Man with never-say-die spirit

Gitau, in glasses, mentoring staff members

NAIROBI: John Gitau, 49, has experienced the highs and lows of entrepreneurship and as a result has learned when to seize an opportunity and make the best of it.

Today, he is the proprietor of Rift Valley Institute of Business Studies (RVIBS) located in Nakuru town.

It was by luck and chance that he established the mid-level college that offers diplomas and certificates for a wide range of subjects.

His entrepreneurial journey began way back in 1990 when he opened a shop in Kahawa West Market, Nairobi. Unfortunately, he closed shop less than six months later as it was an unprofitable venture.

His next foray into business was a hair and beauty salon in Nairobi’s Umoja estate. It too shut down after a few months in operation following too much involvement by family members, which led to feuds and disagreements. After yet another hair salon shut down, Gitau decided to relocate to the Rift Valley.

In 2006, he opened a cosmetics business in Kericho town and this proved to be a success.

He was then working with Unilever Tea Kenya and he decided to quit his job to concentrate full time on this enterprise. He added a cyber business, hair salon and also began a beauty school.

All the businesses were doing very well and Gitau put in all his savings and work terminal benefits to further build his empire. All was well until the 2007 post-election violence, which saw all his businesses go up in smoke forcing Gitau to flee Kericho.

Although the father of five managed to escape with his life, he lost his life’s work and while this would have put anyone else down, Gitau was determined to start all over again.

He was fortunate to land a contract job with Kenya Breweries that lasted eight months. With savings from this job and drawing from experience gained from his beauty school, Gitau decided to establish a mid-level college in Nakuru town.

The new venture did not immediately pick up and he had to take on contract jobs in order to survive during the first three years.

This is, however, a thing of the past. The college has now been in operation for the last seven years and has a student population of about 1,500.

The Rift Valley Institute of Business Studies employs 32 tutors and is now authorised to offer certificate, diplomas and higher diplomas for various subjects including accounting, business management, ICT, tourism, among others. It has also applied to offer courses like pharmacy, lab technologies and electronics.

Its exams are regulated by the Kenya National Examinations Council, Institute of Commercial Management and National Industrial Training Authority. RVIBS also works in collaboration with Oxford Brookes University and the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants.

Gitau still has greater plans for the college and says it will, in the next four years, “acquire a university charter and relocate to more spacious grounds”.

Although Gitau has fully embraced teaching, he did not start out as a teacher. After his ‘A’ levels, the astute businessman was employed as a computer data-entry clerk.

He was later transferred to a remote Tanzanian region to work for Unilever Tea and was tasked to train others on IT systems.

It was here that his passion for teaching began and that saw him later enroll for a degree in Education and graduate in 2013.

“I strongly feel that when I leave this world, I will be judged by the number of youths I have touched,” he says.