4 Successful Kenyan CEOs Without University Degrees.
Since the earliest days of time, education has been seen as the key to success.
People spend decades in schools and colleges in pursuit of degrees and the expectation of a better life in the future.
At the same time, the tale of non-degree holders including computer moguls such as Microsoft CEO Bill Gates and Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg has become urban legend, allowing a new generation of important executives to rise to the top without completing university.
We examine seven CEOs who have beaten the odds to manage multimillion-shilling enterprises and become formidable forces in many economic areas.
Leah Wambui
Leah Wambui exemplifies the adage “from rags to riches” as she ascended from being an orphan at 16 to the owner of a Ksh3 billion enterprise.
Leah Wambui. 4 Successful Kenyan CEOs Without University Degrees
Her mother’s death at age 16 compelled her to live with her aunt, where she assisted in the management of her shop.
Due to lack of fees, she was unable to attend university at the time; yet, this did not dampen her desire to be successful.
Wambui, who began her career as a receptionist, resigned her job and used her funds to open a modest liquor store in Kiambu County.
Cheriez Properties Limited was founded when she acquired a five-acre plot of land in Kitengela and thereafter entered the real estate market.
Wambui was able to break even and stabilize the business despite the fact that many clientele had alienated her and there were multiple instances of employee theft.
Currently, the company has 200 residences, and each unit sells for approximately Ksh15 million.
Sunny Varkey
Varkey is one of the rare billionaires who amassed wealth by investing in education despite lacking a college diploma.
Sunny Varkey.4 Successful Kenyan CEOs Without University Degrees
Varkey’s parents, who were Indian teachers, immigrated to Dubai in 1959 and founded Our Own English School, which provided English-language instruction in the Arab nation.
Varkey took charge of the school in 1980 at the age of 23 after completing his secondary education.
The school subsequently expanded to GEMS educations schools, which presently owns over 80 institutions.
The school once oversaw Hillcrest International school before Braeburn schools acquired it.
In March of 2019, Forbes assessed Varkey’s net worth to be Ksh271 billion.
Additionally, the business magnate is praised for launching the coveted Global Teacher Prize Award.
Ronald Karauri
The name Ronald Karauri is connected with the gambling enterprise Sportpesa.
Karauri, who was born in Meru County but migrated to Nairobi because of his father’s political ambitions, attended Harambee primary school in Buruburu.
Later, he attended Mang’u High School, where he earned the highest KCSE scores.
Later on, Karauri enrolled in the University of Nairobi to pursue a degree in mechanical engineering.
At the time, though, an opportunity come up at Kenya Airways, which Karauri did not allow to pass.
He disclosed in a previous media interview that he dropped out of college in his third year in order to become a pilot.
After eleven years at KQ, he succeeded the company’s founder, Guerassim Nikolov, as Sportpesa’s chief executive officer.
He is now the MP for Kasarani Constituency.
Narendra Raval
As the creator of Devki Group of Companies, which makes steel goods, cement, and roofing sheets, billionaire businessman Narendra Raval has earned money over his tenure.
Narendra Raval
According to Forbes, Raval’s company generates more than Ksh65 billion in annual revenue.
In 2015, he was one of the 50 richest men in Africa, with a net worth of 40 billion Kenyan Shillings.
During a previous interview with the media, he disclosed that, due to his modest upbringing, he had never attended college or university.
He explained that he could not afford school shoes at the time.
Raval was born in a hamlet in India in 1962 and immigrated to Kenya at the age of 16 to work as a temple instructor.
Guru, as he is affectionately known by his friends, is self-made and possesses a combination of cutthroat business methods, tactical genius, and a passion for philanthropy that makes him an attractive role model for any ambitious businessperson.
Raval hired a modest room in the Gikomba market and set a small hardware business in 1990, after his company ceased operations.
Raval developed a modest steel rolling plant on the Athi River in 1992. His plan was to dismantle the monopoly of a corporation that exploited Kenyans by charging absurd prices for steel bars, roofing materials, and other building materials.
His company has subsidiaries in Kenya and Uganda and is one of the largest producers of building materials in East Africa.
It owns a cement grinding facility in Lukenya, Machakos, as well as a clinkering facility in Simba, Kajiado. The Devki Group operates steel manufacturing facilities in Ruiru and Athi River.
Included among its subsidiaries are Maisha Mabati Mills Limited, Devki Steel Mills Limited, National Cement Limited (Uganda), and Northwood Aviation Limited.
4 Successful Kenyan CEOs Without University Degrees
