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– People of Rwathia in Muranga have excelled in entrepreneurship in Kenya
– Gerald Gikonyo has built many empires in the City and has mentored many successful businessmen
– The new generation of Rwathia boys he has mentored include Peter Munga, James Mwangi, Jimnah Mbaru and Benson Wairegi among others
A senior lecture in one of the leading universities wrote in his article that a particular village in Kenya controls a good percentage of Kenya’s wealth.
Dr Bitange Ndemo, a senior lecturer at the University of Nairobi’s Business School, pointed out that the most successful business people in Kenya or East Africa come from Rwathia village.
Rwathia Village is in Kangema, Muranga County.
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The new generation of Rwathia boys include Equity Bank Chairman Peter Munga, Equity Bank CEO James Mwangi, billionaire investment banker Jimnah Mbaru and insurance magnate Benson Wairegi.
Ndemo in a 2014 article title The Mystery of Success, he expains that Rwathie controls almost 20 per cent of GDP and nearly half of stock market in the country.
“This village arguably controls almost 20 per cent of Kenya’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and almost 40 per cent of the stock market in Kenya,”
Gerald Gikonyo with his wife. The companies he co-founded with friends and relatives mainly from his Rwathia village in Murang’a County started with his first salary of Sh4. His current abode is in one of his hotels in the city centre from where he keeps the wheels of his companies humming along.
“Their forebearers like Gerishon Kirima and Gerald Gikonyo, one of the co-founders of Rwathia Distributors, were successful in spite of the fact that they had limited education. Rwathia’s third generation is succeeding, not just here in Kenya, but in far-flung areas like the United States, ” Ndemo adds.
Ndemo goes further to say that Wings to Fly, an initiative by Equity bank led by Mwangi is enoufh evidence that their wealth is in big numbers.
“Equity’s Corporate Social Responsibility in Wings to Fly, which is sponsoring students to attend some of the best universities in the world, is enough to shower blessings on its founders. So whichever way you look at this, Dr Mwangi and his teams have left an indelible mark that will never be matched by any organisation in the foreseeable future,” he adds.
The school is an A.C. K. sponsored school situated at Kihoya village, Rwathia location, Kangema district. It is in Kanyenyaini educational zone.
It all started with Gerald Gikonyo who quit his job with Kenya Planters’ Co-operative Union with a salary of Sh20 per month.
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Dyer & Blair Investment Bank chairman and acting CEO Jimnah Mbaru.
In 1931, he left employment for full-time business. He partnered with his village mate Solomon Karanja to secure a hawking licence.
CEO and Managing Director of Equity Bank, Mwangi made $2 million dollars when he sold off some of his shares in the company in November last year.
The same year, he put up a shop back home at Githioro in Rwathia, in partnership with his step-brother Gikonyo Muthuri.
In time, they diversified into many ventures until they built some of the prime buldings in the Capital City.
As they were progressing, they mentored other new generation of Rwathie boys, who are now controlling a good percentage of Kenya’s wealth.
Rwathia’s third generation is succeeding not just here in Kenya but in far-flung areas like the US.
However, no scientific research being conducted towards to justify Ndemo’s article.
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