Lifting Kenyan flag higher than a kite can fly

By Ally Jamah

At that crack of dawn on December 12, 1963, Kisoi Munyao made history when he hoisted Kenya’s flag on top of the snow-capped peaks of Mount Kenya.

Forty-seven years on, the national colours are about to be thrust hundreds of kilometers into the outer space, thanks to a 28- year old billionaire.

Later this month, millions of television watchers worldwide will watch the Kenyan flag fly in the space as Ashish Thakkar blasts off to space on a Virgin galactic spaceship.

"This is a proud moment for me to take the Kenyan flag to space. I am happy that I will play a modest role in promoting Kenya to millions of people in a positive way," he gushed when he arrived in the country this week.

Kenyan flag

Recently, Thakkar received Tanzanian and Ugandan flags from Presidents Jakaya Kikwete and Yoweri Museveni.

"This is an act of great courage and vision which can teach our youth to expand their mental horizons and work hard to achieve their dreams," said Raila.

The East African flags symbolise Thakkar’s heritage: He was born of a Tanzania mother and partly grew in Uganda.

Like 100 other space travellers who will be blasting off to space, Thakkar will fork out a cool Sh16 million for the trip.

But for the young billionaire, that money is just a drop in the ocean for his vast business empire is worth more than Sh80 billion employing more than 2,000 people worldwide.

Epic journey

Kenyan millionaires wishing to make a similar trip can book the tickets through Virgin Galactic, a space travel firm run by British billionaire Richard Branson, who also owns Virgin Atlantic Airlines.

Thakkar sees his epic journey not only as a personal dream come true but also a rare opportunity to promote Kenya’s name internationally and pull in much-needed tourists and investors.

Born of a British father and a Tanzanian mother, the Dubai-based billionaire businessmen has lived in Uganda most of his life and considers himself an "African at heart"

Currently, the space ship is undergoing testing in the United States and once complete, the historic journey for Thakkar (and East Africa) begins.

He recently underwent months of rigorous training at Nastar Space Centre, Philadelphia and is raring to go.

"The training alone was so amazing, I can’t imagine how the actual experience will be. All I can say is I simply can’t wait," a delighted Thakkar said.

Edge Of Space

Last December, the twin-fuselage spacecraft was unveiled in Los Angeles amid a media frenzy and is designed to speed tourists to the edge of the space. Pilots will then fire up a rocket engine that blast the tourists deeper into the space.

Amazing as it is, Thakkar’s space journey is just another page in his many achievements

When he was only 16, he started his first business selling computers before proceeding into manufacturing. For more than 15 years, he ran Riley Industries in Uganda before migrating to Dubai in the United Arab Emirates.

In Dubai, Thakkar co-founded the Kesington Group, a real estate firm with interests in United Kingdom, Uganda, Ghana and India.

Through it, he rose to international fame when the company constructed the 36-storey commercial tower labelled by a leading architects’ magazine as "The Gem of Dubai Maritime City".

He was caught in the crossfire in a civil war in Rwanda and narrowly escaped a hurricane in Miami.

Through his foundation Kenya is expected to benefit from Thakkar’s philanthropy, which focuses on improving quality of secondary education especially in disadvantaged communities.

Asked to reveal his secrets of becoming a billionaire before age 30, Thakkar smiled easily. He is obviously more comfortable speaking about business than his escapade into space.

Persistence

"The most important thing is to think outside the box and work on new ideas or new ways of doing the same thing. Copying others won’t take you far," he counselled, adding: "Another thing is to be persistent. Challenges and setbacks will always be there but the trick is to keep marching forward until you reach your desired destination," he added.

But the most important quality in making it big in business is integrity. So, how does he sum up his life? "I work, play and pray hard."