Financially Incorrect

In December 1982, Bharat Thakrar started Scanad with KES 11,000 after selling his Honda for KES 14,000. What began as a one man advertising agency grew into a listed Pan African business valued at KES 9 billion at its height. Along the way, he built multiple agencies to navigate client exclusivity, took over McCann's Kenyan business in 24 hours, secured an approximately US$18 million annual Airtel mandate across 18 countries and brought employees into the ownership of the business. This is the story of how Scanad was built, the commercial decisions behind its growth and the discipline required to scale a business across markets. But building a successful company and retaining control of its future are two different challenges. Bharat reflects on bringing global partners into Scanad, taking the business public, the governance and ownership lessons he learned, and the events that led to him losing his leadership position. He also shares what he would negotiate differently today. In this episode of Financially…

What does it take to rebuild financially, professionally and personally after a business you have invested everything in collapses?Kevin Mutiso's relationship with money and business started quite early. While still in Form Two, he was buying shares in Kenya Airways. By 19, he was managing investment portfolios for some of Kenya's top CEOs. He went on to build Alternative Circle, a fintech venture that secured US$1 million in investment, only to face technology challenges, fraud, mounting costs and the disruption of COVID-19.The consequences extended far beyond the business. Kevin had to sell his home, cars and personal belongings, confront significant debt and rebuild his life with the support of his family and wife. In this conversation, he opens up about the decisions, assumptions and business practices that contributed to the collapse, including the lessons he has carried into his next venture.Today, he is building Oye, a financial services platform designed around the needs of boda boda riders. What…

Jemima Kakizi was already earning from her art before she graduated from university. But when the momentum slowed after graduation, she had to rethink what building a career in the creative industry actually required. In 2017, she took an entry level internship despite feeling that she should have been further along. The experience exposed her to grant applications, open calls, partnerships and professional communication. Skills that extended beyond creating art would become relevant as she developed her work as an artist, curator and founder of Impundu Art Center, a creative space in Kigali that has required an estimated RWF 10 million to RWF 15 million investment.In this episode of Financially Incorrect Rwanda Edition, Jemima reflects on the financial realities of a creative career, from paying her university fees through commissioned artwork to navigating inconsistent income, experimenting with hand painted T shirts during COVID, and learning to charge for curation. She also explains why generating…

A hit song can make you famous. But does it make you wealthy?For Kenyan music legend Nameless, the answer depends on what happens after the song takes off. A major hit can transform an artist’s earning power, open up new markets and bring opportunities that once seemed out of reach. But a good song does not guarantee commercial success, and even a successful career can leave an artist vulnerable when demand slows down.In this episode of Financially Incorrect, Nameless breaks down the economics behind a career in music. He explains the difference between a good song, a hit and a mega hit, and why songs such as Ninanoki and Sinzia had a lasting impact on his career. He also reflects on the unpredictability of music income, the cost of producing music, and why the attention around a song can disappear much faster than it once did.Beyond the music, this is a conversation about building financial security in an industry where income is rarely guaranteed. Nameless shares the thinking behind his approach to…

Doreen Natukunda Opio spent nearly eight years trying to rebuild her livelihood after losing her first business. From selling T-shirts and household items to experimenting with handcrafted art, she struggled to find her footing until COVID-19 opened an unexpected opportunity. Using leftover wood offcuts and the power of social media, Dorin built Art Kadowaz into a creative studio serving clients across East Africa. But growth came with expensive machinery, rising production costs and a major equipment failure that nearly brought the business to a standstill.In this Financially Incorrect Uganda Edition, Dorin shares the realities of turning creativity into a profitable business, investing UGX 53 million in machinery and running a company that supports her family, even though she and her husband don't draw formal salaries.------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Access all our links in one place:…

How do you build an agribusiness managing nearly 5,000 acres across Africa without owning the land? When Kevin Kamau returned to Kenya in 2015 after a decade in the US, he struggled to find employment and turned to farming with no personal capital. What began with one acre of family land grew into Tukalime Ventures, an agribusiness operating across Kenya, Rwanda, Mozambique and Nigeria. But growth came with expensive lessons. Failed harvests, rising production costs and delayed payments from large buyers exposed the financial risks of commercial farming. At one point, Kevin turned down a senior role offering up to KSh 1 million a month to continue building his business, eventually securing a proposed $100,000 investment that opened the door to expansion.In this Financially Incorrect Business Edition, Kevin breaks down the economics of commercial farming, why leasing land makes more sense for his business than owning it, how commodity trading helps manage risk, and the partnerships that enabled Tukalime to…

