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.

Nyamumbo’s eloquent pitch was what first caught the public eye, with a viral video showing her seeking KSh 44 million (350,000 USD) as she tried to convince five tycoons on the popular American reality TV show Shark Tank to buy a 5% stake in her Kahawa 1893 coffee company.

At first, it was not clear whether her eloquent presentation had made any headway.

The ‘shark tanks’ who listened to her presentation were Mark Cuban, Lori Greiner, Robert Herjavec, Emma Grede, and Kevin O’Leary.

It was not until she took to the socials the next morning that she confirmed winning a partnership with British businesswoman, co-founder, and CEO of Good American, Emma Grede.

Grede, a self-made tycoon, holds the distinction of being the first Black woman to serve as an investor on the Shark Tank show, with a net worth of Ksh.44.9 billion ($360 million).

The billionaire posted her partnership with Nyamumbo on her official X account, saying, “We did it! We got a deal. Emma! I am so excited to partner with the incredible @emmagrede to grow Kahawa and bring our mission to millions of women in the world! Let’s go.”

However, the deal did not align with Nyamumbo’s initial terms, with Grede offering to put up an 8% stake in her company, worth about $350 000.

The Story Behind Kahawa 1893

In her Shark Tank presentation, Nyamumbo, who studied in the USA, praised her coffee company and stated that her product is the best in the world.

She stated that she grew up on her grandfather’s coffee farm in Kenya, where she noticed that farmers rarely receive the compensation that is commensurate with the delicious coffee they produce.

She noted that while women provide 90% of the labor, they are rarely paid well because they do not own the land.

This lack of proper compensation was what inspired Nyamumbo to create Kahawa 1893 as a way of offering them proper compensation to coffee farmers.

1983 represents the year that coffee became commercially cultivated in Kenya.

“We source our coffee directly from women farmers in Africa, but that’s not all; we go one step further: our customers can tip the coffee farmers, and we match the tips,” she said.

In her Shark Tank presentation, Nyamumbo noted that her company had made $2million in 2022 revenues, $ 1.3 million year-to-date performance, projections of $4million for 2024, and $10 million revenue targets for 2025.

Her sojourn in the US began when she completed her high school education, when she received a scholarship to pursue an MBA at Harvard University.

Her parents could not raise enough money for her plane ticket, so she had to depend on additional fundraising from relatives and villagers.

After Harvard, she landed a job on Wall Street before she decided to venture into the coffee business in 2017.

Success After Shark Tank

Following her partnership with Grede, Nyamumbo gained valuable capital and resources that helped her brand expand to major national retailers like Sprouts, Target, Costco, and The Fresh Market.

The Shark Tank appearance also helped Kahawa 1893 gain unprecedented momentum, which helped Nyamumbo sell over $1 million worth of coffee in just two months following her presentation.

The company also achieved $4.2 million in overall sales during the year following the Emma Grede partnership, overtaking its previous record of $7million in lifetime sales.

Currently, Kahawa 1893’s net worth is approximately $8.75 million, with annual revenues exceeding $3million.

He is said to have been the third African to open and operate a car yard in Mombasa, an industry that was previously dominated by Arab, Indian, and Pakistani businessmen.

Today, Obama owns seven car yards in Mombasa, with about 300 new and used vehicles available for sale.

However, his journey to success was not easy. This is his journey as told by WoK:

In a recent interview with The Star, Obama disclosed that he was born in 1984 in Girigiri village in Kuria, Migori County.

His father had four wives, and Obama grew up in a polygamous family of 30 siblings.

After completing his primary school education, he joined Matare Boys High School in 1999, where he reportedly trekked 12 km daily.

However, he later transferred to Siria High School in Trans Mara, where he sat for his KCSE exams. He was often sent home over lack of school fees, and he spent many a school day working on his family farm.

Obama began hustling at an early age. His first job involved loading gravel on lorries at Maasai Mara, where he was paid a measly KSh 200.

After high school, he returned to his home village in Gigiri, where he opened and ran a small retail shop until thieves stole everything.

Obama dusted himself, armed himself with ksh 600 and two sets of clothes, and relocated to Kricho to start life afresh.

He arrived hungry and fatigued and spent his first night in a dilapidated Telekom call box. The next morning, he hit the ground running and started to hawk pineapples.

After hawking for several days, he met a former classmate who introduced him to the business of selling small merchandise such as pens, handkerchiefs, and socks.

The job involved working for a company which required Obama to travel to towns such as Kisumu, Sotik, and Kisii.

He worked for this company for a while until he decided to buy merchandise himself and sell at a profit, following his employer’s business model.

With time, he expanded to other towns such as Kitale, Kakamega, Kisumu, and Mombasa, where he became one of the largest wholesale sellers of merchandise.

