Daniel Mwangi worked as a houseboy after failing to pass his Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) exams.
He got a D- and was forced to look for work directly after high school because he had no chance of attending any university.
Mwangi discovered the opportunity to work as a house boy during a funeral in their area. He overheard a guest from Nairobi asking about having a house guy from the village.
He was fortunate to land the job, and armed with two sets of clothes, he left the town in the hopes of making it in life.
In Nairobi, Mwangi worked as a house boy for three months before being offered a job as a shopkeeper with a monthly salary of Ksh 4,000.
“At home, I would clean, wash clothes, cook, and tidy up the compound. Just the usual chores,” he said.
He worked as a shopkeeper for two years before quitting and moving to Mlolongo, where he saved enough money to rent a house.
“I had worked as a shopkeeper until I was exhausted, and by the time I left, I felt like I couldn’t go any further,” he described his choice to leave the profession.
With no source of money, his life grew intolerable, but he was eventually introduced to a mechanic who promised to train him.
Mwangi was able to get clients and save Ksh 20,000, which he used to purchase an old motorcycle from a friend who was selling it.
However, the motorcycle was not generating enough income to support him, so he began selling boiled eggs to supplement his motorcycle profits.
In 2015, his old boss saw him selling boiled eggs and offered to sell him the business where he had previously worked as a shop attendant.
“I paid for the remaining items and took over the shop. I was able to raise Ksh 20,000 for further stock, following which I approached a distributor who recommended me to focus the funds on the most crucial items,” he stated.
Mwangi restocked the shop within two months, and it was open for business by the end of 2015.
By 2018, Mwangi had extended his shop into a minimart, managed a butchery, opened a saloon for his wife, and operated an M-PESA shop.
