List of Kenyan Billionaires Who Started Life as Chicken Sellers – Tuko.co.ke
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Some of the billionaires we see in Kenya today came from humble backgrounds.
These multi-millionaires started from scratch and became wealthy the hard way. In most cases, they had a big dream, a positive mindset and a go-getter attitude.
TUKO.co.ke lists rich businesspeople who started their life as chicken sellers and rose to control successful empires.
Muguku was born in 1932 in Kikuyu, Kiambu county. He worked as a teacher in his early life after completing school.
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However, his father's entrepreneurial spirit made him switch to farming in 1957 aged 25. Muguku reportedly started his poultry farm with two hens and a rooster. He invested KSh 2,000 to establish the business.
In 1965, he expanded his farm by purchasing a 22-acre parcel of land from a mzungu veterinary doctor. The land cost him KSh 100,000.
He renamed the farm Muguku Poultry Farm and installed a 9,000 egg incubator. At one point, he supplied eggs to Kenya's founding president Mzee Jomo Kenyatta.
The farm currently can hatch over half a million chicks besides hosting dairy cows and an orchard.
Using his proceeds from the poultry business, Muguku bought a 6.08% stake at Equity Group Holdings before it was listed on the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE). He reduced the stake in 2014 to 0.9%, worth KSh 2 billion at the time.
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He died in 2010, leaving behind a multi-billion empire to his family.
The Muguku family owns several buildings in Nairobi and Kikuyu. His family invested KSh 2.6 billion to build the Waterfront Karen mall in 2014.
In the education sector, Muguku was the founder of Kidfarmaco and Kikuyu Township primary schools and Greenacres High School.
Kago, the proprietor of Kaki Village Enterprise, began his poultry business while still young in primary school. He reared over 100 chickens which he sold locally to pay for his school fees.
His motivation stemmed from the Muguku Poultry Farm in Kikuyu. He bought his first chick at KSh 20 from his mother.
In 1985, he emerged as the best student in the science congress at the county level after developing an incubator.
In 1997, the businessman moved to Kiserian in Kajiado county, where he did various jobs, including masonry and carpentry.
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He later hawked cigarettes and used the profit to develop his first commercial incubator. That's how Kaki Village Enterprise was birthed. From making incubators, he has since diversified to develop candlers to test the fertility of eggs, Bizna Kenya reported.
Besides rearing chicken, he also keeps guinea fowls, ostriches, ducks and quails.
President-elect William Ruto often attributes his success in the business and political world to the chicken business.
The Kenya Kwanza Alliance leader spent his youthful days selling chicken to supplement his parents' income as he was born to peasant parents.
After graduating from the University of Nairobi in 1990 with a bachelor of science degree in botany and zoology, he ventured into politics.
His appointment as the treasurer of the infamous Youth for Kanu (YK 92) lobby group that championed the re-election of Daniel Moi as president saw him accumulate wealth that propelled him to the rich list.
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In September 2021, he disclosed he sells 150,000 eggs per day, out of which he is able to rake in at least KSh 1.5 million.
In other news, TUKO.co.ke listed multi-millionaires who started life as hawkers.
Uasin Gishu businessman Bundotich Zedekiah Kiprop who doubles up as a politician, rose from a milk hawker to owner of Buzeki Group of Companies.
Kiharu MP Ndindi Nyoro's entrepreneurship journey began in school when he sold sweets and biscuits to make ends meet.
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Source: TUKO.co.ke
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