As a Form Two student, Patrick Mwangi started selling used clothing (mitumba) to pay for a few items that his family was unable to purchase.
When he was a student at Laikipia High School, he would purchase clothing from a vendor and then sell it to his classmates and friends over the breaks.
Mwangi pursued his pastime, which evolved into a business endeavor, even after finishing secondary education.
He dressed better and looked better because of his little business. But his pastime was put on pause when he and a friend got into a fight, which led him to leave his home in Nyahururu.
“I got into a row with one of my friends, it was so serious that it turned into a police case because it happened on someone’s property,” he said.
When Mwangi got to Thika, he would hide while the dust settled at home. It was here that he met a friend who supplied mitumba goods.
Everything had changed; he was now forced to pursue what he had once considered a hobby in order to exist. He urged his acquaintance to fetch him ten Ksh 100 jumpers that were won by women on his first day.
In less than a day, he was able to turn a profit by selling every sweater. The want to thrive soon took precedence over the necessity to survive.
Mwangi made the decision to purchase his own stock, albeit in small volumes, from Nairobi’s Gikomba market.
He went about his business hoping to locate a better price, and as luck would have it, one came his way.
For a position with a non-governmental organization (NGO), he received a call to Malindi. But things weren’t all sunshine and daisies for him and the other candidates.
Mwangi was barely surviving and went up to seven months without receiving money. Fortunately, there was another window of opportunity.
“I got a job as a driver in one of the hotels. The job lasted three months, and I was able to save Ksh 25,000,” he noted.
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He made money here by selling women’s clothing and shoes, and in 2013 he built his first store, which was then joined by two more.
But Mwangi’s father-in-law’s unique request was what inspired him to come up with a new business venture. His dad wished for him to give the car up.
It took him over a month and a half to sell the automobile because he had no prior car-selling experience, and the Ksh 50,000 commission was an unexpected inducement. It was then that he became increasingly interested in the car trade.
He began to expand his business and became a point of contact for anyone in his hometown looking to purchase or sell a used car.
The vehicle dealership experienced highs and lows, as is typical with any new endeavor.
Nevertheless, he was still able to set aside a small amount of his commission.
In 2016, Mwangi purchased his first vehicle, a Toyota Vitz, for Ksh 270,000—a excellent deal. He eventually sold it for Ksh380,000, a far better price.
He met a Pakistani national through networking, and she suggested he start selling new automobiles, which had larger profit margins.
Without questioning how, he followed the advice. The young auto salesperson brought in a Mercedes Benz C200 as his first new car.
Despite being able to reimburse the funds he invested, he only realized a small profit. He returned to his friend to ask for guidance, something he ought to have done earlier.
A few months later, Mwangi realized the results of his transaction when he imported an identical model of car.
“I imported the same car. This time around, I made a killing,” he shared.
The young man who fled his home in Nyahururu is now a well-known luxury automobile trader in Mombasa, going by the name Mwangi wa Mercedes.
He offers both luxury new cars and pre-owned cars for sale.
