In an interview, he said that he got the bright idea to supply fresh produce to Quickmart around 2014. At that time, the giant retailer we see today only had four branches.

At first, Kimani was contracted to supply fruits to three branches of the rising Quickmart supermarket.

After some time, the arrangement changed when the retailer wanted him to supply vegetables as well.

According to Kimani, Quickmart was one of the first supermarkets in Kenya to come up with a business model that allowed suppliers to bring fruits and vegetables to its stores.

The model allowed Kimani’s company, Jarine Investments, to supply fresh produce and provide the staff who would handle customers.

The terms of payment were that he would be paid after about 30 days.

“We continued well, and we were resilient enough to manage to supply the fourth branch of Quickmart supermarket,” Kimani said.

Kimani said that Jarine Investments works with small-scale farmers in different parts of Kenya to source fruits and vegetables.

The company collects fresh produce from these farmers and supplies it to various retailers, including Quickmart supermarket.

This arrangement helps farmers find buyers for their produce.

According to Kimani, one of the biggest challenges facing farmers is finding a market for what they grow.

“So, we help them get the market by aggregating the produce and distributing it to the supermarkets,” he said.

This entails collecting fruits and vegetables from different farmers and bringing them together to meet the huge demands of large retailers.

Kimani said that this model ensures that he has a stable supply of fresh fruits and vegetables for Quickmart all year round.

Jarine Investments operates in a market where large supermarket chains need a steady supply of fresh produce for their customers.

Other supermarkets in Kenya have also turned to farmers and aggregators to meet this demand.

In September 2026, Naivas Supermarket said it was recruiting more farmer-aggregators to supply fresh produce.

According to a report by FarmBizAfrica, the retailer collects fresh fruits and vegetables from different farms through its suppliers before distributing them to its stores.

Naivas also said the arrangement could help farmers who do not have a reliable means of transport or the ability to sort their produce according to supermarket requirements.

Research has found that supplying supermarkets can improve the incomes of small-scale farmers.

A 2022 report by the journal World Development found that Kenyan farmers with supermarket supply contracts had, on average, 61% more household income than their counterparts who sell to traditional markets.

When Kimani approached Quickmart around 2014, the supermarket had three branches.

Today, Quickmart is one of Kenya’s major supermarket chains, with at least 72 stores across 16 counties in Kenya.

In September 2026, Quickmart announced plans to list its shares on the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE).

The listing would allow members of the public to invest in Quickmart and support its growth plans.

The retailer also said the listing could strengthen its relationships with suppliers and other business partners.

The approval was announced through Gazette Notice No. 16875, dated September 21, 2026.

It was signed by Competition Authority of Kenya (CAK) Director-General David Kemei.

ABCD is an investment and business development group headquartered in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

The company invests in and develops businesses across several sectors.

These sectors include healthcare, pharmaceuticals, insurance, financial services, digital technology, energy, clean-energy manufacturing, artificial intelligence, medical equipment, and infrastructure.

The company operates in more than 15 African countries.

Additionally, its operations extend to the Middle East and Asia, serving over 15 million customers each year and employing over 4,000 workers.

Saini is best known as the founder and chairman of Bliss Healthcare, one of Kenya’s largest networks of private outpatient medical centres.

The Bliss Chain of Hospitals operates about 65 outpatient clinics across 37 counties, including major towns like Bungoma, Eldoret, Kikuyu, Migori, Meru and Mlolongo.

Additionally, it has other branches in Tanzania.

Saini established Bliss in 2012, and the clinic offers services such as consultations, laboratory services, pharmacy services, dental treatment, and specialised medical care.

Aside from Bliss Healthcare, Saini also owns other businesses including Lifecare Hospitals, Dinlas Pharma, Fertility Point, Medical Administrators Kenya Limited (MAKL) and Star Discover Insurance.

The tycoon’s interest in the healthcare business can be traced back to his family background.

His father, Dr Umesh Saini, is credited with establishing Nairobi West Hospital, which is one of the leading private hospitals in Nairobi.

For more than 10 years, Saini has invested and expanded into the pharmaceutical manufacturing business through Dinlas Pharma, which manufactures medicines for the Kenyan and regional markets.

He has often stated his plans to expand his healthcare business across Africa, including the use of technology to improve medical services.

The tycoon’s acquisition of the ABCD group will give him control over all the companies under its umbrella.

Star Discover Insurance and MAKL are some of the companies that are part of ABCD’s financial services business.

