Ian Kahara and Kimiti Wanjaria practitioners in the real estate sector are among the top 30 African entrepreneurs under the age of 30 to be selected for the prestigious Forbes annual listing of the 30 under 30 innovators and entrepreneurs.
The duo both at 29, were listed among six other Kenyans cut across Real Estate, Financial Services, Manufacturing, Media, Tech, Green tech, Healthcare, Agriculture and Fashion who are proving a solution to common problems like unemployment, health care, electricity shortages, poor housing and poor waste management.
Forbes an American financial standards magazine published weekly and is owned by Forbes Inc reports on related subjects such as technology, communications, science, and law and is well known for its lists, including richest Americans dubbed the Forbes 400, 40 Wealthiest Africans, African top 30 and under 30, highest-paid stars under 30 and its list of billionaires.
According to Mr. Mfonobong Nsehe a writer at www.forbes.com “The young African entrepreneurs, disruptors and innovators featured on this list are impatient to change Africa and together represent the entrepreneurial, innovative and intellectual best of their generation.
A panel of 12 judges from across Africa was picked to identify the group of outstanding entrepreneurs and innovators under the age of 30. In each of 15 categories, ranging from technology, real estate to social entrepreneurs, Forbes editors and reporters together with judges choose the field’s brightest stars who are individually most surprising, engaging, and hard working.
2012 ,the two made headlines as young vanguard entrepreneurs who made it to the top in the real estate sector, creating a 350 million development, Sigona Valley, an exclusive gated community in West Nairobi.
Ian Kahara who is the director, Serene Valley Properties Limited and also the developer of Sigona Valley said “The listing came as a complete surprise to us, when we started we had a dream of getting into real estate we never realized the impact it would have on young people also interested in getting into the industry in Kenya,”
Kimiti Wanjaria also expressed that Being listed in the 30 under 30 innovators and entrepreneurs is a humbling experience that reinforces the need for perseverance, dedication, a clear goal, divine intervention and is a challenge to do more.
Other Kenyan entrepreneurs who have featured in the Forbes list include Kenya’s business magnate Chris Kirubi, Uhuru Kenyatta and Sameer Group proprietor Naushad Merali in the top 40 wealthiest Africans list.
Kimiti and Ian both ICT graduates together with 28-year-old quantity surveyor Thomas Koigi, and 37-year-old biochemist Johnson Waweru, proprietors of Serene Valley Properties Limited launched Sigona Valley in March 2012, having raised secure non-bank, development finance from Shelter Afrique to fund their project.
kamiti explained that they have put together 90 per cent of the project infrastructure, the show house is nearly done and are halfway in constructing the homes.
Sigona Valley is designed to provide modest living in a premier location, with easy access to Nairobi’s growing infrastructure network. With a variety of three house designs, Sigona Valley homes cater for a multitude of family types and boast a sense of space and style at an affordable rate.
The homes at Sigona Villa range from 1,400 sq.ft for a three-bed villa to a grand four-bed villa of 2,000 sq.ft. These homes sit on approximately 1/10th of an acre with access to community facilities such as borehole water supply, solar hot water heating, waste water recycling and secured boundary walling. walling.
The young developers are also set to launch a new development in the third quarter of 2013.