Obama decided to settle in Mombasa and used his savings of KSh 20,000 to rent a shop, after which he borrowed KSh 150,000 to stock merchandise.

Over time, his business grew steadily, and he became one of the largest wholesalers in Mombasa.

A staunch Christian, he joined a local church, where he met various car dealers and gained interest in the trade.

He took a Sh 300,000 loan from his wife and bought his first car, a Toyota Vitz. He sold the car at a profit and bought his second car, a Toyota Spacio.

However, setbacks arose when he was abducted by thugs while withdrawing Sh 415,000 outside the bank to buy stock. The thieves took away all the money.

Luckily, Obama had built rapport with some traders from Eastleigh, who gave him another loan to recover his business.

Despite various setbacks, he worked hard and set up his first car yard, with mentorship from friends like Anthony Kimani. Becoming the third African to own a car yard in Mombasa.

Today, his car yard, Robimax Auto Trading Ltd yard, has seven branches in Mombasa, with at  least 300 new and used cars on sale.

Obama now guides and mentors his employees, making sure that they follow the same disciplined path that he has followed over many years of doing business.

“I don’t want my employees to simply be employees. I want them to be entrepreneurs, so I hold their hands, just like some people held my hand in their small ways,” he said.

Today, he credits patience and listening to people for helping him rise to the top of a financial institution that boasts over 240,000 members and an asset base of over ksh 34 billion.

In a recent quick-fire interview session, Ngugi described himself as a social person who enjoys working with people.

Growing up, he wanted to become a teacher. Although his career took a different direction, he still enjoys leading and helping people achieve their dreams.

One of the biggest lessons he says he has learned is that patience pays.

He believes business leaders should have integrity and help bring positive change to the organisations they lead.

Ngugi said that he starts his day at 5 am and ends it at 10 pm. He prefers jogging to working out in a gym and is an ardent fan of Harambee Stars, while Mombasa remains his favourite holiday destination.

Internationally, he supports Arsenal, which plays in the English Premier League.

At work, he enjoys hearing from members about Tower Sacco’s products and services. He finds it especially rewarding when they explain how those products have improved their lives.

“I love it when customers enquire about our products and services and when they talk about how Tower Sacco’s products have changed their lives,” he said.

Ngugi said that the late Bob Collymore, who was Safaricom’s CEO from 2010 until his death in 2019, was his leadership mentor and has had the greatest influence on his leadership journey.

Encouraging young people to invest

Ngugi, who revealed that he made his first million at the age of 30, advised young people to begin investing early, even if they can only afford small amounts.

“Life is about investing. The little you have, you invest,” he said. He stated that enormous financial growth rarely happens overnight, and instead happens when young people save little by little.

He also encouraged Tower Sacco members to keep investing and remain hopeful about the future, adding that he looks forward to Tower Sacco’s goal of achieving ksh 80 billion in assets by 2030.

Earlier this year, Tower sacco marked one of the most impressive cooperative achievements in the country, having achieved a net asset base of ksh 34.56 billion and a membership surpassing 247,800.

This marked a 29% increase from the sacco’s 192, 270 members that it recorded in 2024.

Ngugi attributed this growth to disciplined members and strong leadership.

He also shared that his borrowing eligibility under the sacco’s T-Express service ranges from KSh 18,000 to KSh 20,000.

Speaking ahead of Tower Sacco’s Customer Service Week, Ngugi encouraged staff to be patient when listening to members. He said understanding their needs would help staff serve them better.

He also urged employees to take time to listen and show a willingness to help members grow financially.

“I would urge my staff to be patient when listening and dealing with the members to understand them and have the passion for helping them grow,” he said.

For members, his message was to continue investing and maintain a positive outlook.

His takeaway was that digitization is the future, and therefore it should be embraced by all financial institutions, tower scaco included.

“We are transforming this organization digitally because we know that digitization is the future. Many people are going to enjoy our products through digital lending,” he said.

Tower Sacco background

Tower Sacco began with a group of primary school teachers in Ol Kalou, Nyandarua County.

They paid an entrance fee of KSh 20 and shared a belief that pooling their resources could help them improve their lives.

The organisation was formally registered on September 15, 1976, as Nyandarua Teachers Sacco Society. It started with 125 members and share capital of KSh 90,000.

Initially, the sacco served teachers only. In 2011, it opened its membership to other groups, including government employees, farmers, traders, jua kali workers, and Kenyans living abroad.

Currently, the sacco operates at least 31 branches across nine counties, supported by over 300 agents nationwide.

Its product portfolio includes premium loans, asset finance loans, salaried loans, among other lending products.

