Raila Junior (JR) is the son of former prime minister and veteran Kenyan politician, Raila Amollo Odinga.

Apart from being the son of one of the respected political leaders in the country, Raila Odinga Junior is also a respected businessman with investments across the country.

While he currently enjoys a respectable amount of wealth, what many don’t know is that he earned a measly Sh10,000 as a salary on his first job as an accountant.

In this article, we will outline how Raila Odinga Junior rose from earning a 10k Monthly salary to owning a multi-million business in Kenya.

Raila Junior’s career journey

Speaking during a past interview, Raila Junior who chose not to follow in the footsteps of his father, said that he’d to meet his bills, despite coming from a rich family. As such, he landed his first job as an accountant. This job only paid him KSh 10,000.

According to the son of former Prime Minister Raila Odinga, this was a lot of money back in the day.

“My first job was working as an accountant for an aviation company. The job entailed bookkeeping, handling petty cash and just ensuring that things were running smoothly. For that, I was paid Sh10,000. That to me was a lot of cash back in the day,” says Raila Junior.

Beyond beating all odds as a financial expert, Raila Junior, an entrepreneur, runs a successful media company in Nairobi called Creative Hub. Beyond being the company’s executive producer, he brings in his academic training and financial experience as the Chief Financial Officer.

Junior disclosed that he decided to start a media company as a business that would inject fresh economic endeavors into the family that is majorly known for opposition politics in Kenya.

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“Prior to the 2012 election campaigns, there was equipment that was purchased and was later left to lie idle after the campaign period ended. We decided to make a business venture out of the facilities available,” Raila Junior revealed about how he launched his firm.

At his firm, he has employed a small team of producers who work on a project-by-project basis as they outsource equipment and crew after landing a production deal. This helps the firm to manage its cash flow at times when projects are scarce.

He also incorporates foreign directors who teach his crew how to undertake production duties with international standards.

Junior, also opened up on the struggles he goes through in business due to his Odinga surname.

“I am a businessman who manages his own business. I run a media production house and we mainly deal with the production of TV commercials. I cannot say business is easy because when people give me business they have expectations.”

Junior adds, “Going by my surname the expectations placed on me are much higher compared to expectations placed on other people doing the same job.”
He noted that clients do not give him a job because he is the son of a well-known politician, but because of his high professionalism and work ethic.

On whether he feels the pressure of being the son of a prominent politician, Junior says he is past that ‘stage’.

“When I was 18-25 years old there was pressure because I had not fully understood my self as a man, but now I do. I now know who I am. I know what I can do and what I cannot do. I don’t feel pressure anymore.”