Rebecca Manzi Mahamud Omari started MOMO Pencils, a company that produces pencils using recycled newspaper instead of wood
After 25 years as a publicist in Tanzania, Mahamud Omari made a bold decision: he returned to Kenya to start his own business. Initially, he explored various entrepreneurial ideas but struggled to find one that was truly profitable.
It was a friend, now an investor, who suggested an innovative business plan: producing pencils from recycled newspaper instead of wood. The idea took hold with him instantly. With his logistics expert brother, Rashid Omar, he began MOMO Pencils, a company with a keen environmental ethos.
Today, Mahamud is the general manager and Rashid looks after operations. They have a vision beyond just business success; they wish to help maintain the environment and improve education.
On their website, they say they have planted more than 7,000 trees over the past two years and started the “Hope for Literacy” campaign, which will have them distribute pencils for free to one million poor children.
How the pencil process works
Their answer is a ground-breaking way of saving millions of trees. Every year, around 8 million trees are cut down around the world to be used for pencil production, and every tree will yield around 170,000 pencils. MOMO Pencils is reversing this with recycled newspapers—a cheap and abundant material in Kenya.
Production was in the beginning low, with 10 quality pencils produced daily. But after new machinery was installed, the firm expanded. The company now produces between one and three million pencils monthly, up to one million per month from 50 employees, comprising of several women and youths.
The procedure begins by cutting strips out of newspapers according to the requirement by the Kenya Bureau of Standards. Graphite is then put between the paper strips, with their rolling followed by gluing together.
Through this process, the pencils are left to dry naturally for a couple of days prior to being hand-polished with sandpaper. Then they receive a protective layer, which can be customized as per client orders. Finally, the pencils are hand-sharpened prior to packaging and distribution.
Challenges and market growth
Though successful, MOMO Pencils has not been able to sell in Kenya, primarily due to price. A box of a dozen wooden pencils will cost between 200 and 500 Kenyan shillings ($1.50 – $3.95), whereas MOMO Pencils products range from 480 to 780 shillings ($3.80 – $6.15). However, internet sales are growing, expanding the company’s base. The vision of MOMO Pencils is very clear: “we want to give back more than we take from the environment.”
Source: MOMO Pencils Online Shop
