CEO explains how he would invest Sh20,000

Investment tips from Barclays Bank CEO Jeremy Awori.

If you were not a CEO and I gave you Sh20, 000, what is the best investment you could put the money in?

That’s a position I was in was I was a student. If you got money, you have a choice. You can go and enjoy that Sh20,000 and finish with your friends.

There are two things I would say:

First, if you are a young person wanting to invest, there’s the power of saving and compound interest.

I always say if you can save at least 10 per cent of your salary, the power of investing that money over time will do you well.

The second thing is, are you investing in assets or liabilities?

When I was young, I made a choice. I had £100 (Sh13,338), I chose to invest in disc jockeying turntables. I bought my first set of turntables and started doing parties for people. So that £100 (Sh13,338) became £500 (Sh66,695) which grew to £1000 (Sh133,400), and then I bought better equipment and did bigger events.

It started earning me more money, and the interesting thing was, in one night, I could pocket more money than I earned from one-month’s salary. But I stayed focused on my job while maintaining the side hustle.

It came to a point where I realized my hustle was clashing with the day job. I can’t be all night deejaying and partying at the same time get into work in the morning.  So I chose to focus more on my career.

Awori’s take

I’d say, invest in things that will earn you money rather than things that will take it, whatever that is.

You can invest in a business or invest in skills that will help you help other businesses. So education is also an investment.

Put your money in anything that will allow you to generate more income.