The tycoon, who has mastered the art of keeping a low public profile, is one of the most powerful figures in Kenya’s cement manufacturing industry.

Ndeta is an architect, a corporate leader, cement industry investor, and serial entrepreneur

This is his journey as told by WoK:

Who is Benson Ndeta?

According to Construction Kenya, Ndeta, who was born in 1972, holds a Bachelor of Architecture degree from Jomo Kenyatta University of Technology.

He is also a member of the Architectural Association of Kenya as well as the Quantity Surveyors in Kenya.

Ndeta shot to the national limelight in 2003 when then-Trade Minister Mukhisa Kituyi appointed him as chairman of East African Portland Cement Company (EAPCC) when he was just 31 years old.

As chairman, he managed to steer EAPCC from financial ruin and transformed it into a profit-making company, with its production capacity increasing and its financial performance also improving.

Founding Savannah Cement

Ndeta left EAPCC in 2008 and became one of the key founders of Savannah Cement in 2012, alongside Chinese investors and two other Kenyans named John Gachanga and Donald Mwaura.

The company sought to challenge established construction giants such as Bamburi Cement, East African Portland Cement, Mombasa Cement, and Athi River Mining.

Savannah Cement quickly gathered momentum, and by mid 2010, it had become one of East Africa’s largest cement manufacturers.

However, Ndeta fell into various legal battles and disputes with his business associates, which led him to cede his stake in Savannah Cement to a third party in November 2022.

After co-founding Savannah Cement, Ndeta launched another company, Savannah Clinker Limited, in 2019.

Instead of manufacturing cement directly, Ndeta’s new company focused on the production of clinker, one of the main raw materials used in cement production.

He launched a multi-billion-shilling clinker plant in Kitui County, which supplied numerous manufacturing factories across the country with clinker.

Acquiring Bamburi Cement

In August 2024, Ndeta’s company, Savannah Clinker, attempted to acquire Bamburi Cement, one of East Africa’s largest cement manufacturers.

His initial bid was Sh25.41 billion, while another Tanzanian conglomerate, Amsons Group, offered 23.59 billion.

Ndeta reportedly offered up to KSh 75 per share, far outbidding the Tanzanian company.

However, legal troubles disrupted his effort, and Savannah Clinker was forced to withdraw from the acquisition process.

Had the bid succeeded, Ndeta would have earned a seat at the table of Africa’s most powerful cement tycoons, such as Aliko Dangote of Nigeria, who owns Dangote Cement.

Aside from cement manufacturing, public records show that Ndeta has been involved in several other companies.

He has served as director of Adventis Inhouse Africa, an architectural consultancy involved in planning and design projects.

Additionally, he is associated with Rapid Communications Ltd, a telecommunications service provider focused on the provision of wireless technologies and broadband services.

Controversy

In 2025, Ndeta was involved in legal battles that involved allegations of defrauding Absa Bank of ksh 4.5 billion.

The prosecution also alleged that Ndeta prepared and presented forged company documents to Absa’s relationship manager as genuine company records.

The arrest caused widespread speculation, with former vice president Kalonzo Musyoka suggesting that the charges were fabricated to sabotage his acquisition of Bamburi Cement.

“The arrest of Kenyan industrialist Benson Sande Ndeta today is intended to stop his bid for Bamburi Cement,” Said Kalonzo.

However, a High Court judgment quashed the criminal proceedings, declaring Ndeta’s prosecution as unlawful, null, and void.

However, rather than succumbing to depression, he decided to use the skills and connections that he already had to pick himself up again.

According to Odote, who is best known as the billionaire behind The Odote Group, House of Procurement (HOP), and Homeboyz Entertainment, his only resources at the time were a laptop, wifi, and his skills.

Within two weeks, he had leveraged his resources and skills to organize for the musicians who would be performing at one of Kenya’s most popular entertainment events, the Masaku 7s Rugby Festival.

The event, which was launched in 2012, was a sporting and entertainment festival that drew rugby fans and revellers from all corners of the country to Machakos County.

Odote said that he made serious money by bringing in renowned musicians and entertainers to the Masaku 7s festival.

He estimated that within the two weeks during which the festival took place, he made at least ksh 12 million, which helped him leave his cousin’s house and start life afresh.

“Two weeks after losing everything, Masaku 7s was happening, and I was the one who was bringing the musicians. I made a lot of money out of that. I even bought a new car,” he said.

His message was that starting over can begin with one useful skill, one job, or one connection. “You may have lost everything, but you have not lost everything you know. Just start again,” he said.

Unlike many Kenyan tycoons who build their businesses by focusing on one line of business, Odote built his business empire by building a diversified business portfolio.

