Meet an ex convict who was put in prison in October of 2010 after he stole Sh123,000 from his employer. Almost three years down the line he is a successful business man after staying in jail for 6 months.
Simon Ciuri spoke with him and below is an excerpt of that interview.
Why did he steal the money?
He wanted the cash so that he would be able to look for greener pastures abroad.
What is business all about?(Muthui Limited)
Muthui Limited is all about the importation of cars, laptops and machinery on behalf of their clients.
How much does he make in a month?
He says he can’t complai about the returns adding thta Sh5.2 million is not a bad figure as a profit.
How was his experience in prison?
He says when he was put in prison he sympathised with innocent people who were stuck in prison because they could not afford a lawyer.
He adds that his appetite for reading was heightened because he had all the time in the world. He could read books on law concepts and shared his new knowledge with fellow prisoners and charging a small fee.
Muthui Maina, Sucessful businessman of Muthui Limited. (Picture-Courtesy)
Few months after the release, he secured an employment as a sales agent earning Sh5,000 per month.
How was that job?
He says the money was very little and he could not afford to pay the amount agreed.
Did he ever steal again?
Yes, he stole Sh150,000 from his new employer with the aim of starting his own business.
What kind of business did he have in mind?
He had written a business plan on how he wanted his recruitment agency to look like. He needed Sh100,000 to steer ahead his dream.
What did he do next?
He rented single-roomed house in Dandora and started a fruit business where he would supply the commodity to local retailers as he looked for an office to set his job recruitment agency.
How did the business go?
After less than two weeks, his business made a dip and his ‘loot’ had reduced to Sh20,000. He spent part of the remaining amount to register his limited liability company, Muthui Limited and rented a small makeshift office in Mwiki, near Kasarani.
He had only Sh350 which he used to place a classified advert in one of the local daily newspapers inviting applications for potential jobs in Afghanistan.
Did he have the jobs?
Not at all, he had done online search on Arab countries seeking employees mostly from Africa among them Kenyans who would like to work as drivers, cooks, English teachers in their country,’’ he explained.
He had seen the silver lining then noticed the cloud.
How much were the applicants paying?
Every applicant was paying Sh1,000 as the consultation fee where one hundred job seekers turned up for the interview and the Sh350 he had paid to put an advert translated to Sh100,000 that day.
What did he do next?
Inspired by the new change of events, he made the trip to Afghanistan to source for employment to the contacts he had identified.
His destination was Afghanistan where by sheer luck, a hospitality company which was setting base in Afghanistan and Dubai contracted him to provide them with one hundred employees and was being paid Sh35,000 for every person.
What happened after returning to Kenya?
Upon returning to Kenya he made arrangements, and pocketed Sh3.5 million. All this happened three months after leaving prison.
Has he paid his former employers after stealing from them?
He doesn’t owe any amount and have cleared everything he ever took.
What is his business all about?
His subsidiary companies under Muthui Limited include World Movie Limited that deals with the importation of movies across the globe for larger east African market consumption, Idea Cooperation Limited, Muthui Media Limited that has a strong market on music production and Muthui Rescue Limited which he hopes to launch this year.
How many people has he employed?
He has employed 70 people in his company.
What are his future plans?
He admits that the future looks promising and the number is poised to go up as his business scales the heights of entrepreneurship.
What is his advice to job seekers?
He points outs that the sector has been invaded by conmen out to freeze innocent Kenyans in the name of job opportunities and advises individuals to go for registered firms.
Courtesy: Business Daily
No comments:
Post a Comment