Star Discover deals in the provision of insurance services and is registered by the Insurance Regulatory Authority of Kenya.

These services cover areas such as medical treatment, motor vehicles, property, and accidents.

MAKL, its sister company, deals in the administration of medical insurance schemes, including coordinating healthcare providers and processing medical claims.

By acquiring ABCD, Saini will become one of Africa’s strongest healthcare tycoons.

His acquisition happens at a time when Kenya’s healthcare and insurance sectors are increasingly expanding.

According to the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics’ 2026 Economic Survey, the number of beds in private healthcare facilities increased from 47,124 in 2024 to 50,828 in 2025.

Reports also estimate that Kenya’s insurance penetration rose to 2.63 per cent in 2025.

Saini’s competitors include Equity Group CEO James Mwangi, whose organisation supports the rapidly expanding Equity Afya healthcare network.

Kibet will succeed Peter Waweru Njenga, who is set to retire.

As KenGen’s new Managing Director and CEO, Mr Kibet will be entitled to an annual salary of about KSh 21.588 million, based on KenGen’s audited financial statements for the year ended 30 June 2025.

In a statement, KenGen stated that “Kibet will assume substantive office on 1 February 2027, succeeding Eng. Peter Waweru Njenga upon his retirement.”

Kibet currently serves as KenGen’s General Manager for commercial services. He is in charge of steering the company’s business activities, including new investments and business partnerships.

He is also in charge of overseeing KenGen’s marketing, corporate communication, and sustainability.

He is one of KenGen’s most experienced engineers, with over 17 years of professional experience in project delivery, geothermal development, business growth, and commercial strategy.

He is credited as one of the professionals who advanced the building of Olkaria Green Energy Park, among other major projects that KenGen has been involved in.

Kibet’s educational repertoire includes a Bachelor of Science degree in Telecommunication and Information Engineering.

He also holds a master of Science in Project Management from Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology.

Kibet is also an SAP Project System Consultant and a certified Project Management Professional.

As an executive, he has completed an Organisational Leadership programme at Harvard Business School as well as executive education at IESE Business School in Spain.

Additionally, he has other certifications from Strathmore Business School as well as the University of Cape Town.

He is a member of the Geothermal Association of Kenya, the Engineers Board of Kenya, and the Institution of Engineers of Kenya.

Kibet also belongs to a select group of Kenyans who are recipients of the Order of the Grand Warrior of Kenya (OGW).

KenGen remains Kenya’s largest electricity generator and Africa’s leading geothermal power producer, with a reported market share of about 60% in the East African region.

The company is also the 7^th largest producer of geothermal power in the world.

In the 2024/2025 financial year, the company recorded an after-tax profit of ksh 10.48 billion.

Kibet will therefore be inheriting one of the most profitable state-linked enterprises in Kenya.

KenGen has a workforce of 2,539 employees, 27% of whom are women and 3% of whom are people with disabilities.

The company’s largest individual non-nominee shareholders are Njihia Waithaka Ng’ang’a, who owns 22.2 million shares and a 0.34% stake, as well as Ramila Harji Mavji, who owns 12.1 million shares and a 0.18% stake.

Njenga, KenGen’s outgoing CEO, is credited with transforming KenGen’s expertise from just an electricity-generating company to a formidable export product.

The company now sells other services like geothermal expertise, engineering consulting, project development services, and technical advisory services to foreign governments and companies.

The company’s customer base has expanded beyond Kenya’s borders to include other countries like Eswatini.

However, compared with predecessors such as Albert Mugo and Rebecca Miano, Njenga maintained a relatively low-profile leadership style.

Critics have repeatedly called him out, arguing that many of his projects received widespread publicity when they were being launched, but the company remained suspiciously quiet regarding their execution and completion timelines.

Some of these businesses started out as small shops before they grew to become the giant manufacturing companies we see today.

In this article, Wok takes a look at seven entrepreneurs and families behind some of Kenya’s most popular food brands.

1. Bhimji Shah, Vimal Shah and Tarun Shah – Kimbo and Elianto

The Shah family is credited with building Bidco Africa, which is the company behind popular brands like Kimbo, Cowboy, Golden Fry, and Elianto.

Bidco started as a garment manufacturing business before it started making consumer goods in 1985.

Bhimji Shah is the company’s founder, while his sons, Vimal and Tarun, help manage public relations and the company’s operations respectively.

