Jimi Kariuki and Sandy Vohra. [polite]

Imagine two men, a Kikuyu and an Indian, having a drink in the center of Nairobi. It was in the early 1970s, and the social atmosphere of this city may not be as noisy as it is today. Or at least long before Covid stopped Nairobi's nightlife.

But what would these two men with diametrically opposed social and cultural backgrounds talk about while drinking? Business. Not just any business.

"Why don't we directly do hotel business?"

This is not fiction, nor are they dreaming. Read more about how two friends overcome prejudice to establish an IT company passenger died on a bus bound for Mombasa. Learning from other countries failed to learn about genetic modification. Africa warned how two friends overcome prejudice to establish an IT company passenger died on a bus bound for Mombasa To learn from other countries’ failures in genetic modification, Africa warns

 How two friends overcome prejudice to establish an IT company

 Passenger died on the bus bound for Mombasa

 Africa warns to learn from other countries’ failures in genetic modification

 How two friends overcome prejudice to establish an IT company

 Passenger died on the bus bound for Mombasa

 Africa warns to learn from other countries’ failures in genetic modification

John Kariuki and Gurcharan Singh Vohra (better known as Channi) met by default while Kenya was still making some good progress towards becoming an economic power in the region. This is a hopeful country, and the two want to share this economic journey.

However, if fuel salesmen and barristers have no experience in the hotel industry, how will they realize their ambitions of starting and operating a hotel business?

Learn during the flight and adjust the sail according to the wind. In any case, Channi witnessed the knack of working with people from the mountains in his law firm Vohra and Gitau Advocates.

On the other hand, Kariuki works as a sales manager at Esso Petroleum in Nakuru, overseeing most of the Rift Valley and parts of Nyanza. He used to supply gas cylinders to Channi's sister and her husband Harwant Singh Mahendru, who were engaged in natural gas distribution in the area. Sardar and Chani Singh. [polite]

Sardar and Channi Singh. [polite]

With a business acumen, Kariuki's vision is to open a retail business in Nairobi. Channi's sister suggested that he talk to her father in Nairobi. He might know that some shops on River Road were empty when some Asians left the country for the UK.

"It was the old Vohra Sardar Singh who introduced my father to his son Channi, and the two started talking about hotel business while drinking," said Jimi Kariuki, John Kariuki's son.

The Hotel Ambassador in Nairobi is about to be sold. Kariuki will need at least 600,000 shillings. If their idea of ​​owning a hotel is to be realized, this was a huge sum of money at the time.

"After our family moved from Nakuru to Nakuru, my father bought a house in Thika, across from the Blue Post Hotel. My mother was also a teacher. He sold it in the garden in Nairobi. The manor bought another one, and later he and Channi sold the hotel together. It is a mixture of personal savings, small investments and bank loans," Jimmy said.

The two of them came from humble backgrounds, but began to climb insurmountable difficulties.

Vohra's father grew up in the shadow of the Himalayas, then took a dhow to East Africa and opened a bicycle shop in the center of Nairobi.

The elder Kariuki grew up on the slopes of Mount Kenya, where his father barely made a living, eating, dressing and educating the children.

"My grandfather can't afford to have all the children at home at the same time. So he expects my father to stay at the boarding school for a longer period of time so that he can "sort things out". Neither of them was born privileged," Jimmy said.

They acquired the Hotel Ambassador in April 1974, which put them on the path of creating one of Kenya's leading hotel brands-Sarova-today by the descendants of the two. The Ambassador (left) and the panoramic view of the Eureka high-rise hotel along Moi Avenue in Nairobi. [Elvis Ogina, Standard]

The Ambassador (left) and the panoramic view of the Eureka high-rise hotel along Moi Avenue in Nairobi. [Elvis Ogina, Standard]

The name Sarova reflects the affection of the two families, an umbilical cord, to ensure that the two will never be separated. Channi's wife, Swarna Vohra, has "SA";'RO' represents Rose, the matriarch of the Kariuki family; and'VA' represents Swarna's maiden name Varsha Vohra.

From these humble beginnings, the Sarova family continued to grow, first acquiring Sarova Whitesands in Mombasa and Sarova Stanley, the oldest in Kenya, the latter founded by Mayence Bent in 1902. In terms of local hotels, Stanley has some "firsts".

The first Tusker beer was in The Stanley (named after the European explorer Henry Morton Stanley). The Nairobi Stock Exchange opened on the first floor of the hotel.

Other hotels followed close behind, including Sarova Panafric, which, as the name suggests, was located at the center of the Pan-African movement in the 1960s and hosted famous patriots and African independence heroes such as Mzee Jomo Kenyatta, Julius Nyerere, Kwame Nkuruma and Milton Obote.

Since then, the group has operated hotels and hostels in Masai Mara, Mombasa, Nakuru, Taita Mountain and Sabah National Reserve.

Pravir Singh Vohra, one of the company's directors and Channi's grandson, said that the group has weathered many storms over the years, including the recent deaths of several members of the Vohra family in a tragic road accident.

However, Pravir said, the team defeated them with the same spirit as the founder put forward. During the Covid-19 pandemic, the board of directors approved more than 1 billion shillings needed to refurbish Sarova Panafric.

"The past year has been difficult for everyone in the hotel industry. Thanks to the new strategy and unremitting efforts of the management led by our Managing Director Jimmy, the group has survived the difficult times. However, we should not The low number of Covid-19 is taken for granted," Pravir said.

Kariuki is 84 years old and is the chairman of the Sarova Group. His son proudly reviewed the 50-year legacy of the two "brothers" and carefully strengthened the link between the chain.

"I am proud of the sacrifices made by the two of them when they bought the property for investment. They have never lived a luxurious life. They even shared offices. We play an important role in preserving this legacy.

For example, I ensure that our employees are in a safe space, especially during Covid-19. If you have happy employees, you will also have happy customers. Sarova is about the people who work here. Even at the peak of Covid, we never fired employees, even though some people stayed at home and received allowances," Jimmy said. Related video Sarova Hotel provides 30 days of food for the frontline medical staff of KNH and Mbagathi. Health Digest. Century of Excellence : The history of Standard Group, KRC, Sarova Stanely Hotel John Kariuki Gurcharan Singh Vohra Channi Sarova shared this story State-owned company provides loans to small and medium enterprises Sh25b KDC announced a plan to provide up to 25 billion shillings to small businesses in the next three years Loans. Last week, the depositors of Imperial Bank faced severe prospects in CBK's Sh50b chase, putting the bank in liquidation, but the process was long and rarely received full refunds.

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