Fakii Liwali spent decades helping shape Kenya's entertainment industry, working with some of the country's biggest artists and corporate brands. From Homeboyz and Capital FM to Coca-Cola and managing artists like Nyashinski, he built a successful career behind the scenes. But despite earning millions and building a reputation that opened doors, his journey with money was far from straightforward.Fakii reflects on dropping out of college, building a career without formal qualifications and rising from a KSh 5,000 salary to earning over KSh 450,000 a month. He shares how producing the Kenyan movie 40 Sticks for approximately KSh 8 million left him KSh 5 million in debt, the financial hardships that followed, and the lessons he learned about managing creditors, taking risks and rebuilding financial stability.---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Access all our links in one place: https://lnk.bio/Financially_Inc💹…

What would make a senior banking executive walk away from career security to return to university while supporting a family? For Kevin Rudahinduka, the decision meant rethinking how he financed his future, adjusting his household expenses and finding alternative income, including renting out his car. In this Rwanda Edition of Financially Incorrect, Kevin reflects on the early experiences that shaped his relationship with money, from losing his mother at 14 to learning resourcefulness, pursuing education and building a career across financial services.As CEO of Eden Care Healthcare Rwanda Limited, Kevin also shares lessons from his work in microfinance, digital banking and healthcare insurance. He explains how technology helped lending officers reach borrowers through mobile money, why access and trust matter in insurance, and how Eden Care grew from approximately RWF 700 million to RWF 6 billion in three years, according to his account. The conversation explores career risk, family responsibility, financial…

From playing keyboard at church for KES 5,000 a month to becoming Sauti Sol's musical director and building his own music ventures, Mutoriah's career has been shaped by a willingness to keep creating beyond the opportunities already available to him.In this episode of Financially Incorrect, the Kenyan musician and producer opens up about the decisions behind his journey, from working with one of the country's most recognised bands to developing music experiences of his own. He shares the lessons he learnt from early business ventures, how his hit song “Beta” changed his performance bookings, and why building a sustainable music career takes more than making good music.We also explore the thinking and investment behind projects such as Nikili Sessions and Mutoriah and the Orchestra, and what it takes to turn a creative idea into an experience people are willing to pay…

Manuela P Mulondo had the kind of public success most people would assume came with financial security. She was speaking at major events, meeting presidents and receiving international recognition, while her business was generating more than UGX 40 million a month. But behind the visibility, personal and business finances were intertwined, debt was mounting, and the business was funding a lifestyle it could not sustain.After stepping away from public speaking for nearly two years, Manuela rebuilt how she approached money, business and value creation. The systems she had developed for her own life became products, generating approximately KES 1.7 million during the pandemic, while her investment journey grew from UGX 10,000 every two weeks to UGX 1 million.In this Uganda Edition of Financially Incorrect, Manuela opens up about UGX 150 million in debt, the cost of public success, building financial systems, monetising her knowledge, and what it meant to eventually become someone who could “lend to…

In 2014, Brian Bogonko set out to solve a simple problem: how do you sell event tickets digitally, track who is buying and eliminate the fragmented cash and paper systems that defined Kenya’s events industry?M Tickets went on to process more than 1 million tickets across 1,000+ events. But the real business challenge came later. Commission rates that once reached 20% fell to 15%, then 12%, and eventually 3% to 5% as competition intensified. M Tickets had to automate operations, cut costs and rethink what it was actually selling.Brian breaks down the economics behind ticketing, from system crashes caused by last minute demand and ticket fraud to the cost of staffing event gates, building scalable technology and managing cash flow. He also explains how the business went from a team of around 20 to six as margins tightened.Today, M Tickets is moving beyond ticketing into payments, access and experiences. That shift has culminated in a KSh 100 million transaction with Cloud9, bringing together ticketing and…

From four stores to 72, Betty Wamaitha was part of the commercial journey that helped transform QuickMart into one of Kenya’s biggest supermarket businesses. In this conversation, she breaks down what actually drives retail economics: supplier negotiations, margins, shelf space, loss leaders, product movement, customer data and why availability can matter more than marketing.Betty’s own financial journey began with a different kind of commercial model. She was paid based on the additional value she created, making more than KSh 5 million in her first year. She went on to build wealth through property and other investments, while creating a financial exit fund that would eventually give her the freedom to leave employment on her own terms.Then came a KSh 5–10 million farming loss in Narok. The numbers worked on paper, but managing the investment remotely exposed the gap between owning an asset and actually controlling it. After 11 years in retail, Betty left to build her own consultancy, carrying with her a…

A busy restaurant can still be a bad business. Sonia Iraguha, founder of Bicu Lounge, built the Kigali hospitality destination during COVID after investing roughly RWF 40 million, learning the economics of hospitality from the ground up. Five years later, cocktails contribute roughly 50–60% of revenue, but Sonia has had to learn the harder lessons around margins, pricing, table turnover, breakage and seasonality.In 2024, Bicu faced its biggest financial test when Sonia was forced to leave its original location, pay eight months’ rent upfront and rebuild in a new space. Friends helped bridge the immediate gap before she eventually explored formal financing and business support.Beyond Bicu, Sonia reflects on growing up around her grandmother’s hospitality businesses, her luxury brand management background in Paris and why she is now looking beyond the business as her only financial asset. This is a story about the money behind hospitality, and what it takes to build a business that can survive its hardest…

