AFRICAS PROMISING ENTREPRENEURS: Meet Kenya's Eric Kinoti

Call him the Warren Buffet of Africa, you  will not be mistaken. He is Kenyan by nationality . The following is Eric Kinoti’s undaunting  rise from rags to riches. Kinoti scaled several barriers to become a force to be reckoned with in business. He started by selling eggs but  he saw a unique potential  in tent making and manufacturing and within the twinkle of an eye, he has risen to become one of Africa’s promising entrepreneurs. Today, he sits atop five  powerful companies in Kenya. Kinoti has been on Kenya’s  government delegation  to several international economic meetings. This inspiring story of Eric Kinoti has made him extend a very strong hand of mentorship to young African entrepreneurs so that they won’t  face the same challenges he faced when he was about starting up. Kinoti  reveals how he has not only been successful but also how he has been able to establish five  thriving  companies. Excerpts:

Who are you? 

My name is Eric Kinoti, an entrepreneur and  mentor. I am the founder and director of Shade Systems (EA) Ltd, SafiSana Home Services, Alma Tents and Bag Base Kenya Ltd. I have appeared twice on Kenya’s list of Top 40 under 40 and  Forbes Top 30 under 30 in Africa. I am one of the patrons of Kenya’s National Chamber of Commerce and Industry. I’m also  Kenya’s Most Influential SME Personality 2014.

My company, Shade Systems (EA) Ltd, emerged 2nd runners-up and best in manufacturing category in the 2014 Top 100 mid size companies in Kenya, which was organized by KPMG and National Media Group.

My biggest goal is to help as many entrepreneurs as possible to succeed. From the challenges I faced, I recognized the importance of mentorship and how important it is to inspire and guide young people venturing into business.

How did  you become an entrepreneur?  

I’ve always wanted to be  financially independent, be my own boss and create job opportunities.

After I completed my tertiary education, getting a white collar job was difficult, so I started selling eggs and  during this time, I discovered I don’t need salaried employment any more.

How easy was it getting started as an entrepreneur?

It was never easy, and it will never be easy to start up. I faced a lot of difficulties, so many hurdles and obstacles. All odds were against me, but I was determined to make my dream a reality.

How did you choose the line of business you wanted to do?

I saw a need. When I was doing supplies after college, someone approached me and asked me for a tent. I  asked around. The profit I got for being a middleman in this deal was good, so I thought since I had a tough time looking for a tent, why couldn’t I start manufacturing tents and selling them.

I did my research, studied the market and the rest is history.

Another reason that made me choose this line of business is the African climate. We have extreme weather conditions. If it’s hot, it’s usually very hot and when it’s cold, it gets extremely cold. This means for any event to happen and to protect what matters to us, we must have a shade, a tent or a canopy.

What  things did you put in place to get the business started? What did you also do to  speed up  the business in a few years? 

I looked for space, equipment  and did a lot of marketing.  I mean I had  to identify the market, the personnel and the marketing channels.

How did you  build your companies?

One business creates a need and leads to establishment of the others. For example, Shade Systems exclusively manufactures tents. We also offer tents installation and supplies services.  With this, a need to be hiring tents for events and ceremonies came up. I started Alma Tents for this reason only. I provide tents for  different  events.

Bag Base is a subsidiary that manufactures bags. When we manufacture tents, some canvas materials  remain and we use them to make  canvas bags.

Safisana is  Swahili which  means ‘very clean’. Safisana Home Services offers premium home care with professionals and 5 star services.

Every business has its fair share of challenges. What  are the challenges facing your own business?

My youthful age has been a challenge on many occasions. Years back, no one believed in a young person. All the  big businesses were awarded by old folks who never  trusted  in  young people and what they can do.  I  missed several opportunities early in life because of ‘my age’. That’s why I am always happy when I see young people in their 20s getting big tenders and good businesses because it shows the trend has changed.

Putting the brand out there too was a challenge. The tents sector is highly controlled by government or government controlled parastatals, so penetrating such a market and  competition was a big challenge.

I also had capital issues when I was starting up, but I didn’t let this hold  me down because I am an avid believer in ideas. I believe that ideas are the biggest capital one can have. I was without money to pay rent and was indebted to shylocks who almost auctioned my business and went without sales for awhile. But in the end today, they are all success stories.

