At 27, Amina Khalid Ahmed has built a business story that began with flour, eggs, sugar and a charcoal stove in a family kitchen in Mombasa County.
She is the founder and chief executive of Minat Bakery and Minat Cake Zone Academy, a Bamburi-based enterprise that makes cakes while training young people in baking.
She made her first cake for younger brother’s school closing day. When classmates and teachers praised the cake, a seed was planted in her.
By 17, she was baking for people who brought her ingredients. The first commercial order, a two-tier cake that sold for about Sh1,500, was a big deal.
"Money couldn’t come from anywhere. I just had to work hard for it."
From her mother’s kitchen, her now registered Minat Bakery grew into a dedicated bakery on land provided by her father at Ratna Estate.
She reinvested income from training students to buy equipment, including her first professional oven, around 2021 and build the academy.
“Money couldn’t come from anywhere. I just had to work hard for it,” she says.
During the Covid-19 period, Mrs Ahmed saw a chance to share her skills with people who had lost jobs or needed new income streams.
She has trained more than 500 students. Through scholarships, subsidised training and partnerships with well-wishers, she supports orphans and needy young people, especially girls. “They are usually forgotten,” she says of orphans, adding that she also donates cakes to children’s homes and charity events.
She has won accolades, among them recognition in 2025 for being among the best women-led businesses by the Kenya National Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
She has also been a Forbes Africa 30 Under 30 finalist. Young women, she says, should just start, stay focused, and plan carefully without waiting for perfect conditions.
–Elvis Ondieki