Fred Waswa started working on KSh1,500 a month. After losing his father as a teenager, he became responsible for helping support his mother and siblings, learning early that making money was not enough; you had to know what to do with it. That mindset followed him from his early jobs at Pioneer Insurance and Minet to Standard Chartered, where his salary rose from KSh4,500 to KSh75,000.The money still never felt like enough. Fred ran side businesses, lost money in a failed hotel, accumulated KSh26,000 in debt and, despite being named Minet's Best Employee of the Year, considered leaving his career altogether. He eventually walked away from Standard Chartered to start a pension consultancy from a garage. One of his earliest assignments earned him KSh2.8 million, money he used to buy land and build a house without taking a loan.Today, Fred Waswa leads Octagon Africa Financial Services, managing more than KES 85+ billion in assets. In this conversation, he traces the decisions, risks, failures and financial…

Richard Musinguzi once received UGX400 million from his animation business and realised that making serious money was easier than knowing what to do with it. The creator of Katoto Uganda had built a recognised creative property from a simple character sketch, eventually producing 500+ advertisements, growing to an 18-person team and generating an estimated UGX1.6 billion over four years. But behind the revenue were weak systems. Invoices were created in Word, records were difficult to track and much of the production process lived inside Richard's head. He had to learn pricing, accounting, delegation and systems, while his time in Paris exposed him to a more structured model of creative production. In this Financially Incorrect Uganda Edition, Richard Musinguzi talks about Katoto's money, the systems it lacked and what it took to rebuild the company around specialised roles, processes and semi-autonomous creative directors. His story is ultimately about the difficult transition from creating value yourself…

What if you could build a business from assets your customers never need to own?Patricia Mwalimu started Party Lounges with roughly KSh 85,000 worth of furniture. Today, furniture rental accounts for about 90% of the business, furnishing events for thousands of people.In this Business Edition, Patricia breaks down the economics behind the model: how they decide what to buy, how furniture recovers its cost, why some pieces only work as part of a package, and how long term rentals create predictable revenue.She also shares how Party Lounges scaled without bank loans, the KSh 2 million expansion that failed, the millions tied up in furniture when COVID cancelled a major conference, and how corporate contracts changed the business.From KSh 85,000 to thousands of seats, this is the business of turning furniture into recurring revenue.---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Access all our links in one place:…

Lookie’s automotive journey did not begin with a luxury car, a large audience or a dealership.It began with approximately $1,000 from his father and a family connection in London that helped him import small automotive accessories into Kenya. The early margins were modest, but the business introduced him to sourcing, customer relationships and the mechanics of serving a specialised market.From there, Lookie moved into car parts, using car meets, WhatsApp groups, word of mouth and the automotive community to build repeat customers. His own cars later became content, but also something more useful: proof of knowledge, taste, access and credibility.As his audience and relationships grew, the business expanded beyond parts. Lookie began helping people source vehicles, connecting buyers and sellers, working with dealerships and earning commissions from high-value car transactions. The value of the cars involved was not the same as his personal earnings. His commercial role increasingly came from the trust and…

Bashir Yannick Ntwari’s first gym attracted hundreds of members. The numbers still didn’t work. After returning to Rwanda in 2015, he invested in his first fitness business without fully understanding the market, pricing against what he knew from the UK, taking on too much space, spending heavily on equipment and underestimating the cost of delivering the service. Eighteen months later, the gym was gone. The failure forced him to rethink what a fitness business was supposed to look like.When Bashir rebuilt Soho, he invested less, took a smaller space and built the model around personal training, semi-private coaching, pricing, capacity and retention. He also shifted from being the centre of the business to building systems around his coaches, using technology and CRM to understand the numbers more clearly. Today, Soho has multiple revenue streams, a growing coaching team and plans for further expansion. In this Rwanda Edition of Financially Incorrect, Bashir breaks down the economics of running a fitness…

Bilha Ngaruiya has watched Kenyan music change from CDs and physical distribution to Spotify, Boomplay, YouTube and a global streaming economy. She has also seen the uncomfortable side of that transformation: artists can have the talent, the audience and even the numbers, yet still struggle to turn music into lasting money.In this Financially Incorrect Personal Story Edition, Bilha Ngaruiya Country Manager OneRPM takes us inside the business behind Kenyan/African music and the financial lessons that came with it. She talks about the early years of hustling, taking financial risks, experiencing bankruptcy and homelessness, and learning the hard way that a career in music cannot be built on talent and visibility alone.She breaks down what changed when digital distribution took over, why marketing can matter as much as the music itself, how advances can give artists the capital to scale, and why the value of a stream depends heavily on where the listener is. The global market can completely change the economics…

