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.
I am a numbers guy, which is why I joined the Cairo University in 2009 to study business administration for three years.
My classmates included Mica Pittman, one of the biggest hoteliers in America at only 30; Julius Malema’s younger brother; and Abdi Karim of Karesa Group of Companies.
Cairo University introduced me to the world of entrepreneurship. I became the first person to export shisha bottles and flavours to Kenya.
They were not very popular then.
Occasionally, I would buy plain jeans from Cairo city, attach my personal label and then resell them to students on campus.
My suppliers were sympathetic to me because I came from Kenya, a poor country, according to them. So I made huge profits. And at the age of 20, I bought my first car, a Toyota 100 and later a BMW. Girls were attracted to me because I was loaded and very social.
I have to pay tribute to my best lecturer, a Briton called Mike Scott, who taught me financial management. Besides business and studies, I was also involved in student leadership and was elected the Secretary General of the Student Council despite being a foreigner.
I was able to unite students and reduce inter-ethnic fights between Arab nationals from Tunisia, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states, for which I got an award from the university administration.
Egypt being an Islamic state, is very strict on matters like binge drinking and partying. However, we still partied a lot, but with some moderation.
Steve Mbogo is the Party Of New Alliance (PONA) leader, a successful entrepreneur and patron of Kenya University Students Organisation (KUSO). He graduated from Cairo University in 2011.