Why in your opinion do you think African entrepreneurs do not succeed in their business endeavors? 

The environment  around entrepreneurship is one major challenge. For example, in Kenya, if you win  a government contract ,  you will have to wait for almost one year to get paid. This cannot help any entrepreneur prosper. The duration stipulated in the law should be amended.

Another thing is the process of registering a company. While in the western countries, registration of a company takes less than three hours, in Africa it may take up to three months.

We also don’t have so many willing investors. As much as an entrepreneur may have  start-up capital, he also needs operating capital. We need more  willing investors to fund  African entrepreneurs.

Now the problem is not only external. Even within entrepreneurs themselves, there is a problem. Most  youths are not persistent and they’re impatient. They want to start a business and start earning immediately. Quick cash is what they want but this can never happen, so when this doesn’t happen, they jump from one business to another.

For every good thing, there is a process. I faced so many challenges and  I had the option of starting different businesses and leaving Shade Systems to die, but I chose to stick with it, because I knew there is always a price to pay for everything.

Obstacles and challenges are the prices for success.

What are your companies into?

I have five  companies. The first one is Shade Systems (EA) Ltd that manufactures all types of tents, car parking shade, canopies and shade seals. We also install and supply. The second one is Alma Tents Solutions. Alma exclusively deals with hiring of tents, chairs and bouncing castles to event organizers. The third company is Bag Base Kenya which  manufactures canvas school bags, laptop bags, corporate bags, travel bags and many other type of bags. Bag Base also makes leather products like  wallets, folders, menu covers, bill covers, cheque book covers,  mouse pads, blotter pads among others. All these products are customized according to the client’s specifications.

The fourth company is Safisana Home Services which offers premium five star home keeping services. It’s a Kenyan company tailored to provide thorough, timely and extremely professional home support services. We offer  house cleaning and laundry services or recurring residential cleaning and laundry services.

The fifth is the Entrepreneurs Boot Camp which  I use to promote entrepreneurship spirit in Africa and challenge  young people to be better in society.

Entrepreneurs Boot Camp  provides a platform for successful entrepreneurs to share experiences with young ambitious founders and connect them to mentors. The boot camp gives attendees an exclusive  look into the career path of well respected professionals, business lessons learned by successful entrepreneurs and an opportunity to meet and get personal advice from amazing African entrepreneurs, pitch to potential investors and  network.

The entrepreneurial journey can be a very challenging  and young entrepreneurs need to be mentored and offered platforms to learn and network with one another. This year we will be having the second edition in December. I want to use this opportunity to welcome every African entrepreneur. Please visit www.entrepreneursbootcamp.net and www.erickinoti.com to get all the updates on EBC and what we are doing as a build up to the big event.

What does it take  to be in the aforementioned businesses?

One must have   capital, machinery and people.

Tell us about your entrepreneur boot camp. How can Africans from other countries benefit from this boot camp?

As I said earlier, Entrepreneurs Boot Camp is an event that provides a platform for successful entrepreneurs to share experiences with young ambitious founders and connect them to mentors. The boot camp gives attendees an exclusive inside look into the career paths of well respected professionals,  lessons learned by successful entrepreneurs and an opportunity to meet and get personal advice from amazing African entrepreneurs, pitch to potential investors  and network. Participation is  not restricted, anyone around the continent is very much welcome. In our first edition, we had pan-African speakers and participants from as far as Asia. More than eight African states were represented.  This  event is a pan-African event. To reach out to  people who are not in a position to attend, we have a website www.entrepreneursbootcamp.net that you can log into and access the previous edition and vital information about entrepreneurship and power talks from different speakers.

What does it take to be a successful African entrepreneur?

Discipline, hard work, consistency, commitment, perseverance , long term vision, patience, creative and smart thinking.

What’s your  advice to several budding young African entrepreneurs? 

Put God first. Another is to be consistent, don’t be jumpy, stick to one thing and it will pay off. Furthermore, think long term.

Finally, think big, start small, start now. In this life, there are no limitations, we only limit ourselves.

What business lessons have you learnt over the years?