Rachel Natukunda did not grow up with everything figured out. She grew up seeing what financial security looked like from a distance, worked for her own opportunities, earned a government scholarship, took on part time jobs and eventually saved enough to make one of her first major financial moves: buying a car.In this Financially Incorrect Uganda Edition, Rachel takes us through the money decisions that shaped her career, from learning to save intentionally and using credit to acquire an asset, to a sermon and books that completely changed how she thought about money. Then COVID hit, her transition from employment to entrepreneurship exposed her to a different kind of financial pressure, and she had to rethink how she earned, saved, invested and grew her business.Today, Rachel is building Rankford Global Limited, an HR consulting business, while deliberately putting her money into assets and thinking differently about long term wealth.She also gets candid about the other side of business: hiring the right…

What happens when you remove alcohol from the party business?Zanelle Wanja’s answer was Nani’s Cafe Party, a Nairobi social experience built around music, coffee, wellness and community.But before Nani’s, Zanelle built Azana Collective, a fashion business that generated strong sales but struggled with high production costs and weak financial controls. The experience taught her a crucial lesson: revenue means little if the economics don’t work.After a year in fintech, she returned to entrepreneurship and built Nani’s differently. What started as free events grew into 350+ person experiences, with paid tickets, major brand partnerships and a flagship home at Gigi Social Club.In this Financially Incorrect Business Edition episode, Zanelle breaks down the lessons from Azana, why free events failed, how Nani’s built a sustainable business model, and whether sober socialising can become a scalable African…

Wanini Wachira built a career out of understanding people, selling to them and growing businesses. As Head of Retail at Hotpoint, she has helped drive major growth, including more than doubling branch sales over a three-year period. But her own relationship with money was a very different story.Wanini grew up learning financial discipline from a single mother who knew how to stretch every shilling. Yet as her career progressed and her income increased, so did her spending. At one point, she owned as many as 250 pairs of shoes. Credit cards became part of the picture. A failed investment taught her another expensive lesson. And for a long time, earning more did not necessarily mean keeping more.Then came 40.That became the point at which Wanini stopped treating money as something to manage month to month and started thinking seriously about wealth, risk, investing, emergency savings and retirement.In this Personal Story Edition of Financially Incorrect, Wanini Wachira talks openly about the money mistakes…

Paradis Nishimwe never set out to build a furniture company. It started with a crib for her baby and eventually became Wood Habitat, a Made-in-Rwanda furniture and interior design business serving high-end homes, hotels and corporate clients.But getting there was far from smooth. At one point, 8 out of 10 products were coming back because of quality problems. The business was under pressure, cash was tight and outsourcing was failing.Paradis responded by bringing production in-house, investing in machinery, fixing quality control and changing how the business managed money. She also took on roughly $30,000 in debt before securing capital that helped stabilise and scale Wood Habitat.In this conversation, she breaks down the hard lessons behind the turnaround, why she avoids bank loans, the importance of demand and cash flow, and why building a lasting business requires far more than being good at your…

What does it take to turn around an institution that is already broken? Dr Julius Kipngetich has spent decades fixing organisations across Kenya, from KWS and Equity Bank to Uchumi and Jubilee Holdings. In this episode of **Financially Incorrect**, he shares what really drives a turnaround: fixing the system, sequencing change and knowing when money is not the solution.At KWS, his interventions helped drive a sevenfold increase in revenue. At Uchumi, he discovered that even aggressive cost-cutting could not overcome a KES 5 billion capital hole.He also shares how a KES 1 million Equity Bank investment made in 2006 grew to roughly KES 90 million, and what that teaches us about patience, compounding and building wealth.---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Access all our links in one place: https://lnk.bio/Financially_Inc💹 Ready to start trading?🧑‍🏫 Learn how to trade: https://lnk.bio/fxpesa📲 Open a demo trading…

Dr Ronnie Mich Egwang has built a career few résumés could contain: veterinary doctor, broadcaster, media personality, marketer, entrepreneur and business owner. From earning $5 a week as a child to landing a $90,000 continental TV deal, negotiating major media contracts and building a multimillion-dollar marketing business, Dr Mich’s career spans decades of opportunity, risk and reinvention.But the bigger story is what those years taught him about money.In this Uganda Edition of Financially Incorrect, Dr Ronnie Mich Egwang reflects on his media career, Deal or No Deal, Tusker Project Fame, agency life, the $380,000 debt that changed his approach to risk, and the investments and financial principles shaping his retirement.A 40-year money story about making it, losing it, learning and knowing what to do differently. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Shoot Location -…

