Top 10 Kenyan Entrepreneurs You Should Start Following For Inspiration

By Lilian Wamaitha

Are you looking for inspiration? Then start following inspiring people. If you want to be successful in life, then you need to start walking in the shoes of successful people.

And when I say follow I don’t just mean on Twitter or LinkedIn, although that would be the perfect place to start, I mean studying them and learn their secrets to success.

There are so many individuals in Kenya, most of them successful entrepreneurs who can spark a little inspiration if you know where to look.

Here are 10 entrepreneurs in Kenya that you can learn a thing or two from.

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1. Dr. Chris Kirubi

He is one of the big names that comes to mind when you think about entrepreneurship in Africa. The self-made business man, has invested in almost every sector of the economy with a majority of his shares being in the real estate business.

When Kirubi started buying old houses, renovating them and selling them at a profit, no one knew that he would go on to become one of the most successful business men in the country.

2. Perminus Wainaina

If you are a job seeker and looking for a recruiter who will connect you with a job that matches your qualifications and skills, then Perminus Wainaina  is the person you go to.

His company Corporate Staffing Services has grown over the years to be one of the leading recruitment firms in Kenya. Unlike other recruitment firms that charges jobs seeker, Corporates Staffing Services recruits on behalf of other companies.

All you have to do as a job seeker is apply for the jobs constantly advertised on the company’s website and wait for that interview call. The company has also expanded over the years to offer other services like CV and cover letter writing, interview coaching, career coaching, psychometric tests among other.

Whatever you are looking for, you can be sure that Corporate Staffing will provide quality and world class services to keep you satisfied as a client.

3. Tabitha Karanja

One of the lionesses of Africa working to help put Kenya on the global map. The founder of Keroche Industries, Tabitha Karanja is one of those women who will inspire you to greatness.

When Tabitha started her venture, she came in in a male dominated territory and business monopoly that had been dominated by EABL to manufacture Kenya’s first home made beer and alcoholic drinks.

She is really a woman who is inspiring a generation of young people to dream big.

4. Terryanne Chebet

Another lioness who has taken the beauty industry by a storm. She is the founder of Keyara Organics. A company that manufactures skin care brands inspired by the African passion.

Venturing into a market that has been dominated by big brands like Oriflame and the likes, Terryanne wants to grow her company to become one of the leading manufacturer of beauty products in Africa and with her passion and determination, she will surely make it.

5.Trushar Khetia

The now 30 year old has been ranked by Forbes as one of the Kenya’s few dollar millionaires but for Khetia, he is still not yet there.

He is the founder and CEO of Tria Group and Tria Transit Media, a company that deals with outdoor advertisement in Kenya. He is also the CEO of a chain of supermarket stores under the name Society Stores.

At 29, Forbes named him one of 2016’s Top 30 under 30 promising entrepreneurs in Africa.

6. Lorna Rutto

One of Kenya’s eco-preneurs, Lorna Rutto is the founder of EcoPost, a venture that collects plastic waste and turns them into eco-friendly fencing posts that are used all over Kenya.

Hers is the classic, see a need and start a business to meet that need. Lorna has not only provide the country an alternative to timber fencing but has in the process created hundreds of jobs.

Through her venture, she has helped save over 250 acres of forests and found a way of disposing off waste that has been a headache to the Kenyan population.

7. Ruth Mwanzia

Growing up in Kitui county, a semi-arid area in Kenya, Ruth saw the need to provide affordable clean drinking water and thus the idea of Koola Waters was born.

She is one of the young entrepreneurs in Kenya who is taking the business world by a storm. Her company  treats and packages clean drinking water.

8. Erick Kinoti

After creating two successful businesses in five years, 29-year-old entrepreneur Erick Kinoti has come a long way from the days of selling eggs and food supplies to schools, to the current day where he is making Sh150 million in a year.

The young boy from Meru has truly come far to be where he is now and is worth adding to your list mentors. He is the founder and CEO of Shades System East Africa and Safi Sana, a company that provides cleaning survices.

9. S.K Macharia

S.K Macharia is known to many as a Businessman and it’s important to note that his first business was a Tissue Paper Making Company called Madhupaper. The Tissue Company is what you now see in the Supermarkets as ‘ROSY TISSUES.’

He is the owner of Royal Media Services one of the biggest media  houses in Kenya. He has investments in Agriculture, Real Estate, Transport, Banking and Telecommunication. S.K is valued at around $150 Million.

Find Out >>> Things You Probably Didn’t Know About S.K Macharia 

10. Mike Macharia

He is the founder and CEO of Seven Seas Technologies (SST). At the age of 25, Macharia founded the company to provide integrated business and technology solution in Africa. His company now has operations in 8 countries in Africa.

If you are looking for inspiration, there are so many places to find it, embroidered in our Kenyan spirit and in the spirits of these self-made entrepreneurs who are working hard to put Kenya on the global business map. There is so much to learn from them in terms of starting and running a business. I hope you were inspired!

Found this interesting? Leave a comment below.

The writer is a Communications and Digital Marketing Officer at Career Point Kenya. Email her through lilian@www.careerpointkenya.co.ke