From A Street Boy to University Graduate & Now Successful Business Mogul

At age 32, John Njau Kibe knows what it is to roam the streets of as a street boy. But fortunes have changed; he can dine with the ‘who is who’ in Eldoret town having literally worked his way up the ladder from grass to grace.

While still a Moi University student six years ago, Kibe started out in business with just Ksh18,000 from the HELB loan but today he runs a chain of schools, real estate developments and entertainment joints in Eldoret town valued at millions of shillings.

Kibe is the proprietor of Hillside Group of Schools in Eldoret which have more than 1,200 students and where he employs over 100 teachers and other support staff. The schools are just some of his many investments that include real estate all which have propelled him to success.

In an interview with Matthews Ndanyi of the Star newspaper, Kibe gives an insight into what spurred the business wheels in his mind into motion.

How did he first venture into business?
“My employer at the school where I was doing part time teaching refused to pay me my salary for some months and yet he was getting money. I told myself that there was nothing strange she was doing to succeed which I could not do,” recalls Kibe.

He started the Hillside Plateau Academy at Kingongo thereafter setting up a subsidiary – Hillside Annex School which comprises a primary wing and a Secondary School for girls.

What keeps Kibe’s passion about his ventures alive besides the phenomenal growth?
“Through the school we help very needy children whose parents cannot pay fees and that is the way I also give back to society and thank God for helping me make it in life,” explains Kibe.

His life as a street boy in Eldoret also motivated him to work for success because he never wanted to face a life full of hardships.

“I used to pick up polythene papers and sell them to make some money for my survival and it was a bitter life. I fear such a life for anyone and that is why I work so hard to achieve my desires in business,” the former street boy turned businessman recalls.

What investment strategies and money lessons has he learnt so far handling big money?
“Yes I handle a lot of money from the schools but that is not usually my focus. I focus on my vision and the future. If I focus on the money my work will be how to spend it and now how to make more,” says Kibe.

“Any extra money I get I immediately look for ways of investing in projects which appreciate in value so that can in a few years time make more,” he says.

Kibe has also ventured into the real estate and entertainment industry in Eldoret where he also hopes to do well.

What is Kibe’s working routine?
His normal working day begins before 6 am every day. “The people who work with me may not have in mind the vision I have and my style is hands on so that I personally drive my vision,” he says.

What’s his evaluation of his progress so far?
“All the schools have been very successful and my aim now to start the Hillside College which will offer education at a higher level,” says Kibe.

“The Hillside Schools have been performing well in national examinations with the primary section rating among the top five in Uasin Gishu County.”

What’s his piece of advice to fellow Kenyan youth?
Kibe advises youth not to focus on white color jobs which have limited income and limit one’s creativity.

“With my own business I determine how I work and what I earn every month. The more hard I work and the more I make,” he enthuses.

“I have come to believe that we all have the potential to succeed but all we need as youth is to put in some effort and focus on a goal or objective. Many young people have made it and there is no reason for anyone to fear taking up challenges in life,” he said.

How far has Kibe come?
“It has been a long journey for me. I look back and see the hand of God in my life. I put in determination and courage and God lifted me up. God brought me the luck I needed to propel myself to success,” says Kibe who once dropped out of primary school between 1991 and 1992 to hustle as a street boy.

Kibe derives inspiration from great business entrepreneurs like American billionaire Donald Trump. Locally he wants to emulate the late Njenga Karume who rose from a charcoal seller to a tycoon. “I have their books and I often read them to get the motivation I need,” he says.

Kibe is on course to become a top business magnate and he also aspires to play a role in leadership including in politics. After setting the foundation for his business, Kibe rejoined Moi University for a course in management in 2004.

The young entrepreneur already has post-graduate qualifications and is eying a PHD.

[Courtesy: The STAR]

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