What happens when KES 9 million in revenue leaves you with almost nothing? For Ashok Sunny, founder of Ashok Sunny Tailors Limited, that moment changed the way he understood business. Growing up in Kibera, Ashok learned early that money had to be managed carefully. His mother relied on discipline and chamas to prioritise education and basic needs, while Ashok found his own early route into entrepreneurship by altering and reselling thrifted clothes.What began with KES 5,000 suits eventually became a business serving CEOs, ambassadors, celebrities and high-net-worth clients through luxury bespoke tailoring. But the road from tailoring clothes to building a profitable company was far from straightforward.At one point, Ashok’s business generated KES 9 million in revenue but made virtually no profit. The problem was not a lack of customers. It was the failure to understand the true cost of running the business. That forced him to formalise the company, separate business and personal finances, understand fixed…

From a KSh 30,000 banking salary to building a luxury executive travel and private jet business. Dan Njoroge’s story is not really about luxury. It is about learning what people will pay a premium for, surviving the periods when the money disappears, and discovering that revenue means very little without financial discipline. Dan started with very little. His first income was KSh 5,000 as an intern. After leaving banking, he struggled to pay rent, experimented with a stationery business that barely made margins, and eventually found an opportunity in luxury chauffeur services through a friend’s idle Range Rover.That small opportunity became Lesus Executive Concierge.What followed was a crash course in premium pricing, corporate clients, reputation, networking and the economics of serving wealthy customers. Dan explains how he moved from weddings to corporate and VIP clients, why some of his celebrity marketing produced almost nothing, how one major client helped keep the business alive during COVID, and how…

Mike Kayihura’s music career has taken him from church choirs and a first Rwandan paycheck to regional recognition across Rwanda, Uganda and Kenya. But behind the songs is a financial story shaped by contracts, missed opportunities, poor money decisions, community support and the difficult business of building a sustainable career as an independent artist.On this Financially Incorrect Rwanda Edition, Mike opens up about what it really costs to build a music career in East Africa, including the contracts that kept him from releasing music for years, the money he made from early commercial work, the unexpected success of “Sabrina,” and why Uganda eventually became such an important market for his music.He also reflects on the money he wasted when his career began taking off, the impact of COVID-19 on live performance, learning to treat music as a business, and rebuilding his career after restrictive agreements.The bigger story is about more than music. It is about creative ownership, financial discipline,…

YT Description Joram Mwinamo has spent more than two decades helping African businesses grow. But some of his most valuable lessons came from the periods when his own business was struggling. From small technology and event projects at university to working internationally and eventually returning to Kenya, Joram’s entrepreneurial journey has involved failed assumptions, difficult pivots, unstable revenue and decisions where the financially attractive option was not always the right one. In this Financially Incorrect Personal Money Story, Joram shares how he moved from chasing corporate clients to building cohort based programmes for entrepreneurs, a shift that became the foundation for Sandbox International. He takes us inside the creation of a hub bringing together 30+ non competing experts across legal, finance, marketing and operations, and the funding that helped take the model beyond Kenya. The conversation goes deeper into pricing services, managing cash through election cycles, proving value through…

Money shaped Jackie Asiimwe long before she earned her first salary.Growing up in a pastor's household, she watched her mother stretch a modest income, support relatives and somehow keep the family afloat. Years later, after losing her savings in a bank collapse, resisting the idea of investing and spending decades in Uganda's nonprofit sector, Jackie began to rethink everything she believed about money.In this episode of Financially Incorrect Uganda, Jackie opens up about the financial realities of working in the social impact world: low salaries, unpredictable donor funding, the pressure to serve before earning and the mindset shifts that transformed her from a reluctant saver into a long-term investor.The conversation explores the hidden economics behind NGOs, why many nonprofits struggle to build wealth, how childhood shapes financial behaviour and why leadership ultimately determines whether an organization…

Every Kenyan has watched a TV show, movie or commercial. Very few people know what it actually costs to make one.Grace Kahaki built one of Kenya's leading production companies from the ground up. She started as an intern earning KES 7,000 a month after her parents cut off financial support because they believed filmmaking wasn't a real career. Today, she is an award winning producer, director and Co-owner of Insignia Productions whose work has appeared on KTN, NTV, Maisha Magic, Showmax and Netflix.This conversation goes beyond cameras and scripts. It unpacks the economics of Kenya's film industry, why production companies struggle despite producing hit shows, how broadcasters and streamers structure deals, why owning intellectual property changes everything, and what it really takes to build a sustainable creative business.Grace also shares the financial decisions she would never repeat, why buying her first car with her first million wasn't her smartest move, how COVID cut television production budgets…