Aside from cooking oil, Bodco manufactures soaps, detergents, beverages and animal feeds, with its manufacturing facilities spread across East Africa.

2. Jaswant Singh Rai — Kabras Sugar and Top Fry

The Rai family business empire has been controlling Kenya’s sugar industry for decades.

Jaswant is closely associated with the West Kenya Sugar company, which produces popular brands like Kabras sugar.

He also acquired Manengai Oil Refineries in 2011. The company produces Top Fry cooking oil and several soap products.

The Rai family has also diversified into timber, paper manufacturing, cement, real estate and horticulture, with their factories operating in different parts of Kenya.

3. Nurzakhanu and Akberali Manji — Supa Loaf

Supa Loaf started as a small family bakery in Mombasa, selling cakes and other baked products.

The brand is the brainchild of Nurzakhanu Akberali Manji and her husband, Akberali Habib Manji.

With the help of their sons, the founders grew the business and helped expand the Supa Loaf brand across Kenya.

Today, Supa Loaf is manufactured by Mini Bakeries, part of Mini Group.

The group also owns the Mibisco brand, which produces biscuits and confectionery, as well as Butali Sugar Mills.

The family has also invested in real estate through Trident Estates and hospitality through Island Paradise Inn.

4. Hasmukh Dawda — House of Manji Biscuits

Manji Biscuits is a brand that is owned by Hasmukh Dawda, who left school at 13 to start his own business.

In 2002, his House of Dawda Group acquired the struggling House of Manji biscuit business and helped revive it as Manji Food Industries.

Dawda’s company also established Britannia Allied Industries in Uganda, which produces biscuits, fruit juices, and other products.

Additionally, his family owns Uganda Pharmaceuticals and other cotton-processing companies.

5. The Chedda Family — Kenafric Sweets

If you’re a millennial or Gen Z, you’re probably familiar with Kenafric sweets, chewing gum, and snacks, which have featured on many a shop’s shelf since the early 2000s.

Kenafric’s history began in 1969 when Velji Punja Shah opened a small shop.

His family later expanded into wholesale trading and began manufacturing footwear before entering the sweets business.

They have also diversified into footwear, stationery, and commercial real estate industries.

In 2022, Britannia acquired a controlling stake in Kenafric Biscuits, meaning that they co-own the company with the Chedda family.

6. Mohanlal Karania and His Brothers — Kasuku and Prestige

Kapa Oil Refineries, the company behind Kasuku cooking oil and the Prestige margarine, was established by three Karania brothers in the late 1960s.

At first, the company focused on packaging salt before it started making the Chapa Mandashi baking powder.

The family eventually expanded into making cooking oils and fats and also diversified into household manufacturing.

Kapa Oil refineries also makes detergents, soaps, tissues, and instant noodles, including the Nala brand.

7. Munir Thabit — Ajab and Umi Flour

Munir Thabit is a co-founder of Grain Industries Limited, the company that makes Ajab and Umi flour.

He started out working in the Kenya Air Force before joining Barclays Bank.

After working as a banker for several years, he helped set up Grain Industries in Mombasa in 2017, despite the political turmoil that existed in the country at the time.

The company quickly grew to become one of the largest flour manufacturers in Kenya.

Aside from Ajab, the business produces Umi, Lotus, and Asli flour products.

He is the founder and owner of Osho Chemicals, a company that makes and distributes agrochemicals, fertilizers, animal health products, insecticides, and farm equipment.

In an interview with Business Daily, Manoj said that although he can’t exactly tell the secret behind his success, it takes more than hard work to reach the heights he has reached.

This is his journey as told by WoK:

Manoj grew up in Olkalou, an area whose main economic activity is farming.

Growing up, he witnessed how agriculture impacted the lives of many people in terms of food security and employment.

He therefore saw the large market gap that existed in the supply of agrochemicals.

Manoj started Osho Chemicals Industries, which is based in Nairobi, about 30 years ago after quitting his job. He used his savings of ksh 2 million to start the business.

His venture into business was purely a matter of survival, and he had no intentions of scaling up at first.

Initially, Osho Chemicals dealt with the importation of pre-packaged chemicals and supplied them to government institutions and other clients in the textile industry.

However, Manoj soon encountered various challenges that made him rethink his line of focus.

Because imports were regulated by the Ministry of Commerce, Osho had to acquire a Foreign Exchange Allocation Licence.

