Former banker’s dream comes true

By Joe Ombuor

At a time when education is seen largely as the key to a respectable job, a young Kenyan thought otherwise and took a totally unfamiliar detour that baffled both friend and foe by jumping to the unknown.

By so doing, 36-year-old Austin Barasa is today the chief executive of the Centre for Finance and Management, the only registered institution in East and Central Africa providing certified project management training.

Ultimate dream

"The entrepreneur in me was already up and kicking in those formative years. There was no faltering in this journey to my ultimate dream," he says.

Barasa says he went into formal employment " to merely get a feel of what it is".

"My drive was not to work for corporate entities for long. I always wanted to do something that I would call my own, something I could proudly be identified with," he says.

On completion of his Bachelor of Commerce degree in Management Science in 1997, he joined the Standard Chartered Bank as a graduate clerk, later moving to a management position as a credit analyst.

Not one to dither when opportunities beckon, Barasa left his Standard Chartered bank after only two and a half years to join the Diamond Trust Bank in a senior management position in the Credit department.

But even that was short lived. He had worked for a less than four years when he decided to return to University for a Masters of Business degree (MBA) in finance.

As he worked in the bank, Barasa did a Certified Public Secretaries Course (CPS). He also took graduate diploma in management studies from the United Kingdom by correspondence, specialising in corporate policy.

"I had already seen opportunities in finance and project management that required filling with appropriate training. My next move was to acquire teaching skills, hence my decision not to return to the banking industry after my MBA," he says.

His first teaching stint was at the Kenya Institute of Management as a lecturer.

While there, he honed his teaching experience by way of part time lectures at Egerton University, Moi University and the Kenya School of Monetary Studies.

Two years down the line as a lecturer, he felt confident enough to venture into his dream institution " to marry my corporate and teaching skills into a unique setting of my own".

His target? Professionals practicing as finance and project managers without formal training in either discipline.

Money presented a tall hurdle to clear. To circumvent it, Barasa approached five other like-minded friends to pool up resources. The effort fell through when the five pulled out, citing insurmountable risks.

Left alone with his begotten baby, Barasa refused to relent, choosing to soldier on with his meager resources until he received a registration and secured premises for the project.

Five students

Impressed by his determination, and with trainees trickling in, two more with near similar qualifications as Barasa expressed interest to join. The two are Harambee Co-operative Finance Manager Benson Ojiambo and Certified Accountant John Irungu. Ojiambo is the institute’s finance director and Irungu, the education director.

Barasa says the institution that started with only five students in 2004 has so far trained over 1,000 professionals in project and finance management. Barasa says among the professionals who have gone through the institution include architects, engineers, medical doctors and social scientists.

Barasa’s advise to young entrepreneurs: "Be ready for monetary and sweat sacrifice and do not expect immediate profits".