Dan Githua: Business Owned By Ex-Tuskys CEO After Collapse Of Retailer

• Thousands of employees were rendered jobless after the former giant retailer collapsed due to debt and investor intrigues
• Ex-Tuskys chief executive officer (CEO) Dan Githua was among those affected as he quit his plum position
• Having gained massive experience in retail management, Githua set up Anko Retail, an e-commerce platform in partnership with his friends in the diaspora

When giant retailer Tuskys collapsed, thousands of employees were rendered jobless amid harsh economic conditions.

No one was spared, from top management to low-cadre staff and they had to resort to other means to sustain their families.

Former Tuskys chief executive officer (CEO) Dan Githua was among those affected as he quit his plum position.

He dusted himself and co-founded Anko Retail, an online store.

Anko Retail

Having gained massive experience in retail management, Githua set up the e-commerce platform in partnership with his friends in the diaspora.

Githua is Anko Retail's chief strategist, a position he has held since January 2021, as per his LinkedIn profile.

According to its website, it sells bathroom accessories, office equipment, kitchen and dining items, household appliances, furniture and other goods.

It has shops along Chaka Road, Kilimani off Argwings Khodhek and Gill House Nairobi CBD- Tom Mboya Street.

Inspiration behind Anko Retail

Githua revealed that Anko Retail started as an idea to ride on the wave of online business.

He noted that with other shareholders, they found out there was a gap for non-food items.

"Other e-commerce companies have forged a path and Kenyans now have experience buying online. Mobile money, particularly M-Pesa, has sorted out problems that existed, such as a lack of reliable payment platforms," he told How We Made It in Africa.

Busia man rises from running kiosk to supermarket owner

In other news, John Kariuki Maina is the proprietor and chief executive officer of Tesia Supermarket in Busia and other Western Kenya towns.

Maina started with a small kiosk selling basic goods, and over the years, his business expanded, paving the way for the establishment of a supermarket.

Tesia Supermarket supplies goods to residents in Bungoma, Kakamega, Vihiga, Siaya and Port Victoria markets.

Naivas family feud

Elsewhere, sibling rivalry rocked giant Kenyan retailer Naivas Supermarket Limited after the eldest son of Peter Mukuha Kago opposed the sale of an extra 11% stake worth US$ 41.7 million (KSh 5.92 billion) to foreign investors.

Newton Kagira Mukuha opposed the sale of the extra shares to Mauritian conglomerate IBL Group through Mambo Retail.

Through his lawyers Ahmednasir Abdullahi Advocates LLP, Kagira wants the deal shelved, arguing it contravened an order issued by the Court of Appeal in November 2021 that prohibited dealing in disputed shares.