To make it in any field, you have to apply all that I have said above.  God, consistency, long term thinking, smartness and daring.

Young Billionaire Ashish J. Thakkar Is First African To Make Fortune 40 Under 40

Ashish J. Thakkar, the 32 year-old founder and CEO of Mara Group, has emerged the first African ever to be named in Fortune Magazine’s prestigious annual 40 Under 40 list which features young hotshots around the globe who are leading businesses as diverse as air travel, natural gas, and genetic coding, as well as government.

Thakkar was featured on the 19th spot on the 2013 edition of the list, sandwiched between Catherine Lacavera, Google’s 38 year-old Director of Litigation and American music phenomenon Will Adams, popularly known by his pseudonym Will.i.am, who also doubles as Chairman of I.am.plus, a technology accessories company.

Other prominent entrepreneurs and corporate executives who made it to the list include Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, Yahoo CEO, Marissa Mayer, Jack Dorsey of Square and Twitter as well as Daniel Ek, founder of music streaming service, Spotify.

Ashish J. Thakkar has earned an unprecedented amount of international press recognition in recent times for his remarkable business success and his work in grooming young African entrepreneurs. And he has a remarkable story. After surviving the 1994 Rwandan genocide, Ashish moved to Kampala, Uganda with his family. During High School in Kampala, Ashish began selling computers to his classmates and friends. That computer trading business formed the earliest foundation of the Mara Group – a Pan-African conglomerate that is actively involved in everything from manufacturing to agriculture to property development and Information Technology. The group has total assets in excess of $1 billion and over 7,500 employees across 21 African countries. The group’s charity arm, the Mara Foundation focuses on entrepreneurship and education. Among other things, the Mara Foundation provides comprehensive support services including mentorship, funding, incubation center workspace and business training to African entrepreneurs mainly in East Africa.

Ashish is truly putting Africa on the map and getting Africa recognized globally in a postivie sense.

10 African Millionaires Under 40

Africa has a new class of millionaires. Many are not members of dynasties and few are into the traditional generators of African wealth – resource mining and exploration or brokering of lucrative government contracts. They have grabbed new tools and made new friends. With technology in one hand and foreign investment in the other, these millennials are building business that will diversify Africa’s economic landscape. They also aren’t doing too badly for themselves. Here are 10 “new millionaires” under 40 whose ideas are both transforming the continent and making them fabulously wealthy.

MARK SHUTTLEWORTH, 39, SOUTH AFRICA

Mark Shuttleworth, South Africa’s tech wunderkind, is the founder of Canonical Ltd, the developer of Ubuntu, the world’s largest, free, open-source operating system with over 20 million users. Shuttleworth shot to fame in 1999 when Thawte, an internet security company he founded four years earlier, at the age of 22, was acquired by VeriSign for $575 million.

Shuttleworth used funds from the buyout of his first company to start a Cape Town-based emerging markets investment fund, HBD Capital (now Knife Capital). The fund eventually sold several companies for nine-digit sums, including Fundamo, which Visa paid $110 million for in 2011. He also founded an eponymous foundation that financially supports innovative social entrepreneurs, and was South Africa’s first man to shuttle to space.

ASHISH THAKKAR, 31, UGANDA

Ashish Thakkar is a co-founder and CEO of the Mara Group. The Group, with interests in real estate, manufacturing, technology, renewable energy and financial services, has over 7,000 employees across 19 countries and an annual turnover in excess of $100 million. Entrepreneurship for him, like his billionaire mentor and friend Richard Branson, started at an early age. Thakkar was just 15 years old when he set up his first business: importing and selling computer hardware and software in Uganda. Thakkar says the loss of his parents’ wealth in the 1993 Rwandan genocide spurred him to start a business. Over the years, his personal worth has climbed over $290 million.

VINNY LINGHAM, 34, SOUTH AFRICA

Lingham, one of South Africa’s leading tech exports, is an internet entrepreneur and serial founder, with several companies under his belt. In 2003, he founded incuBeta – a global online marketing investment holding company – and Click2Customers – a successful search engine marketing company with offices in Cape Town, Los Angeles and London. Presently, Click2Customers generates an annual revenue of about $100 million. Lingham, who now lives in San Francisco, competes on the global scene and has, over the years, built quite an empire, with multi-million dollar companies including Lingham Capital, Yola Inc (formerly Synthasite), Gyft and more. Linghman sits on the boards of ChessCube, SkyRove, and Personera and previously served on marketing advisory boards for internet giant, Yahoo, and Nasdaq-listed, ValueClick.

