The inspiring story of Saeed Abdirahman is one that best exemplifies the values if hard work, determination and perseverance. From growing up in Mandera, working as a driver and now runs a successful logistics company and owns a Ksh75 million hotel among other investments.
Here is the story of Saeed Abdirahman as told by WoK.
Saeed Abdirahman Background.
Saeed Abdirahman was born and raised in Girissa Rhamu, Mandera County in the North Eastern region of Kenya. He was born as the fifth born into a humble and polygamous family that consisted of eight children. Being born in the North Eastern region which is faced with drought and insecurity, chances of him making it in life were almost zero. Although they were living in poverty, the parents believed in education and sold the cattle they owned to make sure that all the children stayed in school.
Saeed attended Sheikh Ali High School where he sat for his Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) in 2000 and managed to get a mean grade of C minus. He would later join the Kenya Technical Teachers Training College and graduated with a Diploma in Information Technology (IT) in 2006. This was an achievement not only for him but for the family and the entire village since at the time only 5 percent of North Eastern Children made it to college.
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The Journey
After clearing with his tertiary education, Saeed opted to hustle with the aim of creating something of his own rather than looking for a job in his professional line.
“I could have opted to look for an IT-related job, but my eyes were trained on becoming a top businessman, and to achieve this goal, I had to move from my mother’s nest,” the 40 year told the Daily Nation in 2020.
He traveled from Mandera to Mombasa where he luckily got his first job working as a driver. He rented a single just a few kilometers from his place of work and in order to save money, he would walk all the way to work every morning instead of using matatus. In mid-2007, he quit his job as a driver and started working at the port of Mombasa for different shipping and logistics companies. At first he was getting paid on commission basis before finally landing a job as a regular worker. Knowing where he wanted to be and what he wanted to achieve, Saeed would look for the smallest opportunity to save money.
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“I saved consistently for three years. Every month, I would set aside between Ksh 8,000 and Ksh 10,000. By the end of 2009, I had Ksh 300,000 in savings. However, saving religiously every month for 36 months was not an easy task. I had to sacrifice a lot. I couldn’t afford the same luxuries that my working age mates could since I had to pay rent for a single room and cater for all my daily bills,” he explained during the exclusive interview.
Joining the Business World
He quit his job and registered Sidoman limited – a logistics company providing a wide range of services such as clearing and forwarding, sea and land freight, cargo handling and warehousing. Although the Ksh 300,000 he had wasn’t enough to sustain a logistics company, Saeed never took a bank loan but instead opted for small debts from his friends and family. These small loans enabled him to stay afloat and continue looking for business although he was operating from his briefcase and mobile phone since he had no office.
“I had no office or car with which to run my business. Sometimes I would get a good deal and due to my limited resources, I would refer it to established logistics companies in exchange for commission,” he recalled.
After running the company for a few years, he accumulated a good amount of money and was now able to set up an official office in Mombasa CBD in 2010. The rest as they say is history.
The Success
Currently Sidian Limited is one of the most successful logistics companies in Mombasa offering a wide variety of services including cargo handling, shipping, clearing and forwarding, transportation and warehousing. The company has a total of 30 employees who work on a full time basis and are on the company’s monthly payroll.
In 2014, Saeed decided to try his hand in other interests by joining the lucrative tourism and hospitality industry. He bought the Mtwapa Coast Breeze Hotel in North Coast at a total cost of Ksh 75 million. He would then do refurbishments and renovations transforming it into a classic three-star hotel. The hotel, which has over 34 furnished apartments, is currently estimated to be worth over Ksh 100 million.
