A prominent Kenyan politician, former Prime Minister Raila Odinga, is known for more than just his political career. Behind the scenes, Raila has built a multi-billion business empire that has remained largely invisible to the public eye.
Though not known to many, Raila Odinga is one of the richest persons in Kenya, riches that he has acquired through his long political career, investment in oil and gas, real estate, manufacturing, and agriculture among other ventures.
In an effort to understand how he built his muilti-billion business empire, we dig deep into the secrets of his rise to wealth and unravel the fascinating story behind his success. be prepared to be intrigued as we explore the different ventures that have contributed to his immense riches.
A video shared on his Facebook page in June 2021 reveals how Raila’s journey as a business owner started, revealing that like most other entrepreneurs, he too did not have capital needed to start a business.
Despite being a son of Kenya’s former Vice President the late Jaramogi Oginga Odinga, starting a business did not come easy for him and had to make tough decisions to create and build his business.
Raila said that when he wanted to start his first business, he was teaching at the University of Nairobi and earning a salary of Sh2,000 which was not enough to purchase the equipment he needed for the business.
In the video, Raila says that he met an Indian entrepreneur who was exiled from Ugandan and was selling his business machinery to raise Sh12,000 in order to migrate to UK.
Though Raila was interested in the equipments, he did not have the money so he was forced to sell his only car an Opel left-hand drive to finance the acquisition of the assets.
It is after acquiring the machinery that he was able to set up his manufacturing company which is at the core of his multi-billion business empire.
Initialy, Raila’s company focused on manufacturing steel-related products and selling them in the Kenyan market, he rented a go-down in Industrial Area on Kingston Road now called Kampala Road and started manufacturing casements, windows, steel doors, and other items.
As the business progressed and his name became well known, it caught the attention of a businessman from Agip Oil Company who requested Raila to venture into the production of gas cylinders which were in high demand then.
Having trained as an engineer in Germany and experience in manufacturing gas cylinders, Raila took the challenge. As the business grew, Raila got a loan from a foreign company which propelled the business to greater heights. His Company, East Africa Spectre is one of the top manufacturers of gas cylinders in East and Central Africa.
About the Author
Isaac Mbugua is a Senior Journalist and Digital News Writer at Diaspora Messenger News Media
How Raila Odinga Built Multi-Billion Business Empire
