As a student at Virginia Tech in the United States, Mogaka Mwencha would stock up on local Kenyan crafts while on holiday, and display them proudly in his room. His friends would gape over the artefacts and in the spirit of entrepreneurship, Mogaka sold selected pieces at a tidy profit.
Little did he know that his passion for Kenyan art would culminate 12 years later in a business worth over Sh10 million.
Published in Business Daily, November 22 2012
If we introduce these women as Popats, you will attribute their success to their family: a vast empire which owns a cross section of businesses in Kenya including Simba Colt Motors, Imperial Bank, 20th Century, luxury hotel and tented camp properties, and most recently an auto subsidiary called Xylon Motors.
But Shelina and Shenaz are not following that line of family business. Instead, they have followed their passion as event organisers with their flagship company – Contact Network.
Published in Business Daily, November 8 2012
“A consultant is … someone who takes the watch off your wrist and tells you the time.”
It isn’t the funniest joke about the profession of consultancy, but there are so many that you would be forgiven for thinking a consultant is: someone who charges a lot of money to tell you things you already know; someone who talks without actually saying anything; and even a person that is brought in to justify a retrenchment.
Published in Nairobi Business Monthly, November 2012
34-year-old Kiuri Mburathi of Insight Architecture is young, ambitious and highly skilled. He started his own firm in 2009, and has impressed the Kenyan property market with his avant garde designs and styles.
Published in Nairobi Business Monthly, November 2012
Upon completing his Masters degree in mechanical engineering at the University of Nairobi, James Muriithi Kinoti travelled to Dubai to work as a sales engineer. But even as he was absorbed into the cosmopolitan workforce of the Middle East desert city, his eyes strayed to the small restaurants that dotted its urban landscape and in this most infertile of landscapes, an idea began to germinate.
Published in Nairobi Business Monthly, November 2012
Initially criticised for shoddy productions and piracy, Riverwood is now considered a key economic pillar in the country, characterised by its lively spirit and entrepreneurial qualities.The informal film industry which takes it name from River Road, the busy street in downtown Nairobi where music tapes and electronics are sold, has developed a reputation for producing movies and music quickly with one production being prepared in between a week to a fortnight depending on the popularity of the star artist and the creativity of the product. It is fast capturing the attention of mainstream TV stations and pan-African broadcasters, and building stars like Machang’i, Kihenjo and Githingithia who have been ignored by mainstream media but are turning into underground celebrities
Published in Nairobi Business Monthly, November 2012
Built on a 17-acre plot in Karen at a construction cost $35 million, the GEMS Cambridge School is already monumental, and will be even more so upon completion.
None of the fancy turrets of Brookhouse School, which it shares a road with but at just two months old, every classroom is equipped with interactive whiteboards (Sh250,000 with- out projector) and construction is ongoing on the Olympic Committee approved 400m all- weather running track, swimming pool, tennis court, School Hall with state of the art acoustics, synthetic garden grass from Belgium to create safe outdoor play spaces and spacious dormitories.
Published in Nairobi Business Monthly, November 2012
e-portfolio: Aamera Jiwaji 