He started off at Shell Kenya as a sales man but right now, Dr Chris Kirubi, is a household name in Kenya.
At the age of 79, the self-made billionaire, is one of the richest entrepreneurs with an estimated net worth of over $300 million. The entrepreneur’s investments are spread over the media, manufacturing, Property Management, Insurance and Investment Sectors of the Kenyan economy.
An alumnus of INSEAD Institute in France, Handles University in Sweden and Harvard Business School, USA, DR Kirubi describes himself as someone who is passionate about making a difference in the lives of disenfranchised groups.
“People say I am one of the richest people in Kenya, but that’s not my concern. I mean, they say I am a god of sorts, but I don’t agree. When I look around at my companies and see the number of people we have employed, it gives me joy. It is more satisfying than having all the money in the world.”- As quoted by Forbes.
The Kenyan mogul’s business success story is a ‘started from the bottom now we’re here’ sort of. He grew up from a poor family since his childhood and to make matters worse, he lost both his parents at a tender age. As the oldest of his siblings, he took up the family responsibility and it’s here that he drew inspiration to become the man he is today.
‘I grew up poor. So I always dreamt from very early on that one day I’d make it. I believed in myself. I was disciplined. But I’m not yet successful. I have a dream. I still have more hills to climb. I work more now in my home than I worked in the office. I have five to six meetings in a day’’- he told Business Daily.
He took up several jobs where he would earn a few coins to take care of his siblings as well as paying for his school fees until his graduation.
Upon graduating, he got his first job at Shell Kenya as a sales man, selling gas cylinders and fixing faulty ones. It’s here that he got the opportunity, to work as an administrator at Kenatco, a governed –owned transportation company from where he started building his fortune.
With the little savings he got from Kenatco, he bought his first property which he later sold off for some good money that he used to enter the real estate sector.
He proceeded on with the property business as he used to purchase old properties, renovate them and later sell them at a relatively higher price. The business gained him capital which he used to start one of the biggest property management companies in Kenya, International House Limited (IHL). The company manages over 40 residential and commercial buildings in Kenya worth US$200 Million.
In 1998, the flamboyant Kirubi acquired HACO for an undisclosed sum, a Kenyan subsidiary of a Dutch trading house. Overtime, Kirubi formed manufacturing and distribution partnerships with multinationals companies including America’s PLI Alberto-Culver and E.T. Browne Co, France’s Société BIC France and Britain’s Jeyes Plc later diversifying its operation into Personal and Home Care products. By 2017, BIC the flagship brand of the company had an estimated regional stationary market of around 1.5 billion units annually while Net Sales were 2,041.4 million Euros. Its first quarter results for 2019, BIC reported a net cash position of Ksh15.4 billion.
HACO grew from a distributor of American and British brands to a leading indigenous manufacturer of consumer products, including TCB and Palmers, the bestselling hair and skin products.
In 2008, the company formed a joint venture with Tiger Brands, one of South Africa’s largest food manufacturers. Revenues of Haco Tiger Industries were in excess of $33 million in 2010.
In December 2018 Haco Industries sold back the franchise, which it had held for close to 4 decades, to French conglomerate and the Kenyan flamboyant businessman reportedly earned Ksh714 million (€6.3 million) out of the deal.
Today, HACO is one of the region’s leading FMCG manufacturers, supplying a wide range of Personal Care Products like (Amara Lotion & Petroleum Jelly, Miadi, Palmers), Homecare (So Soft Fabric Softener & Conditioner, Sparkle Dishwashing Liquid, Ace Liquid Toilet Cleaner and
Capital FM
In 1998, Kirubi purchased Capital FM, one of the oldest and largest radio stations in East Africa. Upon purchasing Capital FM, Kirubi went on to work at the very radio as Disc jockey and weekly show presenter, and indeed as quoted by Forbes, he didn’t enter the radio business for financial gains but rather wanted to love and explorer the business.
Strong Vote of Confidence: Mbire Reappointed MTN Uganda Chairman“I didn’t just want to acquire the station solely for the financial dividends it was eventually going to give me; I wanted to love the business,” he says. “I wanted to understand the business from the very basics. So I approached the managers and told them that I wanted to host a rock radio show. I asked them to teach me how to become a Disc Jockey.”
Apart from HACO and Capital FM, Kirubi is also a proud majority shareholder in Centum Investments, a private equity firm listed both on the Nairobi and Uganda stock exchanges with market capitalization of Ksh 17,168,397,795by March 2020 and net assets of Ksh 71.6 billion as at 31 March 2019. In September 2019, Centum registered Profit after tax of 6.790544b. Net profit stood at KES 6.8 billion for the six month period ended 30 September 2019,
The Private Equity business recorded a KES 8.4 billion consolidated operating profit for the period ended 30 September 2019 Centum has one of the most attractive investment portfolios in the region, including substantial stakes in Coca-Cola, Safaricom (Kenya’s leading telecoms company) and Kenyan Commercial Bank.
In march this year, Billionaire investor Chris Kirubi announced his plans to buy an additional 20 percent stake in Centum Investment Company in a deal worth Ksh2.7 billion ($27 million) bringing his total stake in the company to about 50%.
Kirubi also sits on or chairs the boards of such companies as Bayer East Africa Ltd, UAP Provincial Insurance Company Ltd and Beverage Services of Kenya Ltd.
Challenges
It hasn’t all been rosy for Kirubi. In 2008 it emerged that while he was chairman of the board of Uchumi, a publicly-listed Kenyan retail chain, he was dragged to court over allegations of using his influence to sell a piece of property belonging to the retail giant without independent valuation or an open competitive process. Fortunately, the case was finally dismissed in May 2011 on the grounds that there was insufficient evidence.
He has also been battling cancer since 2018. During one of his recent interviews with Kenyan media, Business Daily, he said that despite having been diagnosed with the disease, he has not lost hope and faith. “I never lost faith and people came to pray for me. With time I began to improve. My body was weak yet I had to continue with the medication. It was not easy,” he said in the interview.
On some of his future aspects ‘’My ICT company has nearly two million subscribers. I look forward to having four million and I’m sure by the time I have four million, I’ll want to have six million more. Why? Because I contribute to people’s wellness’’.
He is also a firm believer in God, who believes he wouldn’t be where he is now without God. ‘’It took me many months lying in bed sick to believe that God is most powerful. And it’s a shame we always go to God when we need Him, but God will never turn you away because you came to Him later rather than earlier. God is merciful and forgiving’’- He admits.
Kirubi’s other side
Besides business, Kirubi is involved in a youth mentorship programme dubbed Ask Kirubi. He drives his passion of empowering youth in Africa through online authorship and physical talks in High schools and Universities in Kenya.
Chris Kirubi divorced his wife in 1999. They however have a daughter known as Mary-Anne Wambui, a 46- year old entrepreneur and business woman. After his divorce, he has remained single since.
In 2017, he was honoured with the Distinguished African Impact Leader of the Year Award by African Leadership magazine UK for his contributions to Africa’s economic growth and development and his towering status as one of Africa’s best entrepreneurs.
He was also conferred with an Honorary Philosophical Doctorate in Entrepreneurship by the SMA University, Switzerland.