How I got the ruler of Dubai to invest in my business idea

Former Mombasa gubernatorial aspirant Suleiman Shabhal.

The young boy from Tononoka in Mombasa knew that if he was to get out of poverty, his only chance was through education. And Suleiman Shahbal would do his best not to disappoint his grandparents, who used the proceeds from their spare parts dealership and charcoal sales to fund his tuition. His hard work would pay off, and he would get a chance to pursue studies abroad where he chose a banking career.

He would later find his way back home to start what is now Gulf Africa Bank Limited, a sharia-compliant bank. Besides the bank, he has been involved in other ventures like Gulf Energy, an oil trading company, Gulf Power, a power plant with 80 MW HFO in Athi River, Gulf Homes, a property development company, AGOL, Kenya’s largest liquefied petroleum gas storage terminal in Mombasa in 2011, among others. He also is currently developing Amu Power, which is set to be East Africa’s largest power plant.