A d.light employee's life is transformed
We especially value our employees’ career paths, given that the majority of d.light’s operations are in emerging markets. We desire to give our employees fantastic professional opportunities that support their careers and their families’ well-being.
Nixon Timbit, a member of our Kenya team, is one such employee. He has risen from a d.light Brand Activator to a Senior Regional Sales manager within five years, and we are delighted with his personal and professional growth during that time.
Nixon first joined d.light in 2011. He was twenty-seven, a newlywed and a new graduate from college. This was his first real job.
Our Kenya operations were just starting then, so Nixon was assigned as a Brand Activator in his native region of Eldoret, in western Kenya. He was tasked with spreading the word about d.light and its solar lantern products. Nixon had studied supplies management in college and had no previous sales experience, but he quickly became one of the company’s most effective sales agents.
“At that point in time I was new from college and I didn’t know sales. I didn’t do any courses on sales,” Nixon said.
“That’s when I learned a lot of sales skills. I attended trainings. I learned how to interact with people, how to talk with different people in the community.
“I saw how d.light changed the lives of people. Customers would start crying when they saw how their lives would change. That is when I fell in love with the products.”
Over the next three years, he moved between Eldoret and nearby Baringo County, engaging in direct sales and establishing new distribution partners. By 2014, his many months of strong sales performance were recognized with a promotion to Account Executive, followed a year later by a promotion to Assistant Regional Sales Manager.
In the past year, Nixon has overseen Nakuru and Baringo Counties, two of the largest off-grid regions in Kenya. He has managed two teams that consist of twenty people, using the many interpersonal skills he learned as a sales agent.
“It’s all about understanding the people you work with,” Nixon explained. “Rather than being a boss, I want to be a leader in the group. I want to motivate people and train them, and then give them time to work.”
He not only wants his sales to grow, but he wants his people to grow too. He is quick to name members of his team, like Ambrose and Gorrety, who have continuously worked hard, performed well, and improved their skills. Each quarter, Nixon’s team is one of the company’s best performing sales teams in the entire world.
Just recently, Nixon was promoted to Senior Area Sales Manager. He will be in charge of eighteen counties in western Kenya, which is almost half of the country’s geography. He will be managing sales teams comprising nearly 100 people—quite a step up from his initial role as a Brand Activator.
Nixon’s professional successes have transformed the quality of life for him, his wife, and his three-year-old son. Thanks to the income he has earned, he is now working toward a degree in public relations and marketing at Kisii University. He expects to graduate next year. He and his wife have plans to purchase land and build their own home; his son is able to attend a well-regarded primary school.
“d.light has been part of our lives,” Nixon said. “Our house is full of d.lights. My son knows all the products. Every time I walk around Eldoret with him, he points and say, ‘Look! There are your d.lights!’”
Last year, Nixon’s son fell at school and sustained a serious brain injury. Recently he heard the good news that his son could be taken off his medication earlier than doctors had anticipated. He credits the excellent medical insurance d.light provided him, as well as the staff support that allowed him to access the best doctors in Nairobi, with his son’s faster than expected recovery.
“d.light has been the backbone of our family. It has taken us through a lot,” Nixon shared. “I always tell people d.light is my home.”
Please join us in cheering on the great work of Nixon and his team. They are transforming the lives of so many families across Kenya—and improving their own in the process.
