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If you’re prospecting for a firm that’ll deliver portions of the services referred to above—construction, janitorial services, and the acquisition and instalment of furniture and equipment –you’ll find that there are tons of them to choose from. Unless you’re swift and decisive with choosing (or you’re referred to selected businesses by a contact), you may struggle to settle for specific providers. But things would be much easier if you’re working with one firm that renders all of these services. And that’s what Kelechi Maureen Onwukwe thought when she decided to start up a business along that line. Her company, Kelmau Global Services, helps its clients with one or a combination of these services: material and equipment procurement, construction processes, and cleaning. At first glance, Kelechi comes across as mild-mannered. But an extended interaction with her reveals that she’s anything but a pushover. One profile of the serial entrepreneur describes her as “a stern and resilient reformist.” Ultimately, she presents as a tough cookie—the sort of person you would expect to run a successful enterprise in Nigeria’s peculiar commercial environment. Her being a “resilient reformist” also applies to the Non-Governmental Organization she founded in 2018. As its name suggests, the Good Governance Awareness Initiative (GGAI) exists to spread the word about what a properly run society looks like, and what part citizens and their government should play to make it a reality. Her role as its Executive Director has meant that she’s engaged with top government officials and people at the bottom of society’s economic ladder.
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Three years before setting up GGAI, Kelechi established Kelmau. Her travails with the outfit in its early years weren’t very different from what the typical entrepreneur in Nigeria has to face—funding challenges, having to stretch herself across multiple job descriptions just to keep things working, and acquiring her first clients. But thanks to persistent marketing, word of mouth, and general satisfaction with the quality of work the company delivered, it has continued to attract a steady and growing flow of clients. The building services available from Kelmau encompass several phases of the construction process, from the site and project design to actual building and construction management. It functions as a general contractor, engaging vendors and other sub-contractors for as long as its assigned projects last. The company also obtains materials, machinery, instruments and manpower for its clients. Perhaps the most prominent aspect of Kelmau’s work is its cleaning service (there’s a dedicated Instagram page for this side of its operations). It offers general cleaning, janitorial and fumigation services for a range of locations: homes, offices, schools, healthcare facilities, industrial facilities, research facilities, retail stores and transportation hubs. The variety of surfaces it cleans and maintains includes carpets, windows, and hard floors.
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Kelechi appears keen on driving her company further up the growth ladder. She wants to do this by reaching out to more potential patrons, welcoming them into its “family of clients”, and “ensuring a seamless relationship with customers.” The next few years will reveal how well she’s done with respect to achieving this goal. Featured Image Source: Kelmau
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