Business training powered start-up taxi company

Paul Letiwa | NATION
Mr Titus Mumo (left), 28, speaks with one of his drivers. He started Africabs Tours Ltd in 2010, which has 25 taxis and 48 drivers.

What you need to know:

  • A six-month mentorship plan to hone his entrepreneurial skills helped fire up Titus Mumo’s budding taxi business into the great success that it currently is

Inspired by the money many young investors were making at the airport in the taxi business, Titus Mumo, 28, started his own company two years ago.

The start-up was meant to be his soft landing after leaving his job at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport.

He started with one vehicle, which he bought using his savings. The young entrepreneur embarked on an aggressive plan to grow his company into a strong business that would employ more people and generate profits.

“I started with my own car,” says Mr Mumo, the managing director of Africabs Tours Ltd, “but I later leased cars from business associates until I reached the threshold that would enable me to get a bank loan to expand my business.”

Mr Mumo met Mr Wambugu Thuo — a man who would, with time, turn around his operations.

The latter had just enrolled for micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSME) business mentorship training at the Regional Centre for Enterprise Development (RCED), a division of Inoorero University that focuses on nurturing entrepreneurship through training.

As a requirement for the course, Mr Thuo needed to find an entrepreneur to train in business skills. He chose Mr Mumo and his company.

Africabs Tours Limited offers corporate and individual taxi services as well as air ticketing services.

“At first, I was hesitant since I was busy with my business and I thought the training would slow me down,” says Mr Mumo. “But after several meetings I decided to enrol and gave the course my undivided attention.”

Mr Mumo credits the success of his business to the skills he learned from the six-month mentoring programme.

In just one-and-a-half years, Mr Mumo now runs a fleet of 25 taxis offering services within Nairobi city. His monthly turnover is to the tune of Sh5 million, and he has employed 48 people directly. He plans to acquire 30 more vehicles this month.

This is no mean feat for the information technology diploma graduate who is now making a mark in the hospitality industry.