit,' he explains. But setbacks have only sharpened his resolve. The resilience runs in his blood. Khan grew up in a Jua Kali household, watching his father craft a living from scraps. 'My father was in Jua Kali. I grew up watching him create something from nothing. That's how I learnt these skills. That's where the hunger for this business came from.'
Through grit and determination, Khan has built a life that many with formal jobs still chase. His scrap business has financed new investments, secured a comfortable home, and ensured his children's education. For him, Jua Kali is not just a fallback but a calling. 'Jua Kali has dignity. Scrap has value. And waste, if handled well, feeds families. That's my motivation every single day,' he says, adjusting his gloves before leading his team back to work.
Khan's story is a reminder that success does not always come wrapped in neckties at corner offices. Sometimes it wears dusty overalls, carries heavy sacks, and emerges from heaps of junk. For him and many others in Kenya's informal sector, takataka ni mali is not just a phrase; it is a way of life, proof that even in waste, wealth can be found.