ROLAND AGAMBIRI, 39, GHANA

A visionary and inspiring youth advocate, Roland Agambiri is the group chairman of AGAMS GROUP and the founder and CEO of the much-celebrated electronics manufacturer, rlg Communications. His ascent is a study in determination. After earning a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration, Agambiri established Roagam Links Ghana in March 2001 as a mobile phone repair outlet. It later became rlg, the pioneer indigenous computer and mobile phone plant and technology institute in Ghana and the West African sub-region. Agambiri has since expanded the company’s presence to China, Gambia and Nigeria – where it established a $20-million assembly plant – and Dubai, the location of its new global headquarters. The Ghana Investment Promotion Centre’s Ghana Club 100 previously christened rlg as the Fastest Growing Company in Ghana, the Leader in Ghana’s ICT Sector and the Best Entrant to the Club 100.

SIM SHAGAYA, 38, NIGERIA

From computer programming at the tender young age of 10 to leading Google Africa, over the years Sim Shagaya has established three multi-million-dollar Nigerian digital companies: eMotion, Nigeria’s first digital ad company which he now chairs; dealdey.com, the country’s largest deal site; and Konga.com, Nigeria’s second-largest ecommerce player and which has received over $15 million in funding from investors including Naspers and Kinnivik. While 10 percent of Konga’s shares are distributed among employees, Shagaya controls a majority stake of at least 51 percent. Prior to his successful string of entrepreneurial strides, Shagaya spent two years as the personal executive to the current chairman of Etisalat Nigeria, Hakeem Bello- Osagie. Shagaya plans to spend 20 years of his life revamping local retail and building a sustainable retail network in Nigeria, just as Jeff Bezos did with Amazon.

ABASIAMA IDARESIT, 34, NIGERIA

Abasiama Idaresit is a firm believer in the possibilities of the internet for Africa. He is the founder and CEO of Wild Fusion, a Nigeria-based digital marketing agency with a presence in Nigeria, Ghana and Kenya. It has a clientele of blue-chip companies including Pepsi, Unilever, Diamond Bank and Vodafone. Upon completion of his Information Systems and Management course at the London School of Economics in 2008, Idaresit returned to Nigeria to start Wild Fusion. This was before the rise of Twitter, when internet advertising was still a very unpopular idea in the country. After eight months with little to no revenue generated, Idaresit’s $250-money-back trial service increased a reluctant client’s earnings by 100 percent in three months. So stunning was the result that Google adopted it as an internet marketing case study. The company became Google Adwords’ first local certified partner and was named Nigeria’s best digital agency in 2011. In 2012, having received no external funding, it recorded an annual turnover of $6 million. Idaresit, who has been featured on CNN among other media outlets, says he has always loved the internet and wants to see it change Africa.

MIKE MACHARIA, 38, KENYA

Michael King’Ori Macharia is the Group CEO of Seven Seas Technologies (SST), one of East Africa’s leading technology solutions companies. As a qualified chartered accountant, Mike founded SST in Kenya in 1999 at the age of 25, having risen to the post of sales manager after three years working at a then-leading IT firm, Comtech Systems. From a team of just five at its inception in 1999, the SST Group currently has more than 100 permanent employees in East, West and Southern Africa, as well as Portugal, and generates annual revenues of around $50 million.

NIC HARALAMBOUS, 29, SOUTH AFRICA

Nic Haralambous is the founder of ForeFront Africa, a leading African mobile strategy firm. He moved from print media, through online and finally into mobile media production and management, also working as the head of the mobile division at the Mail & Guardian and product manager of The Grid, Vodacom SA’s location-based social network, before reaching where he is now. In August 2012, Haralambous sold Motribe, the mobile internet company which he had co-founded, to Mxit, Africa’s largest social network. In 2009, he featured on GQ’s list of the top 30 men in media, while in 2010 he was a finalist in the Men’s Health Best Men Awards. He was also selected by the Mail & Guardian as one of the 200 young South Africans to take to lunch.

