By Prudence Minayo
Clarence Muhoro is a young investor and the founder of Young Investors Kenya. He went from a young shy boy with a stammer to a sharp young mind with a keen eye for business investments. From buying Safaricom shares while he was still a teenager, Clarence has learnt a lot along the way. His passion for business began when he was still in primary school. In the course of his life, he has sold various things from newspapers, pin pops to cakes. He has also volunteered in various businesses during school holidays.
This is his story as told by WoK.
Background and Education
He was born in Nairobi Hospital and brought up in Kahawa Wendani. The young entrepreneur attended Kahawa Wendani primary school before joining Thika Road Primary School and in upper primary joined Gilgil Hill Schools (Class 5-8). At Gilgil, he was instilled with the mindset and work ethic to be the best.
He went on to become index one in his final year and after sitting his KCPE examination, he scored 416 marks and took position 19 overall. Thereafter, he joined Juja Senior School which follows the IGCSE system. Here, he grew more, gained exposure and got the chance to engage in various activities. At the institution, Clarence Muhoro learnt it was okay to make mistakes and most of all built his confidence.
For tertiary education, he joined the United States International University to pursue a Bachelor of Arts in Finance, focusing on Investment Management. The University further shaped him and allowed him to explore. He joined clubs and spent time in the well equipped library reading books including the famous Rich Dad Poor Dad. While at the university, he founded a club named the USIU Investors club. Here, they would train young people and bring in guests among other things.
Investment Journey
His journey in investment began in 2018. He attended a presentation on Cryptocurrency in Westlands. This ignited his love for investment. Together with his family, they invested in a scam digital currency but this did not deter him.
Since he had a chama with friends and family, he asked whether they would be up for an investment and they agreed. This enabled them to buy the first 100 shares at Safaricom at Sh22 per share.
“I looked at Safaricom and saw the right essentials and fundamentals of a wonderful company. They had great leadership under Bob Collymore, happy employees, and had products and services that were likely to grow further into the future……This indicated great growth into the future and that is what I was looking for,” he told Business Daily.
Afterwards, he teamed up with his brother to buy 100 shares at Centum. They used accumulated coins they had saved up in jars to buy the shares.
In three months, the Safaricom shares had grown by 40% and the Centum by 9%. By July 2021, he had invested in over 6 companies at the Nairobi Securities Exchange and had over 1500 shares.
While still studying at USIU, he also got the chance to work as an administrative assistant at Barclays Life Assurance Kenya and as as an assistant accountant at Treetop Sky Foods Limited.
Clarence Muhoro also got the chance to start Young Investors Kenya in 2020. This is a company that teaches young people about investments. The company was started during the wake of Covid-19 which he believed was the right time to invest since markets were down. It grew from one person to over 7,000 members. Young Investors Kenya trains young people to make wealth through business and investments. They have various programs including rigorous boot camps.
Currently, he serves as a team leader at Young Investors Africa. One thing his experience has taught him is how to be a leader and how to work with people who have different personalities.
