Two young Kenyan entrepreneurs have made the cut in Forbes Africa “30 under 30” 2017 list of successful young entrepreneurs.

Forbes describes the 30 entrepreneurs who made it in this year’s list as Africa’s “brightest, hungriest and most successful”.

Eugene Mbugua, 26 (Kenya), Founder, Young Rich Television Limited and My Yearbook Kenya Limited
Young Rich Television Limited has produced several popular television shows, among them; Young Rich; Get InThe Kitchen; Stori Yangu and Our Perfect Wedding. These reality shows have aired on multiple stations across the continent, including K24, Maisha Magic East, Kwese, Trigger, Iflix and ShowMax.

“I have been poor and have had to depend on people for basic needs which is humiliating and something I would not want to go through again. Other than this, I’m very inspired by the power that stories have to change a people’s mindset. Every time someone writes to us saying that one of our TV shows has inspired them to be more positive, or change something about their lives, it validates to me and my company that the work we do is useful.”

He is also the founder of My Yearbook Kenya Limited, a company that produces yearbooks for schools, companies and governmental organizations.

In East Africa, he employs 32 people, was listed by Kenya’s Business Daily among its Top 40 under 40 Kenyans in 2014 and his revenue for the last two years has been just shy of $1 million.

Zameer Verjee, 30 (Kenya), Founder, Studio AZ

Verjee founded Studio AZ, an interior and exterior design firm based in Nairobi, in 2012 with the £400 he saved at the university.

“I walked around the streets looking for clients. It was very hard at the time as the human psychology would question if I was credible or not,”

Almost five years later, Verjee claims the company turned over just shy of $500,000 last year, has 11 full-time staff and employed 75 subcontractors.

last year, Verjee was named as one of Kenya’s top 40 under 40 in 2016 by Business Daily Africa, won the international property awards for best residential design firm Africa and came highly recommended for office space.