How this Kenyan entrepreneur used his student savings to build a Sh80 million real estate empire

david nganga

September 3, 2018 1:28 PM

Moses Muriithi on running Sh80 million real estate enterprise

Moses Muriithi dreamt of being self-employed right after graduating from university and his target from the start was real estate business.

He was determined to raise capital at all costs when he was a third-year student at Kenyatta University.

“While in the university I did online jobs such as data entry and website designs and get paid through PayPal. Whatever I earned I used to invest in land,” he said in a past interview.

Armed with Sh40,000 as savings, Muriithi set up his company known as Fanaka Real Estate Ltd.

“By the time I started Fanaka in 2015 I already had several plots to start with. As a result of my small earnings together with some cash I had saved from HELB loans, I had some Sh40,000 which I used as capital.”

He then acquired an online account which he used to source contracts from foreign organisations for IT-related tasks.

“Mostly I handled web designing and data entry where I could earn up to Sh100,000 a month."

After four years, Muriithi had already accumulated five 50 by 100 plots valued up to Sh1.4 million.

Great strides

Several years down the line and Fanaka has made great strides in the real estate industry. The firm has undertaken six projects in the past 12 months.

The Ruai-based company focuses on low and average income earners who are looking to own land or house on the outskirts of Nairobi.

In two years the enterprise has grown rapidly, recording a Sh80 million turnover last year.

And in an industry inundated by conmen swindling unsuspecting victims, Muriithi said that they conduct due diligence on all transactions to ward off fraud.

The main challenges, he noted, are getting enough funds for expansion as well as land brokers who alter land prices to earn bigger commissions.

Create job opportunities

“Also land brokers who at times exaggerate land prices have proven to be a thorn in the flesh, but with time we have managed to deal with them."

Muriithi uses mainstream media, online marketing, social media and referrals from previous clients as his company’s marketing strategy.

His advice to young entrepreneurs is to create job opportunities instead of waiting to be employed.

The KU alumni also urges them to ensure they carry out their businesses with transparency as clients keep referring other people because of the trust created.

david nganga