The alternative was to import the products through third parties, which was very expensive. Also, working with government institutions attracted a lot of bureaucracy, leading to delays.

To overcome these problems, Manoj joined organizations such as the Kenya Private Sector Alliance [KEPSA] to advocate for the liberalization of imports.

He also diversified Osho’s businesses and began supplying chemicals to pharmaceuticals and tanning industries.

The business soon became stable, and Manoj shifted his mindset from merely surviving to building a long-lasting business that would have an impact.

Around that time, the Kenyan government liberalized the importation process, and it became easier for Manoj to import raw materials from China and India.

From four employees, Osho Chemicals slowly grew to become a regional employer, with more than 600 employees in Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, and Malawi.

Its annual turnover also grew from 60 million to 3 billion in the Kenyan market and over Sh 5 billion in the regional market.

Manoj attributed his growth to well-established structures that have made it easy to hire and manage the right employees.

“The other thing is to keep the focus alive. Once you get into business, it is easy to have other diverse interests and projects which may take away from what you set out to do,” he said.

He added that it is important to have a vision and to learn from what other successful businesses in your industry are doing.

However, Osho Chemicas has also had its fair share of setbacks.

For instance, the business tried to venture into the Ethiopian market 25 years ago, but the venture failed spectacularly.

In terms of succession, Manoj stated that his business would not be automatically taken over by his family in case of his demise.

“We have invested heavily in the Goal-Based Performance Appraisal Management System,” he said.

The governance and compliance structures he has put in place have bolstered his clarity about succession, ensuring that the company’s leadership is merit-based, led by a board of qualified professionals.

Looking back, he says that he is proud of how Osho Chemicals has shaped the industry, one of which is through its Osho Training Academy.

The academy, which has partnered with local universities, offers industry-related skills to industry professionals.

Manuj hopes that wth time, Osho Chemicals will penetrate all corners of the African market.

However, few Kenyans know the story of Kenblest’s growth from a small family business into one of Kenya’s most profitable companies, with an annual turnover of over Sh2.5 billion.

This is Kenblest’s journey as told by WoK:

Kenblest was founded almost 80 years ago by Kanji Ladha Shah as a textiles and general goods store targeting the small population of Indians who operated clothing stores in Thika.

The business was initially known as the Shah Kanji Ladha Company.

When Kanji Shah passed away in 1962, his cousin, Hemraj Sura Shah, took over the business.

As fate would have it, he also passed away two years later and left the company in the hands of Mohanlal Dharamshi Shah, who had joined the business in 1950.

Over the years, Dharamshi has successfully steered Kenblest, running the company with his three sons.

“It was under my father’s tenure as managing director that the business grew by the largest margin and diversified into many areas, including food supplies,” said Mayur, one of the sons.

In 1968, the business diversified under the brand name of Thika Household Suppliers. It pivoted to manufacturing, supplying foodstuffs to schools, hospitals, and other government agencies.

Dharamshi introduced his sons Anju, Jinit and Mayur to the business in the 1960s when they showed interest in running the business as a lifetime career.

“He enrolled us in local primary and secondary schools so that we could join him in business and learn the ropes after school. We all attended Gatumaini Primary School in Makongeni, Thika, and later proceeded to Chania and Thika High Schools,” said Jinit.

Anju was the first brother to join the business in 1974. Jinit then joined four years later after finishing college.

Mayur was the last of the brothers to join the business in 1981 after completing a diploma in a baking course.

Thika Household Suppliers later opened another branch known as Anjim Fabrics.

The new branch was based on Nairobi’s Biashara Street and dealt in selling bedsheets, blankets and khangas.

In 1982, the company’s directors identified a large gap for high-quality Kenyan bread in Kenya’s industry.

They therefore started a bakery and named it Kenblest Limited.

Through a combination of grit, hard work, and business acumen, Kenblest had expanded from producing 80,000 to 230,000 loaves per day within four years of establishment.

By 2006, the company had become the largest single-roof bread producer in Kenya, making 330,000 loaves per day.

Kenblest reinvested greatly in increasing its production capacity by building more and larger maize and wheat mills in Thika.

Additionally, the company bought hundreds of trucks and haulers to ensure that its products reached every town in Kenya on time.

According to Janit Shah, Kenblest’s CEO, the growth was attributed to changing eating habits, with more and more people consuming bread and bread products for their lunchtime meals, not just breakfast.

Additionally, he stated that many of their competitors were using outdated machinery which often breaks down on a regular basis.

