Many successful people have a moment that spurred them from some comfort zone into being more focused.
One such is the billionaire Esther Muchemi, one of the richest women in Kenya.
The CEO of Samchi Group of Companies once came last in exams, an instance that made her pay more attention to her education, a move that paid off.
She joined Kamahuha girls secondary school in Murang’a. Then, Kamahuha was a low-ranking school.
In her book Give Me My Mountain: From a Single Shop to an Empire Esther narrates how she became the best student in form one but hell broke loose when she transferred to Kahuhia Girls High School while in form two. She tailed in examinations.
"To my surprise, in my first term in that new school , that is in form two I was ranked among the last in class. This made me realise that I needed to work very hard to get out of that undesired position. In the second term I was among the first ten" She recounts.
"This motivated me to work even harder and in the third term, I was in the top three. By the time I did my form four exams, I was at the top of my class" Esther says.
In Form Six she emerged top of her class and their school was third position nationwide.
"This reinforced my belief I was meant for greatness and all I needed was to go for it".
At the University of Nairobi she graduated with Bachelor of Commerce Degree and was employed as an auditor at Ernest & Young and PKF for 16 years.
In 2000 Esther quit the well-paying job and started a shop in Nairobi CBD dealing with phone accessories, airtime and sim-cards.
She established the first Mpesa shop in Kenya and her small business she says grew into an empire.
She now owns telecoms company, After 40 Hotel along Biashara Street and El-Roi Plaza along Tom Mboya Street, a microfinance and has also invested in hospitality industry.