Professional basketball looks glamorous from the outside. Packed arenas. Winning teams. Continental competitions. Brand partnerships. What rarely gets discussed is the business required to keep all of it alive.In this episode of Financially Incorrect Business Edition, Marcel Awori, Chief of Staff at Nairobi City Thunder, breaks down what it actually costs to build one of Africa's fastest growing basketball organisations. From operating without an office, raising sponsorship capital and signing the team's earliest commercial partners, to managing player contracts, nutrition, travel, branding and long term infrastructure, Marcel explains why building a professional sports organisation is far more complex than simply winning games.He also reveals why Nairobi City Thunder estimates it takes between KSh150 million and KSh200 million over five years to build a team capable of competing at the highest level, why league prize money barely scratches operating costs, and why partnerships, storytelling and fan…

Every quarter, Simon Maina's company manufactures nearly 300,000 obstetric drapes across Africa. The surprising part is not the scale. It's the economics.Njembuma operates on margins of roughly 3%, selling affordable medical products designed to detect postpartum hemorrhage, one of the leading causes of maternal deaths across the continent.Before healthcare manufacturing, Simon spent years in debt collection. Then COVID disrupted everything. What started as a temporary pivot into PPE imports eventually became a social enterprise serving hospitals in nine African countries and Yemen.In this episode Simon breaks down what it really takes to build a mission-driven company in Africa: raising capital without investors, surviving cash-flow crises, navigating government procurement, selling personal assets to buy machinery, and balancing social impact with commercial reality.---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Access…

Everyone knows Kenya Originals (KO). Far fewer know the business that made it possible.Before KO became one of Kenya's most recognizable cider brands, it started with just $20,000, a few shipping containers, and a founder trying to build something the market didn't believe was possible.In this Business Edition of Financially Incorrect, Alex Chappatte unpacks what it actually takes to build an FMCG company in Africa.This isn't a conversation about beverages. It's a conversation about execution.Alex explains why manufacturing became a competitive advantage, how Africa Originals navigated one of Kenya's toughest regulatory environments, why distribution matters more than advertising, how cash flow dictates every decision in consumer goods, and why stepping away as CEO became the right decision for the company's next phase of growth.---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Access all our links in one place:…

House of Tayo is now one of Rwanda's most recognizable fashion brands.But its biggest breakthrough didn't come from celebrity endorsements, fashion weeks or dressing stars on the Black Panther premiere.It came from walking away from the product generating almost 40% of the company's revenue.In this inaugural Financially Incorrect Rwanda Edition, Matthew Taio Rugamba shares the business decisions that transformed House of Tao from a tailoring business into a scalable African brand.From building an audience while still in university, surviving Rwanda's small consumer market, selling over 5,000 basketball jerseys, navigating manufacturing challenges, leveraging Made in Rwanda, raising capital and learning why customer experience can increase sales more than marketing, this conversation goes far beyond fashion. It is a masterclass on brand building in Africa.---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Access all our links…

There are moments that completely redefine your relationship with money.For Ann Mubia Mirungi, one of those moments arrived with a single diagnosis.Despite a career advising businesses on complex transactions, years of financial discipline, and doing many of the "right" things, her family suddenly found themselves staring at nearly KSh12 million in ICU bills while fighting to save her mother's life.In this deeply personal episode of Financially Incorrect, Ann opens up about growing up between two very different money philosophies, learning financial discipline from an early age, buying her first car through a loan from her mother, purchasing property with her sister, breaking into Kenya's tax advisory industry as a young female lawyer, and discovering that financial resilience is tested long before a crisis arrives.The conversation moves beyond budgeting and investing into the uncomfortable realities many families avoid discussing: medical emergencies, inheritance conflicts, caregiving, family…

Some people inherit wealth. Humphrey Nabimanya inherited adversity.He lost his mother as an infant, grew up under the care of his sister living with HIV, battled stigma throughout childhood, and spent his early years hustling on the streets while trying to stay in school.Long before Reach A Hand Uganda became one of Africa's most influential youth organizations, Humphrey was saving small amounts of money every day because he believed every coin had a purpose. In this episode of Financially Incorrect, he shares how a $15 grant became the foundation of a $7 million organization, why he deliberately worked on television for four years without pay, how strategic partnerships transformed his vision into reality, and why building social capital has always mattered more than showing off wealth.This is a conversation about patience, preparation, leadership, and why lasting wealth is built through systems instead of…

Millions of Africans earn good incomes. Very few build lasting wealth.In this episode of Financially Incorrect, Barrack sits down with Valentine Njoroge, CEO and Co-founder of Africa's Pocket, to unpack what actually stops the African middle class from investing consistently and why financial education alone rarely changes behaviour.Valentine shares how she went from struggling with her own spending habits to managing hundreds of millions of shillings in assets through Africa's Pocket. She explains why traditional asset management often leaves investors paying fees they barely understand, the lessons she learnt after managing a $5 million startup investment fund, and why one bad investment permanently changed how she evaluates founders.The conversation also explores the real economics behind building wealth through warehouses, real estate, startup investing, compound interest and goal-based…

