From Kenyan to the US, all Diana Muturia was set to accomplish were her studies in Mechanical Engineering.
But as fate would have it, lack of funds to pay for her tuition forced her out of class while in her last year.
It was a difficult moment and all her mind raced on was how to survive after dropping out of college.
Diana, 27, who lives in Phoenix, Arizona decided to become a cleaner in people’s homes back in the US to sustain her daily needs. This was when her life turned around.
Diana got into the job and as she worked, she realized that many other people depended on this kind of job to earn a living but the challenge was getting it.
“As I was meeting other people cleaning houses, I started understanding I wasn’t the only person going through this. Everyone has a unique story, whether that’s an opportunity that didn’t work out or they just came to the U.S. or they’re simply doing their best every day working their butt off,” she narrates.
Thinking of how she would solve this problem and get more people working, she successfully applied for a loan through the International Rescue Committee (IRC) microenterprise program for refugee and immigrant-run small businesses.
She then developed an app, Clyn using the funding from IRC. She did the coding for her app with the intent link people up with more cleaning jobs.
Diana has been using this platform to crack stereotypes associated with doing these jobs, often considered “dirty” and lacking class.
Clyn now connects professional cleaners with cleaning jobs and also ensures that all those working on these jobs are safe in this era of COVID-19.
“I wanted to create an app that would help cleaners, as well as plumbers and other home service providers, have consistent business because that was the hardest thing for me, finding consistent jobs through referrals,” she remarked.
“This is work that most people don’t want to do, but it has to be done. I want to give them the dignity that they deserve. They are doing a hard job, almost breaking their back maintaining people’s homes so they can work or spend time with their families.”
Besides running Clyn, she has doubled up as a model and launched a new platform “Boss Lady” which she has been using to empower women getting into the entrepreneurial world.