7 Successful Kenyan Entrepreneurs Who Quit Their Jobs To Pursue Their Passions

By Lilian Wamaitha
If you are reading this right now, it means that you hope to one day become a successful entrepreneur. You may not be there yet, haven’t committed to starting a business but you are on the edge, just waiting for that perfect chance to make a move.
But then doubt starts creeping in. “What if I fail?” “Is it even worth it?”
This doubt is even worse when you have a job and can’t imagine leaving the comfort of a paycheck to pursue a business that may or may not work.
And that right there is where there problem lies.
A majority of us have dreams of being self-independent but then again we lack confidence in ourselves and end up not taking that leap of faith.
And that is the reason why I decided to write this article. To give hope to you out there who still doubts whether you will succeed. It is to tell you that you are not alone.
Others have been there and instead of letting that little voice tell them otherwise, they chose to believe that they could do anything they set their mind on.
Here are 7 successful entrepreneurs who succeeded in leaving their jobs to pursue their passion. It’s not too late for you and that dream is still within reach. You just have to see it and grab on to it.
1. Ben Kiruthi – Award Winning Photographer
If anybody can tell you that this award winning photographer was an engineer, you probably would not believe it.
As a young man, Kiruthi studied Engineering and being a photographer must have been one of his wildest dreams.
After campus, he landed an engineering job where he earned  Ksh 30,000 every month. This was not what he wanted in life and he knew it.
He decided to take up an interest in photography on the side to test the waters. He and his wife took up the challenge to learn as much as they could by watching YouTube Photography Tutorials and practiced taking good photographs.
And now, from the decision to quit his job he has created an empire for himself, making more than Ksh500,000 in a month.
Ben Kiruthi has won accolades of Best Kenyan Photographer in Kenya and in Africa.
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2. Gloria Michelle Otieno – CEO Recours Four Kenya Consultants
Gloria Michelle Otieno worked at Kenya Airways in the customer service department but decided that she could not continue working a job that she was not satisfied with.
She says she wasn’t passionate about it but on the other hand advices that not everyone who hates their job should quit but they should have a plan.
In her past interview with the True Love Magazine, she admitted that her plan was to use her excellent social media skills and her ability to write proposals, business plans and CVs.
Her first client was a 22 year old man who she did a CV for 200 shillings and a cover letter for Ksh 150 after he was impressed with the CV.
After the young man landed an interview he referred her to his cousin and that is how Recours Four Consultants was started.
3. Wambui Mukenyi – Fashion Designer
Wambui Mukenyi is a self-taught designer, whose love for luxurious fabric that reflects the rich African heritage would act as her stepping stone into the lucrative fashion business.
She worked for two years as an accountant in a real estate firm but she always felt that she was in the wrong profession.
She would later on quit her job and dive into fashion full time.
Interestingly due to that decision, she has dressed television presenters such as NTVs Victoria Rubadiri, Lilian Muli, Janet Mbugua as well as Kambua Manundu.
In 2012 she collaborated with Ms. Janet Mbugua to launch the Janet Mbugua collection.
She is now a fashion designer who is grateful that she quit her job to pursue her passion.
4. Kevin Kairuki
This young man is a real inspiration to anyone who is looking to make it in life while still young.
The daring entrepreneur quit his accounting job to start a business with just Ksh4,500. How many of you would do that?
Not even the lack of capital could keep him at a job he was not happy with.
And that saw him become the CEO of several major businesses – Blessed Basket, a vegetable delivery business he started in 2014 as well as Kake Sounds an event planning business.
When he interviewed with Daily Nation he admitted that on a bad day he makes 100K.
5. Dr. Muhoro Muriithi Paul – Charlie’s Bistro Owner
When I was told to go interview Dr. Muhoro Muriithi, I thought I would be meeting an older man.
I was surprised to meet a 32 year old who is the sole owner of Charlie’s Bistro, a very high end restaurant located at the junction of Mbagathi way and Lang’ata Road and a couple of other businesses here and there.
He quit medicine after ten years and admits that he does not regret his decision. Though he had a passion for medicine, he soon realized that business was his true calling and decided to call it quits.
6. Barclay Paul Okari – CEO and Founder of Impact Africa Industries
Like most graduates looking for work experience, Barclay Paul Okari took up a volunteer teaching job at a school in Narok to give back to the community and boost his CV for career opportunities in future. Little did he know that this would pave way for his success.
It was here that he realized there was a gap in the market for affordable, re-usable sanitary pads.
“Every month, girls would skip classes for days because they couldn’t afford pads. I started my company with the ultimate goal of fixing this,” he told the Daily Nation.
Today, he is the CEO and Founder of Impact Africa Industries, an organization that manufactures affordable sanitary pads for local communities.
7. Lorna Rutto – Founder Eco Post
As a young child, growing up in the Kaptembwa Slums in Kenya, Lorna Rutto experienced more than her fair share of poverty, unemployment, garbage and rotting waste in the streets, and clogged, overflowing sewers encroaching people’s homes.
After school, she went to college, graduating with a Bachelor of Commerce degree in Accounting, and went into a career in banking but felt unfulfilled.
Her passion for the environment, and her desire to do something to address the increasing waste problem in the country, led her to take the entrepreneurial plunge, leave the banking sector, and start up in business together with her co-founder, Charles Kalama, a biochemical engineering graduate.
The ball is now in your court
All that holds us back is not the environment but us. If you want to do something, best believe that you can do it. As you can see, many have been there and have succeeded. Don’t let your insecurities or lack of capital hold you back from pursuing you passion. The worst thing in life is to live a life of “what if” when you know that you could have done better.
Lilian is a Communication Officer at Career Point Kenya. Do you agree with this article? Share your opinion below.