PATRICK NGOWI, 28, TANZANIA

Tanzania’s business celebrity, Patrick Ngowi, is the founder and chairman of Helvetic Group of Companies, the fastest growing network and equity holders in renewable energy companies across East Africa. The Group’s flagship subsidiary, Helvetic Solar, which he founded at the age of 22, provides renewable energy solutions for clients ranging from the Tanzanian government to the United Nations, raking in $8 million in revenues. In 2013, the company was awarded the Fastest Growing and Number One in Tanzania’s Top 100 Mid-Sized Companies Survey. Ngowi also sits as a board member and advisor to several local and multi-national companies in Tanzania, Kenya and Uganda. His non-profit social initiative, Light For Life Foundation, provides free solar power to women in rural Tanzania.

JASON NJOKU, 32, NIGERIA

Jason Chukwuma Njoku is one of Nigeria’s leading voices on ecommerce. In 2010, with a $150,000-investment from his friend Bastian Gotter, Njoku co-founded iROKO Partners, currently the world’s largest distributor of African entertainment. In 2011, the Group received an $8-million investment from US-based hedge fund, Tiger Global. This same year it posted an annual revenue of $1.3 million from one of its subsidiaries, iROKO TV. Njoku says the unit’s current earnings have surpassed the 2011 figures. He plans to transform the distribution empire to a $100-million conglomerate over the next nine years.

Africa's Under-40 Millionaire Entrepreneurs

Africa’s millionaires are getting younger and younger, which is not surprising for a continent that has the world’s largest youth population. Close to 70 percent of the population is aged below 25. Some 200 million individuals are aged between 15 and 24.

Like their counterparts worldwide, Africa’s Generation X (born after the post-World War II baby boom) and Generation Y, or millennials, generally shy away from the political arena, opting instead for the platforms of entrepreneurship and philanthropy to provide for themselves and to effect change. But on a continent that accounts for some of the highest youth unemployment figures in the world, entrepreneurship may be the only option for many, especially as the youth become better educated.      

Among the continent’s young millionaires is Ugandan-born Ashish J. Thakkar, who, at 32, is said to be Africa’s youngest billionaire. And at 36, Senegal’s Magatte Wade may be the only woman to crack the male-dominated list (see below).

NAME	COUNTRY	TITLE, ORGANIZATION	DESCRIPTION
Roland Agambire, 39	Ghana	Group chairman, AGAMS Group; Founder/CEO, RLG Communications	Electronics manufacturer
Kamal Budhabatti, 36	Kenya	CEO, Craft Silicon	Software
Ladi Delano, 30	Nigeria	Founder/CEO, Bakrie Delano Africa	Investment – mining, agriculture, oil & gas
Nic Haralambous, 29	South Africa	Founder, ForeFront Africa	Mobile strategy
Abasiama Idaresit, 34	Nigeria	Founder/CEO, Wild Fusion	Digital marketing
Vinny Lingham, 34	South Africa	Internet entrepreneur	Online marketing; search engines
Michael Macharia, 38	Kenya	Group CEO, Seven Seas Technologies	Technology solutions
Patrick Ngowi, 28	Tanzania	Founder/chairman, Helvetic Group of Companies	Renewable energy
Jason Njoku, 32,	Nigeria	Co-founder, iROKO Partners	African entertainment distribution
Sim Shagaya, 38	Nigeria	Digital entrepreneur	Retail; ecommerce
Mark Shuttleworth, 39	South Africa	Founder, Canonical Ltd., developer of Ubuntu	The world’s largest, free, open-source operating system
Justin Stanford, 28	South Africa	Founder/CEO, ESET Southern Africa; Founder/CEO, 4ADi Group	Internet security; Venture capital
Ashish Thakkar, 32	Uganda	Co-founder/CEO, Mara Group	Real estate; manufacturing; technology; renewable energy; financial services
Magatte Wade, 36	Senegal	Co-founder, Adina World Beat Beverages; Founder/CEO, Tiossan	Beverages; Skin care

Source: Ventures Africa, Forbes, and others