Anthony Maina has achieved in a span of less than two years what most don’t achieve in a lifetime. At the age of 17, he was the CEO of a school-run bank. At 18 and still in high school, he had transformed more than 10 dwindling businesses into profit-making ventures and is now eyeing shares at the Nairobi Stock Exchange at the age of 19. Meet the young entrepreneur with the magic hands and creativity to bet on. His journey dates back to 2009 when he enrolled at the Strathmore School as a Form One student. His passion for entrepreneurship saw him at the age of 16 asking his parents for a soft loan to start a business. But they declined; they wanted him to concentrate on his education. “My parents have been my greatest inspiration and my achievement is when I create a solution that not only benefits me but also uplifts other peoples’ lives,’’ said Mr Maina in an interview with Business Daily last week. Mr Maina was among the top-performers from Kenya selected to join the prestigious African Leadership Academy (ALA) late 2011. The academy based in Johannesburg admits Africans aged between 15 and 18 years, and it targets students who exhibit optimism, entrepreneurship spirit and impeccable academic achievements. Founded in 2004, the school has a two-year curriculum touching on African studies and entrepreneurship leadership. Early last year, ALA was going through a phenomenal journey on how best it could create a platform for its students to pitch ideas to revive the struggling Gigavault Bank, a school-owned and controlled financial institution. Mr Maina, then a Form Three student, was burning with zeal to transform the bank. He had seen its potential, and he knew what was needed were well-calculated measures to unlock its potential and bank on students’ savings. “Here was the opportunity presenting itself on how best one can turn around the situation and create an avenue for more resources. What was needed was to streamline the management strategies and work with more able minds. “The remedy involved studying its performance in back years, research on the best practices and identifying its leadership weaknesses, ’’ he said. At that time, he was inheriting the leadership of a bank that was merely worth around Sh10,000. Mr Maina introduced loans to the students and advisory information on account management to enable his comrades deposit more as an enabler to quick and easy borrowing. The concept worked out well and within a month, the bank employed five students and withdrew voluntary services.
Posted on: Tue, 30 Jul 2013 23:30:34 +0000
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