×
The Standard Group Plc is a multi-media organization with investments in media platforms spanning newspaper print operations, television, radio broadcasting, digital and online services. The Standard Group is recognized as a leading multi-media house in Kenya with a key influence in matters of national and international interest.
  • Standard Group Plc HQ Office,
  • The Standard Group Center,Mombasa Road.
  • P.O Box 30080-00100,Nairobi, Kenya.
  • Telephone number: 0203222111, 0719012111
  • Email: [email protected]

How Manoti made ‘mamilioni’ from ma3

Philip Manoti
 Philip Manoti

Philip Manoti sold a piece of his ancestral land and bought a Nissan matatu, from a friend, for Sh240,000 In 2007. He began operating it between Thika and Nairobi. The Nyamira-born investor had a teaching job that could not meet his expenses seeing as he had four school-going children.

“I would wake up at 4 am, work till 3 pm before going to attend to a shop I had in town. Meanwhile, another driver took over till 8 pm when I closed my shop. I resumed work till midnight,” explains Manoti, who saved religiously and in 18 months, he had bought a second matatu, for Sh340,000. A year later, he had three matatus.

Slow but steady growth

“By 2010, I had known the ins and outs of matatu business, so I sold the three matatus, and bought a minibus. Using the minibus as security, I secured a bank loan of Sh700,000, topped it up with some savings and bought my first bus,” he recounts. “We started using the bus for up-country routes in 2011. It has been a slow but steady growth; right now, I am proud to say that we have two 33-seater mini-buses, 16 55-seater luxury buses, six shuttles and in February, we are receiving five more brand new luxury coaches,” says Manoti who is now the MD, Simba County Link Limited, a transport and Logistics company (formerly Guton Kenya).

The company, whose turnover runs into millions, has now hired 50 permanent staff.

“We don’t do short-term contracts with our staff, all our drivers are on good salaries and they also receive allowances per trip,” says Manoti.

“My take is, give the driver a good salary and a good insurance cover. With that peace of mind, they will do a good job,” he says.

A serial entrepreneur with interests in real estate and logistic businesses, Manoti says the transport business was his biggest challenge. “You need constant cash flow to run such a business. Vehicles can break down at any time, and we all know the problems public service vehicles face on the road,” he says adding that they pay heavily for fuel and poor state of roads. Moreover, the matatu industry is usually run by cartels who scare off potential investors.

Cost-cutting measures

Simba County Link has two buses every day in all its five routes that crisscross 24 counties in the country.

He cites poor state of roads their biggest challenge but he is now happy that the Nairobi Kisumu route has been completed, thereby reducing time between the lakeside city and Nairobi by three hours.

He says due to high costs of maintenance, he established a garage in Ngara to exclusively cater for his fleet. Simba County Link buses are serviced after every trip, he reveals. He has ambitions to start a chain of petrol stations.

“There are so many unforeseen circumstances that can kill a business in the transport sector. I teamed up with four other people who put in the money and helped expand our scope of business.”

He attributes his success to perseverance. “I handle the business like it is a matter of life and death. I have people who have invested their money in the company and I don’t want to let them down.”

Learning has no end

The public transport sector is known for attracting investors with aversion to books. But the 47-year-old is an Moi University alumni. He has a Masters degree in education and administration from the University of Nairobi where he’s currently pursuing a PhD in education management. In the next five years, we will be able to have a bus going to, or passing through every county in Kenya. I also hope to establish a college that teaches mechanical work, customer care and driving among other courses.”

Related Topics


.

Popular this week

.

Latest Articles