Startup Kenya

Herein are five Kenyan women entrepreneurs who have dared to enter the male-dominated world of business to build some of the region’s most respected companies. Quote:  “Ladies, it’s like learning to ride a bike or driving a car. You need only to believe in yourself, trust your gut feeling and develop a clear plan or strategy, keep it simple and implement that plan step by step with courage, conviction and love above all. Ultimately be open minded and flexible to change course when needed and listen to your customers.” Rionge co-founded internet service provider Wananchi Online that has since been transformed into Wananchi Group Holdings – one of east Africa’s leading providers of pay-tv, broadband internet and VoIP services. Last year the company raised US$57.5 million in growth capital from a group of international investors. A typical serial entrepreneur, Rionge has over the years founded a number of successful companies. She currently runs Ignite Consulting, a firm that  sp

Being a drop-out is not an excuse...read on: Anthony Mwaura is a creative enterprenuer. At 25, he is a millionaire after he chose the unbeaten path and established one of the most sought-after advertising firms in the region. Whatever Mr Mwaura touches — be it the in-house music production studio he ran two years back or the corporate branding company he currently manages from his magnificent office on Riara Road in Nairobi — turns into gold. “I dropped out from the Kenya Institute of Mass Communication in 2009 where I was studying TV production due to lack of school fees. I later decided to use the skills I had learnt in production and editing to make a living,’’ says Mr Mwaura in an interview with the  Business Daily  on Monday. At that time, he could record up-and-coming musicians like Juliani, Jimmi Gait, A Star, Ekko Dydda, among others, who today are some of the biggest acts in the music industry. “I used to charge them Sh10,000 per song and I had five musicia

In my head this is what I think an average entrepreneur is like.  Pretty young (think Facebook, Twitter, Google, etc.) living the red beans and rice lifestyle and working 80+ hours a week and sleeping under their desk.  On some parts, I’m probably right — but on many, I’m flat-out wrong.  This is demonstrated by a recent report from the Kauffman foundation for entrepreneurship.  The report is titled “ The Anatomy of an Entrepreneur ”.  It’s based on a survey of 549 company founders across a variety of industries. Here are some of the points from the report that I found the most interesting.  1.  The average and median age of company founders when they started their current companies was 40. 2.  95.1 percent of respondents themselves had earned bachelor’s degrees, and 47 percent had more advanced degrees. 3.  Less than 1 percent came from extremely rich or extremely poor backgrounds 4.  15.2% of founders had a sibling that previously started a business. 5.  69.9 percent o

I asked myself why most youth in Kenya, and youth in general, do not like agriculture as a career? Why do youth hate agriculture so much? Here are below are some reasons: 1.     Young people perceive agriculture as a profession of intense labor, not profitable and unable to support their livelihood compared to white collar jobs offer. They think agriculture would not afford them to enjoy the pleasures of owning a beautiful home, posh cars, the latest gadgets and mobile phones like what their colleagues in white collar jobs have access to. 2.     When one talks about agriculture or farming, in the minds of young people, they think of someone far down in a village living in a shack, who wakes up very early every morning to go dig coming back home at sunset. This farmer in their minds, is so far away detached from civilization, and barely wears any clothes and is the typical person who lives on less than a 100bob a week. 3.     There is a very high drive towards industrializati

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. The first venture that the budding entrepreneur embarked upon was in 2000 with college mates from Zambia and Malawi. Through a website called ezuri, they sold African art to the Western market. However, the challenges of importing items, trade restrictions, packaging and transport prevented ezuri from growing. “But the opportunity was there; that was clear,” said Mogaka. Seven years later, he returned to Kenya with his eye keenly trained on online business opportunities. Internet-based “When I returned, I found a few guys setting up Internet-based businesses to facilitat

Young people in Kenya have taken up agriculture to heart, boosting their income and setting themselves up with the skills they need to make a living from agriculture. Receiving training from Farm Africa , these young entrepreneurs improve the quality of their produce and learn how to grow high value crops, such as tomatoes. The training also ensures that the young entrepreneurs tomatoes are packaged and well marketed. Greenhouse technology One of the young entrepreneurs learn about greenhouse technology, and improvised a greenhouse using locally available material and successfully established 700 stems of tomatoes. The harvest received brought in good income, and bettered livelihood. Boosting families’ income Ezekiel, a form three student receiving training, is growing 400 stems of tomatoes in his family’s garden. Obviously proud of his hard work, Ezekiel said: “I hope to sell off my produce very soon so the earnings will supplement my family’s income.” His father said: “W

Creating Economic Oppostunities

Young entrepreneurs are changing the face of Africa. Below is a list of the 30 Africans under 30 years old who are making the most dramatic impact across the continent. Cut across Real Estate, Financial Services, Manufacturing, Media, Tech,  Green tech , Healthcare, Agriculture and Fashion, the 30 young African entrepreneurs, disruptors and innovators featured on this list are impatient to change Africa. Together, they represent the entrepreneurial, innovative and intellectual best of their generation. They’re solving problems like healthcare and electricity shortages, proffering innovative solutions to waste management, building virtual and physical communities and creating lots of jobs. A few of them are manufacturing the foods we love, designing exquisite clothing for our women and some are developing some cool  apps for mobile phones  across Africa.  Not an exhaustive or official list , but closest to a definitive list Drumroll please.....and the best of Africa’s 30 Under 30 – t