SIMON MUIGAI: Making Travel Fun

Another memorable trip Simon organised was in October 2011 when he took a group of 89 employees from Pan Africa Life for a team building exercise at the Hell’s Gate National Park. “It was a huge success and brought in good money,” he says. He also organises activities like go-karting, bowling, ice-skating, paintballing and retreats, among others. He has since continued investing in the company, regularly researching on new activities and scouting for the best spots to tour around the country.

Nevertheless, Simon has encountered several challenges in the course of pursuing his passion. One of the major challenges he has faced is balancing the financial aspect of the company and his zeal for tours and travel. He stresses the importance of understanding how to make profits from what you love, something he has been learning over time.

“You can have a passion but it’s doesn’t make you any money because you enjoy it so much and don’t mind doing it for free,” he says, adding that evidently this doesn’t work well if that passion is a business that you expect to live on.

In January this year RATED Fun Ventures partnered with Airwaves Tours and Travel, another tours and travel company that also does ticketing. He believes the partnership is the start of a great future, not only for both companies but also for the Kenyan tourism scene.

Simon says that it makes him unhappy that some people spend so much money on partying when they could spare some of it to enjoy our beautiful country. “They could use this money to visit the undulating escarpments of Kerio Valley or the untapped beaches of Lake Turkana or the magnificent scenery of the Oloolua Nature Trail in the heart of Karen. They could also visit Kakamega forest – the only natural tropical rain forest in the country or the unspoilt beaches of Lamu Island. They could be delving into the rich heritage and cultures of our great ancestors by traversing the hills of Suswa and the plains of Kajiado,” he says enthusiastically.

He goes on to say that all in all Kenya is a land of great beauty, scenery, culture and wildlife and we should all endeavour to enjoy it. He hopes to be a major player in helping Kenyans discover and enjoy their country.

RATED Fun Ventures has also come up with various packages for the younger population. These include activities for primary school children aged six to 14 and high school going children aged 15 to 18 over the school holidays in April, August and December. The activities include sports and different forms of art like music, dance, and drama that will help the children nurture their talents in an enjoyable environment.

Away from tours and travel, Simon is a marketing consultant for Gateway Success Consultancy, a management consulting firm and adviser on business strategy based in Nairobi. He mainly consults for small business excellence, a programme for the development of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Kenya, and Africa as a whole, that identifies the wants of entrepreneurs and gives them a platform by which they are able to grow their businesses. Simon also volunteers in the public relations and communications wing of Camp of Hope, an NGO empowering the less fortunate in society.

“I believe there are three things in life that I should seek to do  – something that will bring glory to God; something that I enjoy and have a passion for; and something that I will draw success and wealth from,” he says. He encourages everyone to find their passion and abilities and then get started on what they’re good at.

Published on March 2013