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College doesn’t make fools; it develops them. It doesn’t make bright men; it develops them. A fool will turn out a fool, whether he goes to college or not, though he’ll probably turn out a different sort of a fool ~ Letters From A Self Made Merchant To His Son

Playing Cards in Cairo (High Miles) was written in 2008, three years before the Egyptian Revolution that saw the overthrow of the Hosni Mybarak Regime. It paints a grim picture of Cairo post Sadat and after decades of Mubarak. Interestingly enough, the author wonders what event would trigger a revolution in Egypt. This event ended up being “The Arab Spring”. Playing Cards in Cairo is…

A few years back, I participated in a tech business competition, as a panelist, among venture capitalists. The purpose of the competition was to evaluate the businesses and pick the most viable/promising of the businesses, which would then win a cash prize. It was also an opportunity for the venture capitalists to evaluate the businesses and see if they could fund them. This was the…

In this post, we explored ways the government could make it easier for us to do business in Kenya, and key was the licensing procedures and costs. Well, since then, not only has the number of licenses increased, the county government (Nairobi) also reviewed costs upwards. This morning I looked at the list of licenses one needs to operate a hotel in Nairobi, and I…

There has been a lot of debate about the athletes taxation issue online of late. I have found myself caught up in the debate, especially because my strong opinion is that athletes ought to pay taxes. Yes, there is the risk of double taxation when they earn an income in countries which Kenya does not have double taxation treaties with, but this risk applies to…

Instead of live tweeting, I took notes of Christine Lagarde’s speech at Mindspeak this afternoon at The Intercontinental. It was such an honour to hear her speak, I am a big fan. I blogged the highlight of her speech both for you my readers but for my record. 1. Complete fiscal devolution. This will bolster social cohesion and increase accountability over public funds. But must…

Imagine being so rich, that cities come to you for loans? That was Hetty Green, the richest woman in history. Born in 1834 in Massachusetts in a Quaker family, Green learnt about finance from reading financial news to her grandfather who had poor eyesight. She opened her first savings account at 8,years old where she deposited her weekly $1.5 allowance, the beginning of her frugal…

This morning, I was sharing my PERSONAL personal finance philosophy and strategy with a friend (and vice versa), and that got me thinking about money personalities. Reading personal finance blogs, one would be tempted to think the advice should be applied similarly by everyone. It shouldn’t. The information is great, and the underlying PRINCIPLE is useful for everyone, but application should take into account our…

When you get your first job and are setting out on your own, house sharing is the most obvious option because you have limited resources to rent and fit out the house. Even for people who have worked longer, it still makes sense because with combined income, one can afford to live in a better address than they would afford on their own. House sharing…

As I write this post, there’s lovely jazz playing in the background. Not from a music player, I’m at the Michael Joseph Centre at the Safaricom House listening to The Smithsonian Jazz Orchestra, a once in a lifetime opportunity. Well, I am blogging because today is Day 1 of my 30 day writing challenge, it’s just got to happen. I however almost didn’t come. This…