I recently walked into a vacated spa and salon that had shut down <1 yr from rent arrears. It told a very quiet but expensive story. From my estimates, over KES 2M had been spent on design and fittings.

Before you quit your 9–5 here are hard truths you must confront first...🧵 1. Capital is not what you think it is.

What most people call 'starting capital' is usually just the amount needed to open the doors. That is not enough. You should ideally have at least five times that amount available and mentally written off as risk capital.

A salary of Ksh 100K is pocket change in this economy, but even more 'negligible' is spending Ksh 10k from it each month on brewery products or unnecessary lifestyle toys. Many earning that amount for last 10 years don’t have even Ksh 500k saved

What if you knew this earlier?🧵 If you had saved that Ksh 10K each month for 10 years (that is just 2 presidential terms) in a fixed income fund earning about 7.5% p.a., you would accumulate approximately Ksh 1,779,300.

With this 1.8M, you might want to earn more thru' a low-risk investment. What do you do?

Those born in 1996 are entering their 30s.

This is the decade where you either build a future or get quietly baptized ankó or antie mlevi for life.

Do the following difficult things now, and your 40s will be your most comfortable years.

1. Accept your age properly...🧵 Not 'I’m turning 30,' but What do I have to show for the last decade?
What skills did I acquire? What mistakes keep repeating? Does my current trajectory lead somewhere or am I just older?

Brutal honesty here will force you to course-correct before time becomes your enemy.

This brilliant lady has been working with DTB for 29 years.

She became CEO in just 5 years after joining the bank.

DTB has been listed on the NSE for OVER FIFTY YEARS.

Here are 15 interesting insights on DTB: 1. DTB has over 3 million customers in Tanzania, 705,000 customers in Uganda and 580,000 customers in Kenya. The true definition of an East African bank.

I recently saw this screenshot on social media, and it is a classic example of a very common mistake of confusing cash flow with wealth creation.

To someone thinking day-to-day, a Suzuki Alto on Bolt looks smarter than a corporate bond.

But let's look at this closely…🧵 People who think in long-term don’t ask 'How much can this make this month?' They ask 'What does this do to my balance sheet, my risk, my time, and my future optionality?'

Once you shift the question, the logic flips completely.

A recent ICEA Lion (Ilam) study found that most Kenyans see SACCOS and bank saving accounts as the safest ways to grow wealth. It also noted that many have never heard of Treasury bills & bonds or think they're too complex.
But they aren’t.

Here's why they’re worth knowing...🧵 To truly build wealth, even with a conservative mindset, Kenyans need to look beyond savings & Saccos. If low risk and predictable returns are what one is chasing, then treasury bills and treasury bonds are arguably among the safest and most rewarding financial instruments.

TikTok’s full of “public intellectuals.” One said MMFs aren’t investments. Another said if you’re 27 with no rentals, you’ve failed. Then come the 'forex billionaires' and as usual late-night tap-tap Las Vegas digital creators.
So who’s actually telling the truth? Let’s talk... First of all, who made the said TikToker the global authority on what qualifies as an investment?
An investment is any vehicle or asset in which you allocate money with the expectation of future returns. By that definition, a money market fund (MMF) qualifies...

Middle class investments come from vibes. "Ati watu wanapenda kuku." You build a poultry empire with zero knowledge. Six months in, Newcastle Disease wipes out everything. Rich folks move with strategy. No guesswork. 🧵 Middle class person lands a tender, makes 10M or so, then vanishes to Mombasa. Buys a German machine, marries two coastal babes, or if it’s a lady, picks two well-oiled beach boys. Then comes the big idea: "Let’s build a resort".......

The man, the machine, the visionary.

From Global Head of Retail Distribution for Standard Chartered, SINGAPORE, to CEO of Standard Chartered Kenya.

If you bought SCBK shares at 130 just 4 years ago, you'd be enjoying 45 bob dividend yearly.

Here are 10 insights on the company: 1. The bank's main appeal for corporate clients is its cross-border presence and availability of reliable international instruments.

Financial independence is the state in which cash flows from your assets are enough to sustain your lifestyle, even in the absence of a job.

The following are some common pitfalls on this journey & the solutions are only easy in theory.

1. Heavy debt repayments When your loan repayments take up too much of your income, it is difficult to make much progress. You need to restructure debt where possible as a start, sell off assets to repay your loans & work on increasing income without letting new debt follow suit.

How to survive a period of high inflation & global geopolitical turmoil (THREAD):

1. Stock as much non-perishable food as you can (eg. Canned food, oil, flour, grain, spices etc.). Estimate your consumption to expiry dates & store food to avoid pests (eg. On water to deter ants) 2. Buy in bulk to save on costs

3. Set aside some of your income into savings. Best saving classes: Gold, reserve currencies, the shares of durable companies etc.)

4. Beef up the security in your house/apartment

5. Set aside an emergency fund, that's separate to savings