“Our machines are much newer and can handle greater volumes, which has enabled us to push on with our production. We have seen former competitors unable to adjust their processes and machinery, and their revenue has suffered greatly,” he said.

One of the challenges that Kenblest is currently facing has been an increase in amateur bakeries in rural areas, which produce bread at lower costs and at lower prices.

However, Janit maintained that their winning strategy will always be the provision of high-quality products at fair prices.

They have spent nearly seven decades building one of Kenya’s few surviving integrated textile manufacturers.

Today, the family is best represented by Tejal Dodhia, the Managing Director of Thika Cloth Mills.

Speaking to Citizen TV’s Claire Munene on She Means Business, Dodhia explained that Thika Cloth Mills has been in operation since 1958.

The factory was built by Mahendra Khimasia and his brothers.

Most textile factories established in the 60s and 70s were doing well until the 1990s, when many of them began to crumble under the influx of cheap mitumba imports.

Dodhia recalled reading headlines about factories such as Mounttex, Kikomi and Rivertex, which had faced serious difficulties.

Other factories in Thika, including UTI, Bukko, Kicparu and KTM, also fell by the wayside. “I was 21, 22. At that age, you’re idealistic, and you expect things to not be this way,” she said.

Dodhia’s interest in running the factory began when she landed in Kenya from the UK.

In 2011, her father, one of the factory’s co-founders, passed away, and she was left with the responsibility of keeping the factory operational and ensuring that the livelihood of the workers was not affected.

She approached the Kenya Association of Manufacturers (KAM) and sought meetings with various government leaders, including then Minister of Agriculture William Ruto and Prime Minister Raila Odinga.

These leaders were promoting the Buy Kenya Build Kenya campaign.

At the time, the factory’s main lifeline was the supply of uniforms to private companies, and they began finding ways on how to supply uniforms to the country’s disciplined forces.

In 2012, the then Cabinet Secretary for Industry, Adan Mohamed, visited Thika Cloth Mills to understand the processes involved in textile production and what would be needed to revive the industry.

Among the things they discussed was how the factory could create employment opportunities through cotton farming, garment production, and textile manufacturing.

The Buy Kenya Build Kenya initiative paid off, and Thika Clothing Mills began receiving orders from organisations such as the Kenya Police and the National Youth Service (NYS).

However, getting these contracts was far from easy.

Dodhia recalled producing numerous fabric samples and receiving an order for just 17,500 metres.

When the material was rejected, Dodhia had invested almost Sh100 million in a machine capable of producing high-quality VAT-printed fabric, and the company was on the brink of closing down.

Fortunately, after further inspections and testing, the material passed the required checks, and more orders followed.

The company now supplies locally manufactured uniforms to a wide variety of clients.

The plant runs around the clock for 24 hours a day, with employees working in three shifts to ensure continuous production.

This has facilitated the factory’s production of over 500,000 metres of fabric per month.

Dodhia’s work also involves helping farmers in areas like Siaya and Homa Bay grow cotton for local factories.

She said that although TCM sometimes makes little or no profit from cotton, the efforts will pay off in the long run.

“In the long run, we have now got our source of cotton locally,” she said.

Some of the ways that the factory has reduced operating costs are by investing in solar power.

Its steam boilers also use coffee husks, macadamia shells and cashew nut shells instead of oil.

However, she said that the cost of manufacturing is very expensive, and that some of the machines in the factory costs as much as ksh 100 million.

When asked what advice she would give women in business, Dodhia encouraged them to keep pursuing what they believe is right.

“For me, I think it’s following the light. It’s following the right path. Doing the right thing. Fighting for what is good,” she said.

He is the managing director of Bedi Investments Limited, a textile and garment manufacturing group headquartered in Nakuru.

The company employs over 2000 workers and supports more than 16 000 cotton farmers.

However, the business did not start on such a large scale.

Bedi Investments was started by his father and was officially registered in 1972. Tailoring had been part of the family for generations.

“My father was a tailor. My grandfather was a tailor,” Bedi said in an interview with The Star.

Bedi Investments initially focused on the manufacture of tailor-made suits, using fabrics that were imported from the United Kingdom.

At that time, Kenya’s textile industry was booming, with over 200 garment manufacturers and more than 70 textile mills.

However, the industry would face significant disruption from cheap imports as well as the rise of the mitumba (second-hand clothes) trade.

