The four Kenyans who founded one of the largest trucking companies in the US grew their fleet from three to 300 trucks.
Kenyans are renowned around the world for their inventiveness in business. A segment of Kenyans in the diaspora who have established successful businesses in their host nations exhibit a strong entrepreneurial spirit. In this article, we tell the tale of Alex Karundu, Michael Njenga, Herbert Langat, and Bernard Langat, four Kenyans who worked together to build a prosperous logistics business with over 300 vehicles operating in the United States of America (USA).
Here is Wakenyaleo account of the founders of Seagate Holdings.
Seagate Holdings, Inc.
A logistics, freight, and trucking business called Seagate Holdings Limited was founded in 2014 and is headquartered in Dallas, Texas.
The company comprises five major subsidiaries namely Seagate Freight which deals with dry cargo, Dolphin Carriers which offers refrigerator services, Neptune trucking which offers transportation services. The other two subsidiaries are Dolphin Brokerage and Dolphin Fulfilment and Warehousing. The company began operations with 3 trucks and has grown to operate over 300 trucks. They have employed 340 individuals mostly from the East African region.
The Creators
The four founders had initially immigrated to the USA for additional academic pursuits. After becoming friends for a while, they bonded over the desire to become their bosses amid the US recession of 2008, which had an impact on their sources of income. They learned that more than 400 million Americans depend on the shipping of either food or clothing, which led to the creation of Seagate Holdings Limited. Business growth is the responsibility of the company’s president, Michael Njenga, while risk management is the responsibility of the managing director, Alex Karundu, the director of operations, Herbert Langat, and the chief financial officer, Bernard Langat.
Challenges in the Business
During an exclusive interview with Alex Chamwada on the Daring Abroad show, Herbert Lang’at revealed that running a business in America is quite harder than in Africa but the returns are worth it.
“Over here there are so many regulations. It’s not like where we come from in Africa where you can run a business without regulations. Over here you have to go through those regulations and challenges where you have to stay by the law. The government is always monitoring the company to see how we are performing,” he said.
Other Activities
The founders through Seagate Holdings LLC offer mentorship programs for Africans living in the US. The company provides internship opportunities to university graduates who are looking forward to joining the logistics and freight industry. The founders have also opened a call center at Sifa Towers located in Hurlingham Nairobi where Kenyans can get help in transporting their goods from the US to Kenya. The company is planning to start shipping goods from the US ordered by Kenyans the e-commerce platforms such as eBay, Alibaba, and Amazon. The company’s vision is to become the largest African-owned logistics and Freight Company in the United States of America.
