From hustler to CEO – meet youthful Steve Karanja
His is an inspiring story of a go-gettter scaling up the ladder of success. Youthful Steve Karanja is a proud owner a tech firm and says the sky is his limit
Barry Silah @obel_barry
A story is told of a man whose desire was to get to the top no matter the hurdles. And indeed when he finally reached the peak, doubters and all took notice.
For 29-year-old Steve Karanja, giving up is not his vocabulary. In fact, life would be boring if obstacles were non-existent, he says.
The information technology expert who runs Gadget World in Nairobi’s central business district says from his childhood, he had an an obsession with gadgets and gizmos because they seemed interesting.
“I interacted with machines early in life and eventually, after my graduation from Nairobi Aviation College, I was able to formally put my skills and passion into purpose,” says Karanja, whose first work station was at a computer shop in downtown Nairobi.
Here his main task was to deal with laptops. This was his initial interaction with the business side of tech even though he barely earned a salary since he worked for his uncle.
“It was tough, but great lessons nonetheless. I had to build networks and think outside the box to sustain myself in the city,” says the Kiambu county native who fell in love with high-end phones.
After building friendships, he started importing and selling phones for a profit, thus saving and psychologically preparing for the future. 
It was during this time that he got a smartphone as a birthday present. It was brought in from Dubai, consequently opening opportunities for him in other areas, including around digital marketing.
Big plans
Fast forward to 2018, after realising his potential, Karanja delved into the business of selling phones carving out a niche in the upmarket segment.
“I settled on my target audience after research and I was comfortable afterwards. I even got a dealership in the Middle East from where I sourced the few quality handsets after getting reliable customers,” he said.
This saw him make changes to his business. “I moved from a shop that I shared with a friend to a solo outlet once my business peaked in sales and gadget repairs segments,” said the jolly businesman who has an ambitious plan of owning his own brand of phones in the next 10 years.
What makes this business venture more successful is that National Bank of Kenya took interest in his model and hard work and got keen in partnering with Karanja.
“Together we have achieved so much and I could not ask for anything different. I was introduced to a product called Till Financing service and once convinced it was viable, I got on board.
I was given a loan of Sh1 million and within a space of eight months because the business was doing well and customer numbers were growing. The interest rate was also comfortable at 12.5 per cent annually, so we managed.
The following year, we took a similar amount of loan to spruce up the business and so far I can hardly complain as we can make between Sh500,000 to Sh700,000.
All this has been surreal, but it means I did my homework right, got good advice and learnt the value of patience in business,” adds the employer of five young technical staff.
On average he sells between 70 and 100 mobile phones every month through direct sales and wholesale.
Insurance packages
Such is his influence and visibility in this space that established partnerships witn reputable firms such as Jumia, which signed him up to enlarge the business. This has enabled him to tap huge investment on online marketing.
“Online is the future, so we put in a lot of emphasis on resources and structural advertising.
The plan is to capture even those far and beyond since we have courier partners such as Wells Fargo and G4S who make our logistics work easier.
Additionally, it is free of charge,” says the father of two, who is inspired by British billionaire, Richard Branson.
But Karanja bemoans low sales with the coronavirus outbreak. And because most of his products are sourced from China and Hong Kong, he has been force to source phones locally and thus reducing his profit margins.
“It is what it is because there is not so much we can do about it, but hopefully the issue is sorted out.
A lot of manufacturers have plants in China, especially top brands such as Iphone and Samsung,” says Karanja. For the future, the man from Ndenderu plans to work on partnerships for Mobile Insurance packages, which will see him provide after sales service to clients and making extra buck from that line. But now, his immediate plan is to expand shop for more sales and related business.
