NAKURU, Kenya — A Nakuru businesswoman whose emotional TikTok video about the lack of customers at her hotel went viral has thanked Kenyans for rescuing her struggling business.
Harriet Akinyi, who opened her restaurant in November 2025, said public support following the clip has revived the enterprise and restored her hope after months of losses.
Two days ago, Akinyi posted a video on TikTok showing herself in tears as she lamented the sharp drop in customers, despite investing all her savings into the hotel. The clip struck a chord with viewers across the country.
Within hours, Kenyans began visiting her restaurant in large numbers, transforming a business that had been on the brink of collapse.
“The kindness I received saved my business and my sanity,” Akinyi said.
She said the restaurant performed well in its first month of operation, with daily sales ranging between Sh 15,000 and Sh 19,000. The situation, however, changed sharply in early December.
“From the first week of December until the day I posted the video, things were really bad,” she said. “Sales dropped to less than Sh 1,000 a day.”
Akinyi said the losses forced her to repeatedly dip into her own pocket to restock food supplies, only to watch meals go unsold.
“There were days I cooked food and no customer came. I had to throw away the stock,” she recalled. “I exhausted all the money I had. That is when I hit rock bottom.”
She described moments of quiet despair, including a day when total sales amounted to just Sh 324.
“I went home and broke down in tears,” she said. “Sometimes I would cry here at the hotel, but I did not want my employees to see it.”
Akinyi said the emotional toll of watching her business fail pushed her to record the video, even though she did not expect it to attract widespread attention.
“I was hopeless. I had tried everything,” she said. “I made the video knowing I was not alone. I did not know it would go viral.”
Since the clip spread, customers have continued streaming in, with some forced to eat outside due to limited space inside the restaurant.
She said she has also received donations and calls of encouragement from Kenyans both locally and abroad.
“I am receiving calls even from outside the country,” she said. “Thank you so much, guys.”
In a follow-up TikTok video, Akinyi disclosed that contributions from netizens had significantly improved her financial position and stabilised the business.
Many Kenyans online have vowed to continue supporting the hotel, hailing the episode as a reminder of the power of social media and collective goodwill in sustaining small businesses.
For Akinyi, the viral moment marked a turning point.
“I was at my lowest,” she said. “Today, I am standing because people chose to show up.”
