Simon Gicharu: Kenyan Billionaire Behind Radio 47, His Other Properties and Businesses

published on May 12, 2024 in newsSimon Gicharu: Kenyan Billionaire Behind Radio 47, His Other Properties and BusinessesRadio 47 under Cape Media Company owned by billionaire Simon Gicharu is the latest station rocking the Kenyan airwavesThe new kid on the block has poached renowned radio presenters from other stations including Eva Mwalili and Mbaruk MwalimuGicharu is the founder of Mt Kenya University and Equip Africa Institute having risen from a milk vendor to a successful businessmanRadio 47 is the latest station rocking the Kenyan airwaves. The station is under Cape Media Company owned by billionaire Simon Gicharu.Cape Media Company also runs TV 47 which was launched in 2019.Radio 47 poaches top talentsThe new kid on the block poached renowned radio presenters from other stations.They include Eva Mwalili, Emmanuel Mwashumbe, Mkamburi Chigogo, Mwanaisha Chidzuga, Manucho the Young Turk, Billy Miya, Mbaruk Mwalimu and Sande Bush (Dr Ofweneke).Read alsoMaandamano: Muindi Mweusi Supermarket Loses Goods Worth Over KSh 15m in a DayChidzuga, who worked as a news presenter for KTN and K24, will host a show from 10 am to 1 pm.Simon Gicharu's early lifeGicharu's story is one of grass to grace, having risen from a milk vendor to one of the country's renowned billionaires.According to his profile on the Mt Kenya University website, the firstborn in a family of seven was born in 1964 in Gathiruini village, Kiambu county.He attributes his success to humility and focus.“If a lion earmarks on a specific antelope, even if another antelope rubs on its body it will not be distracted from the original target," he said.The entrepreneur was a secondary school teacher who later taught at Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology and Thika Technical Training Institute.Gicharu's entrepreneurial journeyHis business journey started after he was fired from his job as a teacher by the Teachers Service Commission (TSC).Read alsoLegendary Kenyan Rapper Kunguru Dies Aged 44: "Baby Don't Go"After his sacking, he started selling milk to support his family, considering his parents were peasants.He bought and sold milk using an old pick-up, and despite ridicule from his friends, he didn't give up.“I did my rounds in an old Chevy pickup. Friends laughed at me, calling me a ‘failed graduate’. But this didn’t shake me.

Self-belief is the key to success,” he tweeted.He later sought a teaching job at the International School of Professional Studies, later renamed Inoorero University, but he was unlucky on several occasions.In 1995, he secured a scholarship to study managing enterprise development at Cranfield University, Britain.Kenya Entrepreneurship Promotion ProgrammeAfter completing his studies, he jetted back to Kenya and launched the Kenya Entrepreneurship Promotion Programme (KEPP).With an initial seed capital of KSh 20,000, KEPP provided loans to SMEs.Thika School of Management Studies (TSMS)Read alsoMulembe Messiahs: Jehovah Wanyonyi, 4 Other Self-Proclaimed Messiahs from Western KenyaKEPP was later renamed Thika School of Management Studies (TSMS). It started enrolling students on management courses before changing its name to Thika Institute of Technology in 2003.Mt Kenya UniversityThika Institute of Technology was, in 2008, allowed to operate as a private university under the name Mt Kenya University.Three years later, the institution of higher learning was granted full charter status by the Commission of University Education.The university has since expanded to over 15 campuses with a student population of more than 50,000. Gicharu bought the Inoorero University building in Nairobi's Parklands, where he was denied a job in his early career.Equip Africa InstituteGicharu is also the founder of Equip Africa Institute, a TVET-accredited institution.It was established in 2016 and is domiciled in Mount Kenya University’s Thika main campus, along General Kago Road.Read alsoKenyan Siblings from Wealthy Families Who Fought for Multi-Billion PropertyEquip has other campuses in Kisii, Mombasa, and Nakuru.Nakuru Class 8 droput makes over KSh 600kIn related news, James Kihenu's dream of becoming an accountant fell through when he could not join secondary school due to a lack of fees.The businessman resorted to doing menial jobs including labour in other people's farms to make ends meet.He later quit employment in 2011 to set up his own business Jimmy's Choma Bite in Nakuru city with a start-up capital of KSh 30,000.A year after unveiling Jimmy's Choma Bite, the business broke even. He started raking in monthly profits of KSh 600,000, a return that has been sustained to date.He has since opened a second outlet in the same city.

Kihenu disclosed that on a good day, he slaughters up to 100 sheep.Source: TUKO.co.kencG1vNJzZmivp6x7tcHKqGWcp16gsnCu1Kygp52jqHqmr86npqaxX2mGen2TcGSsoZ2ku26zyJyfmqqlYrimutiapWaamaG5qrvNmqCrnV2nrqW1zmZrcGWgp7yxsdGtoJ6rXZfCtLXNnqqsnaNk