Many manufacturers collapsed under this wave, but Bedi Investments survived through constant pivoting.

In the 1980s, the Kenyan government imposed strict restrictions on textile imports. This forced Bedi senior to change his business philosophy, since he could no longer access the fabrics he needed.

He therefore sent his son, Jas Bedi, to England to properly study the business of textile manufacturing.

Four years later, the young Bedi returned to Kenya, armed with a degree in textile manufacturing from Bradford College and fresh ideas on how to run a successful business.

“I realised if you don’t make the right yarn, you’ll never make the right fabric,” he said.

He recognized that controlling production quality required controlling the manufacturing process.

Instead of just buying fabrics, he pushed the company into yarn production and textile manufacturing. This was a pioneering move in Kenya’s manufacturing industry at the time.

The journey was very difficult and expensive, with Jedi saying that they made lots of losses at first.

Their main challenge was figuring out how to compete with the rising flood of cheap mitumba imports.

To improve his competitive advantage, Bedi decided to focus on manufacturing uniforms for corporates, the police, military, and schools.

He realized that uniforms were recession-free, fashion-free, and mitumba-free. “There is no mitumba school uniform. There is no second-hand police uniform,” he said.

This became the business’ new lifeline.

Currently, Bedi Investments supplies uniforms across approximately 11 African countries. Its clients include corporate brands, disciplined forces, and multinationals.

All Shell petrol uniforms across Africa are designed and manufactured by Bedi’s production chain.

The Ugandan branch of the company goes by the name Fine Spinners Uganda Limited.

Despite his apparent success, Bedi remains committed to giving back to the community. He has built schools, employed people with disabilities, and given out tons of school uniforms for impoverished school children.

In the aftermath of the 2007-2008 post-election violence, his philanthropic ventures distributed about 200 000 free school uniforms to children from displaced families.

His vision is to establish a manufacturing footprint across five countries on the African continent by 2030, spread across East, West, Southern and North Africa.

Jedi is a former chairperson of the Kenya Association of Manufacturers (KAM), the Kenya Private Sector Alliance (KEPSA), and Vice Chairperson of the East African Business Council (EABC).

He has also served at the helm and on the boards of more than 17 companies and trade associations.

His achievements have earned him numerous accolades, including the Elder of the Burning Spear (EBS) in 2017 and the Moran of the Burning Spear (MBS) in 2012.

He was also awarded a Doctor of Philosophy degree from Desh Bhagat University in India

Speaking on the Financially Incorrect podcast, he disclosed that the vehicles included a Mercedes-Benz G63, two Range Rover Vogues and a Range Rover Sport. All of them were 2024 models.

The transactions marked a key milestone in his business as a car dealer.

Lookie grew up in a middle-class family. His father was a veteran businessman, and he operated several businesses such as garbage collection, security, and imports.

After sitting for his O-levels in 2015, Lookie enrolled in an IT diploma, but he dropped out during his first year.

“I left university in the first year and moved into business,” he recalled.

His first job was at his father’s office, before he landed another job at Ngara, which involved arranging merchandise on shelves.

Starting his own business

In 2016, Lookie convinced his father to loan him $1000, and he used the money to start a car spare parts importation business.

Using his father’s business connections in the UK, he started importing various items such as lights, bulbs, and other spare parts for the Kenyan market.

While many local spare parts suppliers would require three to five weeks to complete deliveries, Lookie said that he could deliver his products within ten days, which enabled him to attract a lot of customers.

His father later gave him an additional $1,000, which he used to expand his business.

This enabled him to accumulate approximately KSh 150,000 to KSh 180,000 within two to three months.

He also attended car meets, joined WhatsApp groups, and established an Instagram page called Allwheel Drive Nation Kenya to attract customers.

Building an Automotive Brand

Lookie’s fortunes changed for the better when his father gifted him a Subaru. He modified the vehicle, documenting the entire journey on social media.

The modification was so good that it attracted attention from many car enthusiasts who were interested in adding similar modifications to their vehicles.

Customers increasingly approached him to ask where he sourced the parts, and business boomed.

In 2021, he sold the Subaru for KSh 1.8 million, combined the proceeds with other savings, and bought a Mercedes-AMG C63 worth approximately KSh 5.8 million.

He later bought and sold another Mercedes, which he had nicknamed Mona Lisa. However, he disclosed that he sold the vehicle, which had garnered his brand tons of online traction, at a loss.

“I didn’t make any money. I took a very big loss on that car,” he said.

