Before Azym Dossa founded Easy Coach Bus Company in Kenya, he was an accomplished Chief Executive Officer for a transport company in Canada.
Dossa quit the role and decided to venture out on his own. He was 52 years old when he informed his family that he wanted to move back to Kenya to start his own transport company.
At first, he faced some discouragement from his family who were not convinced by his idea. He however overlooked the reservation and embarked on a journey to Kenya.
“Running a company is one thing. Starting from scratch is something else. When I was 52 and living in Canada, I told my boys I would return to Kenya to start my business. They discouraged me,” Dossa stated during an interview with Business Daily.
What Inspired Easy Coach
After moving to Kenya, Dossa noticed that no company in the long-distance travel sector had a waiting lounge with washrooms for their passengers.
Determined to fill the gap, Dossa spent his savings to buy seven buses and built a waiting lounge in Nairobi and Kisumu. That marked the start of his empire in Kenya.
“When we brought the buses on the road, they cost about Ksh4 million each, now the same would cost about Ksh14 million each and that’s a big hike,” Dossa explained some of his starting capital.
After launch, he faced another challenge involving bus fares. At that time the long-distance market was dominated by the Akamba bus which was charging Ksh400 yet Easy Coach charged Ksh500 from Nairobi to Kisumu.
“We started with seven buses going from and to Nairobi and Kisumu. We then bought four more buses. When the company became stable, we started buying up to 12 buses a year for three years, then we went to 24 buses a year, pre-high season. They are utilized immediately and paid back, it worked out properly.
Choosing the seat configuration was very important, we went for the 34 seaters to give more comfort and legroom,” he stated in a separate interview.
Easy Coach Success
Currently, Easy Coach company has 75 buses plying different routes. The company has also over 900 employees in different parts of the country.
The buses transport people and parcels to over 37 destinations spread across Nyanza, North Rift, and Western regions. It also transports passengers from Nairobi all the way to Kampala, Uganda.
In 2019, the Kenya Revenue Authority named Easy Coach as among the top tax compliance firms in the transport sector.
Despite the business success, Dossa revealed that his children are still not interested in taking over due to their interests in the medical field.
“I have two boys both of whom are outside of the country and are in the medical field. When I tell them to come and help me out, they say they can’t. We have 800 employees across the country. I have thought of succession and what happens next, it is good to have proper CEOs and general managers who are doing it the way you would do it in your presence. It is good to rest,” he stated in an interview with the Standard.