Most people know Moringa School for producing software engineers. Very few know what it took to build the business behind it.In this episode of Financially Incorrect, Fiona Kirui, Director of Finance at Moringa School, shares how the company grew from a classroom of just 15 students into one of Africa's leading technology training institutions serving more than 20,000 learners.She explains why Moringa deliberately reduced tuition fees, how that decision unlocked explosive growth, the fundraising conversations that kept the company alive, what it means to manage a 24-month financial runway, and why customer obsession has remained the company's biggest competitive advantage.The conversation also explores investor relations, impact investing, financial modelling, AI, expansion into new African markets, surviving COVID-19, and the difficult decisions that come with scaling an education business without compromising…

For most people, wealth looks like cash. For Walter Mangutha, wealth looked like land.Long before earning a salary, Walter was collecting rent, managing family property and learning that money isn't always what sits in your bank account. Those early lessons would shape every financial decision that followed.In this episode of Financially Incorrect, Walter opens up about growing up in a family where assets mattered more than cash, financing his education through rental income, choosing land over expensive cars, supporting his wife through university, leaving employment to pursue entrepreneurship and watching years of investments disappear through property auctions.He shares one of the hardest chapters of his life, rebuilding after losing everything, the million-shilling design competition that changed his trajectory, and why he now believes the safest investment is the one you truly understand.This is a conversation about resilience, delayed gratification, family, marriage, entrepreneurship and the difficult…

Everyone wants quality education. Very few people understand what it actually costs to build it.In this episode of Financially Incorrect, Chinezi Chijioke, CEO and Co Founder of Nova Pioneer, takes us inside one of Africa's most ambitious education businesses. From raising nearly a billion shillings to build campuses, surviving investor pull outs, managing schools that can take years before breaking even and building an institution designed to outlive its founders, this conversation is an honest look at the economics of education.Chinezi also shares how growing up in Nigeria shaped his relationship with money, why he chose teaching over a much higher paying career, the financial lessons he learnt at McKinsey, and why purpose has always mattered more than salary.This isn't just a conversation about schools.It's a masterclass on patient capital, entrepreneurship, leadership, long term thinking and building businesses that genuinely change lives.If you've ever wondered what it takes to build institutions this…

What does it take to walk away from one of the most coveted careers in Kenya and build a company capable of competing with telecom giants? In this episode of Financially Incorrect Personal Money Stories, Agnes Limo shares a journey that starts in a village where money was scarce, opportunities were limited, and entrepreneurship was never considered a realistic career path.Growing up in Eldoret, Agnes saw education as the only route out of poverty. That belief carried her through engineering school, financial struggles, university side hustles, and eventually into Safaricom, where she spent 14 years building one of the country's most important technology networks.But her biggest financial decision came much later. After rising through the ranks and helping pioneer fiber infrastructure in Kenya, Agnes made the decision to leave corporate life and co-found Vilcom, an internet service provider focused on underserved communities. In just a few years, the company has grown to roughly 100,000 customers and become…

Jeffrey Imani thought he had made it. After years climbing the creative ladder, winning international design competitions, building a respected reputation and leading some of East Africa's biggest campaigns, everything came crashing down during the COVID lockdown.A suspension letter. Lost income. A lost house deposit. Months of uncertainty. For many people, that would have been the end.For Jeffrey, it became the beginning.In this episode of Financially Incorrect Uganda Edition, Jeffrey shares the remarkable story of how a young boy selling hand drawn hairstyle posters to barber shops became one of East Africa's most respected creative leaders. From winning the IAAF International Marathon Mascot Competition in 2007 to relocating to Uganda on a one month trial, Jeffrey takes us through the decisions, failures, risks and lessons that shaped his career.He opens up about the controversial exit that forced him into entrepreneurship, the depression that followed, and how he built Zeus Group from his dining room…

There are entrepreneurs who start with capital. Then there are entrepreneurs who create capital by betting everything they already have. Before Ian Henderson built one of Kenya's most recognised residential developments, he had already lived several careers. He left engineering before completing university, spent years washing and managing rental cars, built a logistics company from the ground up, coordinated humanitarian operations across Africa during some of the continent's most challenging moments, sold his business in the UK, and then made the biggest financial decision of his life.He refinanced his house. Mortgaged his assets. Maxed out his credit cardsa and raised almost $500,000 to buy a piece of land in Kenya. The gamble didn't pay off overnight. For the first three years, the business made virtually no profit. Every shilling went back into roads, infrastructure, construction and building a community long before the market recognised its value. That land would eventually become Green Park Estate,…