Making Money Through Commissions

As his online following grew beyond 150,000, Lookie began working with dealerships to promote and sell vehicles.

He partnered with other luxury car dealers such as Alusi, which enabled him to earn commissions from the customers that he referred.

One major transaction involved a Range Rover worth approximately KSh 15 million. Lookie later partnered with another dealership, which allowed him to secure the ksh 120 million deal.

According to Lookie, customer referrals have helped him secure most of these deals. He also earns money by brokering car sales and importing spare parts.

For instance, he can source a car part for KSh 100,000 and sell it for KSh 110,000, earning KSh 10,000.

According to him, Kenya’s automotive content industry has grown by leaps and bounds.

Content creators can now earn through brand sponsorships, vehicle sales, and spare-parts imports.

He also revealed that one of his ambitions is to own a Porsche GT3, which he hopes to finance through buying used cars, improving them, and reselling them at a profit.

Today, he is the proud founder and Group Chief Executive Officer of Octagon Africa, a financial services company that manages over KSh 85 billion in assets.

However, his journey was anything but straightforward.

This is his journey as told by WoK:

Humble background

Waswa, who grew up in Bungoma, is the firstborn in a family of eight children.

His father passed away when he was 14, leaving Waswa with the responsibility of helping his mother take care of his younger siblings.

After sitting for his A-levels, Waswa secured a teaching job, where he was paid ksh 1,500 per month.

Since the salary was too small, Waswa began buying and making bar soap, which his mother sold to neighbours for extra income.

“That started making me think, ‘Oh, I can make money,'” he recalled.

His ambition to pursue a career in pharmacy hit a brick wall when he failed biology, prompting him to study mathematics, statistics and computer science at the University of Nairobi.

After university, he landed an opportunity to pursue a master’s program that was offering a KSh 4,800 monthly stipend.

However, he abandoned the program when he landed a job at Pioneer Insurance, which was paying a KSh 4,500 salary.

That was in 1991.

From KSh 4,500 to KSh 75,000

While working at Pioneer, Waswa started a business that sold fish, stationery, and other products.

He later landed another job at Fidelity Shield Insurance before joining Minet, where his computer skills helped modernise the company’s pension administration.

However, despite this progress in his career, his salary did not align with his expectations.

In 1994, he took a KSh 15,000 loan from his boss to open a small hotel in Kawangware. The business failed spectacularly, and the debt eventually grew to KSh 26,000.

Minet named him Best Employee of the Year in 1994, but Waswa almost resigned in early 1995 to access his pension savings and repay the debt.

However, his senior manager came through and wrote him a KSh 26,000 cheque, which he used to repay the loan.

In 1997, Waswa secured a pension administration manager position at Standard Chartered Bank.

He had hoped for a KSh 35,000 salary, but the bank offered him a starting salary of KSh 67,000 before increasing it to KSh 75,000.

“I got a culture shock,” he recalled.

Starting a Garage Business

Despite earning a good salary at Standard Chartered, Waswa wanted to run his own business.

In May 2001, he resigned from his job, a move that many of his colleagues and friends considered reckless and stupid.

With his savings and limited resources, he bought a desk, two chairs, basic office equipment, and rented an office space. He then opened a consultancy business.

The business initially struggled to attract clients, which was expected.

However, Waswa kept going and soon began landing various assignments, including some from his former employer, Standard Chartered.

One of his biggest breakthroughs came when he was approached to resolve a financial reconciliation problem that had caused an accountant sleepless nights for six months.

Waswa quoted KSh 800,000, but the client offered him KSh 2.8 million if he solved the problem faster than expected.

Never one to waste time, he examined the financial records overnight and solved the problem by the next morning.

After presenting his findings, he was instructed to invoice KSh 2.8 million, which he used to buy land and build a house for his family.

Building Octagon Africa

With time, Waswa expanded his business and adopted the name Octagon Pension Services Ltd, which evolved to become the Octagon Africa brand.

The name Octagon represented the eight children in his family.

By the time of his appearance on Financially Incorrect, the business had expanded into insurance brokerage and established operations in Uganda, Zambia and Tanzania.

Additionally, Octagon currently manages more than KSh 85 billion in assets and has employed over 140 people.

According to Waswa, his success stems from his financial approach to treating money as something that should generate additional income rather than just spending.

“For me, I look at money as a seed. I’m not using the seed. I’m using the harvest,” he said.