'I cannot teach you integrity': How employee theft is hurting small businesses in Africa

'I cannot teach you integrity': How employee theft is hurting small businesses in Africa

Kenyan food creator That Girl Boina closed her waxing studio after employee theft

When Kenyan food creator That Girl Boina left for a two-week holiday in Europe, she expected to unwind. But a week into the trip, an Instagram direct message revealed a problem that would eventually force her business to shut down.

"I was at your studio, I liked everything. The only problem was that I was asked to send money to a different number. It wasn't the number on the wall," a customer wrote to her.

Boina had launched Waxaholic Studio, a waxing and hydrafacial parlour in Nairobi's central business district, on 1 September 2024. A year later, after hiring a receptionist and two specialists, she felt secure enough to take a two-week break, her first overseas trip of the year.

"I trusted them. It's two rooms and a reception - how do you mess that up?" she recalls thinking.

"It never occurred to me that maybe I was getting clients and someone else was stealing from me," she tells the BBC.

The message pushed Boina to look more closely at the business. The studio had been profitable in its first few months, but revenue started dropping in early 2025. At first, she chalked it up to a seasonal slowdown, before realising something was wrong.

"Everyone around was making money apart from me," she says in hindsight.

She had already thought about closing because the business was not turning a profit, but her original investment, the three employees relying on it and her long-term vision kept her going. The customer's message became the decisive moment.

"If I am not making money and I am willing to wait and see where this goes and you guys are not giving me the same energy, then why are we still open?"

Instead of confronting the staff, Boina chose to shut the studio. That weekend, she listed it for sale, but no one bought it. She sold some equipment and took other items, including decorations, home. Waxaholic Studio closed in October 2025.

"I remember my friend taking me to a restaurant, and I started crying. We were both silent."

"What else would we do?"

Boina says it was the worst feeling she has ever experienced. The closure was not only a financial blow, but also the loss of something she had created to protect her future.

In September, almost a year after the business closed, Boina posted a TikTok video describing what happened, saying she had needed time to heal before speaking publicly.

After it was reposted on X, formerly Twitter, the video went viral, drawing close to one million views. It also prompted responses from many Kenyan business owners who said theft — from payment diversion to stock theft and the sale of costly equipment — had pushed their businesses to the edge, forcing them to sack staff, sell up or close.

"Although I have recovered emotionally, I am yet to recoup the money I invested in setting up and running the studio," says Boina.

The response to her story highlighted how employee theft is a major issue for many small business owners in Africa, where only a few workers may handle payments, stock and supplier dealings, often with little oversight.

A 2022 survey by PwC, one of the world's biggest consultancy firms, found that 63% of respondents in East Africa said their organisations had experienced economic crime, compared with a global figure of 46%.

Nakumatt, one of Kenya's biggest retailers collapsed in 2020, partly because of significant stock losses attributed to employee theft

The problem is not limited to small firms. Some of East Africa's largest supermarkets have also reported major losses tied to employee fraud and stock theft. Tuskys and Nakumatt both collapsed this decade amid broader financial and operational troubles partly linked to employee theft.

At its height, Tuskys employed more than 6,000 people and operated over 60 branches in Kenya and Uganda. In 2015, the retailer brought in loss-prevention firm Hipora Business Solutions East Africa to help address fraud. An audit found that Tuskys was losing more than 100m Kenya shillings (£581,000; $770,000) a month to employee theft, Business Daily reported. The alleged methods included cashiers pocketing cash, altering till transactions, and colluding with suppliers over goods received.

Nakumatt also suffered major stock losses attributed to employee theft before collapsing, with a Kenyan policy firm reporting that more than $100m (£75m) worth of stock was missing.

Hipora, which works with businesses across East and Southern Africa, says employee theft is a major issue, estimating that it makes up more than 60% of losses recorded by small businesses.

Employee theft has changed over time, Hipora boss John Wanjohi tells the BBC. "Employees are like a cartel that colludes with clients and suppliers to perpetuate theft."

Employee theft does not always mean money being sent to an employee's phone. It can also take more discreet forms, making it harder for business owners to spot.

Cris Njoki had to let go of an employee due to procurement discrepancies

For Cris Njoki, founder of IKOJN, a Kenyan ready-to-wear clothing brand, the issue appeared further up the supply chain.

"I found out that one of my staff was asking our suppliers to quote higher for some of the raw materials we were getting from them," she says.

The employee allegedly worked with a supplier to inflate prices, with the pair splitting the extra money after the company paid the invoices. Njoki investigated the arrangement and confronted the employee with the evidence. The employee later left the company.

Since then, Njoki has strengthened her company's procurement controls.

"We have now centralised the procurement process and created a paper trail. Finance speaks to the supplier and then makes payment," she tells the BBC.

In Accra, Ghana, employee theft nearly brought Muftawu Nabila's business to an end.

The Joy News sports journalist says he was stolen from by two different employees over the four years he has run his electronics shop. But theft by a third employee, he says, almost forced him to close it completely.

Nabila Muftawu, a sports Journalist in Ghana, used proceeds from his YouTube channel to open an electrical shop that was nearly collapsed by employee theft

His first employee was dismissed with a warning. The second boosted monthly sales threefold but left when her university semester restarted.

Before travelling to the United States to cover the Fifa World Cup in June 2026, Nabila hired a third attendant, leaving the shop with very little supervision.

"She almost collapsed my shop," he says.

While the earlier employees had taken smaller sums, sometimes as little as 50 cedis ($4; £3) at a time, the third attendant was stealing on a much larger scale, he says.

"Assuming we are making a sale of $200 (£150) a day, she could take up to $30," he says.

The theft went on for two months. When Nabila tried to restock the shop, he realised the money coming in was not enough to refill his shelves. He started counting stock every morning.

When he confronted the employee, she denied it. But a stock count she carried out herself showed a major gap between inventory and sales receipts.

"I just told her: 'If you go home today, don't come back,'" he says.

His salary from journalism helped him rebuild the business.

For him, the shop is a way of creating jobs, which makes the theft especially upsetting.

"We have to generate the money from the shop for me to pay you. So if I pay you, pay electricity bills, shop rent and you steal some, where am I expected to generate money?"

Small businesses are particularly vulnerable to employee theft

Theft occurs in businesses everywhere, but its impact can be especially harsh for small businesses in Africa.

Many operate on narrow margins, with limited access to finance, high borrowing costs and unpredictable tax systems.

Purchasing power is also lower in many African markets, restricting how much businesses can recover through sales or pass on to customers.

That matters even more on a continent where the informal economy makes up a large share of jobs and economic activity.

For businesses without much financial buffer, losing cash, stock or equipment can jeopardise their ability to pay workers, restock or stay open.

What may be a manageable loss for a larger company can push a small business to the brink.

Wanjohi says many small businesses do not have proper safeguards to stop theft.

At one struggling pharmacy branch, his team tightened controls over cash handling, stock movement and cashier operations. Wanjohi says daily sales then rose from 80,000 Kenya shillings to 200,000 after the changes.

Wanjohi says many businesses only turn to loss-control specialists once the problem has become severe.

But identifying suspected theft is only part of the difficulty. Employers must also follow the law when investigating claims and deciding whether to dismiss a worker.

Judith Guserwa, an advocate, says employers must investigate suspected theft, collect evidence and give employees a chance to respond before taking disciplinary action.

If employees admit to theft and agree to repay, let it be in writing: "If they don't, you terminate with a valid reason and press charges," she says.

The experience has changed how Boina hires.

She says she will now be slow to hire and quick to fire.

"I cannot teach you integrity," she concludes.