For years, Kenya's car rental industry operated on trust, phone calls, spreadsheets, and WhatsApp messages. Cars would disappear. Bookings would get double-sold. Customers would reserve online only to discover the vehicle had already been rented to someone who walked in with cash.Bradley Opere saw these problems firsthand.After working in private equity, consulting at McKinsey, advising Kenya's Treasury during the pandemic, and experiencing the realities of entrepreneurship through a failed avocado export venture, he returned to a problem much closer to home: his family's car rental business. What started as a small family fleet eventually became the foundation for Otto, a technology company helping digitize one of Kenya's most fragmented industries.---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Access all our links in one place: ⁠⁠https://lnk.bio/Financially_Inc⁠💹 Ready to start trading?🔍 Who is FXPesa:…

For years, Major Boke wore the uniform of the Kenya AirForce.Today, he leads one of East Africa's fastest-growing security, HR and staff outsourcing companies.In this episode of Financially Incorrect, Major Boke takes us through an extraordinary journey that started in military barracks, moved through corporate leadership at KICC, survived multiple career exits, and ultimately resulted in the creation of Jeff Hamilton, a business projected to cross KES 1.3 billion in revenue. He shares the brutal confidence-building exercises that shaped him as a young officer, why military discipline became his greatest competitive advantage, and the uncomfortable reality of building a local company in an industry dominated by foreign brands.We discuss why he once hired a white front-facing CEO to win contracts, how late-paying clients nearly crippled the business, why he mortgaged personal assets to keep employees paid, and the lessons learned scaling across Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Tanzania and beyond.This is a masterclass…

Most people would have quit after losing everything. Derrick Kayobyo lost hundreds of millions of shillings to fraudsters. His workshop was burned down. Businesses collapsed. Deals went wrong. Yet those setbacks became the foundation for one of Uganda's fastest-growing real estate companies. In this episode of Financially Incorrect Uganda edition, Derrick shares how he went from selling timber and manufacturing doors to building a real estate portfolio worth over $5 million through Kayo properties. He breaks down the realities of Uganda's property market, the opportunities many investors overlook, how Airbnb helped accelerate his growth, and the painful lessons that came from losing 600M UGX in a land scam. This is a conversation about resilience, calculated risk, building businesses from the ground up, and what it really takes to create wealth in African real estate.Whether you're interested in real estate, entrepreneurship, investing, or building wealth in Africa, this conversation offers practical lessons…

"You should stay in school and work hard." That's the advice many people receive. Nyawira Muraguri did that. But she also worked in her parents' business from the age of nine, negotiated aggressively throughout her career, used side hustles to clear debt, bought land with loans, stayed at home longer than most of her peers, and benefited from a support system that gave her room to take bigger risks.In this episode of Financially Incorrect, Nyawira opens up about the financial realities behind her career journey, from earning KSh 10,000 in her first job to leading communications and marketing initiatives at Samsung Electronics. She shares why salary negotiation became one of her biggest wealth-building tools, how she made and lost money through side hustles, the lessons she learned from property investing, and why COVID forced her to completely rethink her relationship with money.She conversation also explores a topic many people avoid discussing honestly: the difference between being self-made and being…

There is a perception amongst many that financial freedom is about earning more money. Pius Muchiri believes it's about reaching a point where your investments can sustain your lifestyle even if your salary stops tomorrow.In this episode of Financially Incorrect Business Edition, Barrack sits down with Pius Muchiri, CFA and Managing Director of Nabo Capital, to unpack a career spanning accounting, investment management, private equity, public markets, and the building of one of Kenya's leading fund management firms.He reflects on the childhood experience that shaped his relationship with money after witnessing financial uncertainty at a young age. That experience would go on to influence his approach to investing, risk management, and his belief that financial independence should be the ultimate goal for every investor. The conversation traces his journey from accounting to investment management, his years at Centum Investments, where he helped execute some of East Africa's most notable investment…

For years, Queen Gathoni Kimuyu was helping shape some of Kenya's most recognizable television productions while quietly carrying battles most people never saw.Before becoming an award-winning producer, writer, activist and storyteller, she grew up in poverty, became a young wife, survived an abusive marriage, raised a child through financial uncertainty and spent years trying to build a sustainable career in an industry that celebrates talent but rarely pays for it.In this episode of Financially Incorrect, Gathoni opens up about the realities behind Kenya's creative economy. From earning KSh 10,000 as a receptionist to writing for Machachari, producing sold-out theatre shows, losing millions on productions, surviving long payment delays and creating Free Me, a deeply personal play based on her own experience with gender-based violence.This is a conversation about money, resilience, self-worth, entrepreneurship, storytelling and what it really takes to build a life after survival…