He is a major shareholder in Homeboyz Entertainment, which owns brands such as Homeboyz TV, HBR 103.5 (Homeboyz Radio), Soundtraxx, Activate, Publicis Africa Group, and Tikiti.

He is also the managing director of The Odote Group of Companies, which operates under the VOVO brand.

His other business, The House of Procurement, deals in the supply of agricultural products and renewable energy as well as microlending and equipment leasing.

In Dr Ofweneke’s interview, Odote disclosed that he began making money during his university days.

During one of the holidays, he formed a team which went around schools in Mombasa showing the film The Passion of the Christ. He said he charged about KSh50 per screening and also sold revision books to students.

By the time he joined university, he said, he had about KSh1.7 million.

However, he did not allow his business to distract him from his studies. He revealed that he graduated magna-cum-laude with an average score of more than 96% across 80 units.

He told Ofweneke that he was not surprised by the result because he had put in the work.

“When you put the work, you’re not really surprised,” he said. “There’s an expectation already that you had of it.”

Odote also revealed that he was a heavy drinker at some point in his life.

He said he worked in a brewery and drank heavily for a couple of years, but stopped taking alcohol when he realized that the drink could damage a person’s health, relationships, and future.

“You cannot be a good father, a good businessman, a billionaire drunk,” he said.

He argued that the cost of drinking is not only financial, and that it can consume one’s time and affect a person’s ability to follow through on important opportunities.

According to him, quitting alcohol has helped him make massive strides in life, while many of his friends have stagnated.

All he had was a flying license, a dream, and an ambition.

Today, Tropic Air offers charters to Kenya’s wealthiest 1%, including celebrities like Sir David Attenborough.

This is Jamie Roberts ’ journey as told by WoK:

Roberts was born in Nakuru, with his family later settling in Baringo’s Kampi Ya Samaki. There, the family operated a fish factory, with Jamie helping his mother take care of his five siblings.

His father passed away when he was only three years old. His grandparents had a small farm in Limuru, where they were small-scale farmers.

At 15, he left school and began working for a local farmer, handling machine maintenance at his various farms.

He later joined a flying club in Nakuru, where he learned how to fly fixed-wing aircraft to make it easier and quicker for him to commute between far-flung locales.

Roberts soon decided to use this knowledge to venture into the aviation business, taking advantage of Kenya’s budding tourism industry in the early 1990s, as new lodges were opening up in Nanyuki and other areas of Laikipia.

With no money to buy an aircraft of his own, he took a loan and leased a de Havilland DHC-2 Beaver aircraft from Anthony Dyer. With this aircraft, he began offering scenic flights around Mt Kenya.

“There were about three key lodges in Laikipia when we started. Lewa, Ol Malo, Loisaba, and perhaps a few other small ones. We would also fly people to Turkana and into the Chalbi Desert for camping safaris,” he said.

The business picked up, and within a few years, Tropic Air had grown to become the second busiest air charter company in the country, successfully operating a fleet of Cessna aircraft.

In 2006, the company diversified into helicopters, offering a wide variety of heli-services and safaris throughout sub-Saharan Africa. Kenya, Uganda, Congo, and Ethiopia became the company’s main destinations.

Today, Tropic Air is based at Nanyuki airfield, between the towns of Naro Moru and Nanyuki, just a few kilometres south of the equator. There, the company offers private flights and helicopter services.

The company has a lean team of about a dozen pilots, led by Jamie Roberts. Additionally, the company has directly and permanently employed at least 50 people.

Their fleet features at least a dozen fixed-wing aircraft, including the all-terrain Cessna Grand Caravan, five Airbus H125 (AS350B3), and an Airbus H130.

The Airbus H125 and H130 helicopters perform best in hot and dusty conditions, while the Cessnas are ideal for groups of 2-12 passengers.

Tropic Air is credited with much of the infrastructure behind Nanyuki Airfield, which features simple wooden buildings, extensive lawns, and breathtaking scenery.

The company has diversified its services to include wildlife translocations, extraordinary tourism, aerial photography, cargo flights, crop spraying, and medical evacuations.

According to Roberts, his most frightening experience as a Tropic Air pilot was landing between matatus at Nairobi’s Globe roundabout with a camera crew.

He was quickly surrounded by menacing young men. “I thought they would strip my chopper for scrap metal,” he said in an interview with Standard. However, he took off without incident.

He maintains that Kenya is generally a friendly country, unlike other regions where people are aggressive first and friendly later.

Despite Tropic Air’s success, Jamie stated that the cost of operating an aviation business in Kenya is very high. According to him, importing a helicopter costs at least $3million, with a 48% tax on top.

He stated that this is why few people have helicopters in Kenya, saying that you will rarely find him flying his family around in one.

However, he still maintains that for Tropic Air, the sky is the limit.