Entrepreneur Deborah Beaton, also known as Dudu to family and friends, is the founder and managing director of Kama Kazi, a human resources and recruitment firm based in Nairobi that does job placements in Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania.

Beaton is also a corporate trainer, focusing on self-development for career and life progression.

She first cut her teeth in the field of human resources while managing luxury safari camps in the Maasai Mara. Back then she recalls that it was sometimes challenging to find trained quality staff to provide bespoke hotel services.

Beaton grew up in the Mara, a place where she often retreats to to visit family and get away from the bustle of the city.

When she’s not scouting around for the best talent, Dudu indulges in her love of health and fitness. A few years ago she ran a marathon to raise money for conservation and she organises weekend fitness retreats in different locations around the country.

------------------------------------------

If you hadn’t started a human resource recruitment company, what would you be doing instead?

Kick-boxing and yoga classes on the beaches in Thailand or running around the world. I am a fitness fanatic. 

How do you spend your days off?

Normally I go to the gym or rock climbing to try to work out some of the week’s stress. I also love getting a coffee with my partner and generally chilling out with him.

What signifies your personal style?

Simplicity. I dress very simply most of the time, not many accessories. I keep it simple. 

How do you manage your wardrobe?

Simple, as I said. I try to be different by wearing coloured trousers instead of tops - often with a simple top. But I never combine too much at one time. 

Where in East Africa are you most likely to be whiling away your time on a Saturday afternoon?

If I had to chose one place it would be the Mara, where I was brought up and where I feel most at ease.

Describe your best destination in East Africa.

Uganda. I had the most amazing road trip there a few years ago. We went to so many cool places such as the parks, Kampala, Fort Portal and Bwindi National Park. At Bwindi, we saw gorillas and chimpanzees and I loved how green it was and how nice the people were. I would love to live there one day. 

Anywhere on your must-visit list?

Namibia for the desert and the desert wildlife, Colombia in South America for the beauty in general, and Svalbard in Norway to see the polar bears and the Northern Lights.

What do you see as East Africa’s greatest strength?

Creativity, and by creativity I do not mean innovation. We do not simply want to rely on new ideas from elsewhere and innovate on them to appeal to the East African Market. We have the potential to be creative, really creative. We have already skipped so many stages and rules in terms of how we perform basics such as paying for items and sending money. Therefore we need to ensure we are not constrained by what has been proven possible elsewhere. We have the ability to create new ideas, new products, new services and the space for this is wide open.

What’s your best collection?

My gym tops. I love gym tops, I have a lot of different colours, mostly neon.

What’s the most thoughtful gift you’ve ever received?

My mum always buys me a moleskin diary for Christmas. It is my favourite gift every year because I love stationary and my perfect little diary is where the rest of that year unfolds. I would be lost without it. 

What’s the best gift you’ve given?

To my sisters for Christmas one year, I found some beautiful, perfectly intact weaver bird nests that had fallen out of a tree. So I spray painted them silver. Then I contacted all the friends and family of each of my sisters and asked them to write one thing that they loved about her. I put them in the nests so that each sister could read why they were so special from those people who cared about them the most. I think it was my best gift ever and I hope they do too.

Your favourite websites.

Harvard Business Review. It has the best business and personal and professional development articles. Also Kayla Itsines’s Bikini Body Guide. I love her workouts and the practicality of them for busy professionals. YouTube, it’s awesome for everything and for wasting an entire afternoon on nothing. Everyone should do that once in a while. 

Which movie had an impact on you?

Dodgeball, I have watched it literally hundreds of times because it really helps me to remember that life is and should not be so serious. We need to laugh, a lot, to make it through life unscathed and Dodgeball taught me to laugh at very silly things. 

Your last great read?

Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte. It is my favourite and I read it every two years. It is dark, gloomy, a timeless classic of doomed love. I love the way it is written and I think Emily Bronte’s sentence structure is incredible. 

What is a constant item in your fridge?

Milk. Life without tea with milk is simply dull.