Some people are born entrepreneurs, some people choose it. At the end of the day, anyone who seeks to provide solutions to challenges that face us daily is an entrepreneur. You may have seen Ishmael Murihe Mwanje trailblazing on the internet scene. You will never need to guess what Ishmael does, one can tell he is an electricity expert. He defines the key qualities of business that make an entrepreneur successful; consistency, tenacity and the ability to take up opportunities when presented. At only 26, he is running Mswahili Electric in Mombasa County. He describes himself as a humble Christian raised poor, a fifth born in a family which consists of 3boys and 3girls. He managed to score a good 303 marks in KCPE at fuligani primary school in 2011, but as circumstance would have that would be the last of education certification. His tenacity and resilience may come from the fact that he has had to grow to fight for a space in a system that holds education with high regard. Unbale to com...

Esther Neema 60 acres of trees. Thousand of them. We would be greeted with such beauty. In the heart of the woodland, there would be such a natural piece of art. While analysing the value chain and women involvement in the chain, our concern was that most women were poor, they were not major players in the value chain. Until we met HER. 60 acres of trees is not a joke. Pulling electricity for the neighbors around. Investing in homes and a borehole for the people around. It struck me, it is possible ladies. We can do this. We can reach out and believe in ourselves and do it well . #NoExcuse Nyahururu Esther Neema in Nyahururu

DREAM TEAMS “your life is a blank canvas, as a soul you choose your starting colors, which are your body, your personality, your country, your family. Then you come in to your life with your paintbrushes and colors ready to begin the art work called your life. Your life purpose is to hold your paintbrushes with joy and to paint a picture of life that is true to you.” After having the “grand opportunity” slip away and I accept, I will not be going  to Nigeria, andwill also not be meeting Oprah, I start to revisit my business. It was key to create a system, so that we don’t just get lucky, we have a plan. So, on this day at 4:00 in the AM, I got an epiphany. What if we had a network, acommunity of people in Business and Marketers. Then we would share networksand more links to markets. That way, entrepreneurs would always have a tribe to belong. Mimi nani, I start to draft the Idea,immediately. I called it the Network. It was going to be everything I wished I had ...

That awkward moment when you realize you have nothing going for you, he he he. From EVERYTHING to NOTHING. Looking at my decade, starting at 19, a writer, actress and at 27 still wondering what was that??? You mean I am not rich already??? I only own a few dishes and a collection of words of wisdom, amazing experiences. Mbio za sakafuni zimeishia ukingoni, weh!!! And truly again, as Obama put it, “I was b eginning to question the path I had chosen!” Aware that life is not happening to us, life is responding to us. And, what hurts most is that everything we have become, always is a direct result of our choices or lack of or the state of our mind. Only, it is easier to attach to attach blame to the government and Witchcraft  . But it is only the time when you come face to face with the reality, that you have walked this road to here. It is here you accept, yes, I have failed. I am lost! Now what??? Personal development . It is not just key in Business, but also i...

Esther Neema: Shooting Expressions Back to what I know. Still quite unsettled. Two years of this, and I faced with the question. What's the next? I am “ wanting to make an impact ”? Ideally it should have been the news/production as it would offer me consistency. So, when the opportunity presented self, I pounced on it. I went past all the stages, before I was busted that I don't even know the name of my MP :D. IGNORANCE . Only knew the Dramatic MPs, MPIGs. Considerably, I only noticed things that are presented DRAMATICALLY !!! Such as when watching news, I was probably focusing on hair and styles or shoes. So, I didn't make the headlines. And I remember being so broken. It was “expected of me”, that I began to expect of myself. Turning this in to an entire spectacle. For the second time I understood what it meant to be so close to “ THE DREAM ” and have it yanked out of your mouth, when I believed to be “worthy of it” in spite my challenge with ignorance and ...

Esther Neema It is not easy coming out of County 001. As they say , Kungia Happiness , kutoka Sadness . It was. First when I was leaving, I was leaving in jubilation. Watu hawakutosha. Everybody had to know I was by the beach, he he he he. Only now that I was returning, I was creeping back in to the city. Hiding from everybody. Quite ashamed, that no sooner had I left had I returned. Nitaambia nini watu. Nimerudi after announcing to the whole village of my departure. To make it worse, being in Mombasa sort of made Nairobi feel so cold. I was now sounding like my clan who say, “Eh jamani, baridi ya Nairobi siiwezi”. It was the season of purple flowers. And though it often had been my favorite season, I just couldn’t stop freezing. Nairobi felt hostile a little . One can really miss the thought of waiting for coconut falling from trees and posing by the beach. For the first time, everything was quite fast, and I am not fast with it. And I am trying to catch up, but weh...

Esther Neema in Mombasa So , I am in the mid st of having the time of my life in my entire brief Career. My days are made of merry. Shoots at beautiful spaces that make me feel touristic half the time . Cruz dinners of course non-existent in Nairobi , Feasting on Chapati s and maharagwe ya nazi DAILY and Biriani on Fridays. Occasionally crossing the ferry on to the other side of the ocean, and quite honestly at this moment, this is my idea  of THE DREAM . In spite days of ultimate hunger from earning very little, but quite sufficient for a twenty something year old. Plus who needs a lot of money as long as you can see the beach daily. I realize, I need so little to be happy, and nature is one of those basic needs for me. Plus, I was just in love with the population, the teams, the office, the drama and the endless surprises daily that always left us breathless with laughter. I could feed off this. Very few times did money cross my mind. But just in the midst of ...