Joseph Kairu Wambui, alias Khalif Kairo is a young entrepreneur and founder of Kai and Karo Limited, a car imports business.
His brand deals with brand-new luxurious rides, used cars, used spare parts and vehicle accessories.
A first glance at the young man who previously founded Imports by Kairo would make you assume he is from an affluent family. But this is not the case for Kairo.
At 24, his profound understanding and fondness for high-end automobiles catapulted Kairo to what seems to be his golden egg at a very young age. He is one of the most popular car dealers in Kenya.
Surprisingly, Kairo’s reality is that he was raised in a modest family. He was born to a single mother in November 1996, and bred in Amboseli, Kawangware, Nairobi.
In an interview, Kairo disclosed that he was always passionate about cars and aeroplanes growing up.
“I had two inspirations since the age of three: cars and aeroplanes. My mum once took me to Wilson Airport to see Aeroplanes,” he said.
“That experience never left my mind since 2001. On cars, my dad inspired me.”
In his childhood, Kairo often wondered what made these inanimate objects move. His home’s proximity to car garages meant that he’d spend his time mingling with mechanics.
Through these interactions, Kairo gained insights into motor vehicles.
Kairo’s mother worked as a shop attendant at a nearby Kiosk that she owned. Her primary goods were basic stuff sold to households.
“I grew up in my mum’s shop and I’d say that she was the one who introduced me to business because when I started growing up, she’d leave me in the shop and I’d sell stuff,” Khalif Kairo noted.
Through apprenticeship at his mum’s shop, Kairo perfected his entrepreneurial skills from a tender age up until date.
After completing secondary studies in 2014 at Kahoho Uhuru High School with a C plain, Kairo began tarmacking in search of a job. He worked at his high school beneficiary’s bakery as an errand boy.
With his meagre earnings, Kairo saved money and enrolled for driving school. Weeks later, he passed his test.
“In 2015, I started ‘tarmacking’ with an Identification card and a driving licence. My passion for cars would grow each day as i would see neighbors coming home with classy whips they were selling,” he remembered.
After 5 tries at different car dealer showrooms, Kairo landed a job successfully.
“I went to 5 showrooms in Kilimani and Ngong Road asking for a job. At that point, I’d pray and ask God to give me a footing in the industry.”
Kairo’s job was on probation for the first month, where he had to prove himself to the owners. After one month, at 18, Kairo was hired permanently after he sold a Nissan Primera 2005 model.
Soon, he scratched a car and despite his employers’ disappointment, he was not fired.
“The first month, I actually scratched a car but they’d still let me drive anyway. They started risking, the first time they were against me driving around but the next moment they would send me to run some errands,” Kairo said.
He also revealed that earning a salary while young and not properly managed has its own toll on the victim’s life.
“Some of the sins I’m paying for today it’s because of things that I did when I was 18. Some of these mistakes have long-term consequences, I wasn’t really grounded well but everyone makes mistakes,” he said.
Two years later, Kairo resigned from his automobile sales job to become a freelancer.
“I wanted to grow more and felt like it was the best time for me to leave and go freelance; where you agree with the car owner on the selling price and earn through profit you make,” he stated.
But this sea he’d ventured into was full of sharks who’d fail to pay him after he’d honoured his end of the bargain.
At the age of 21, Kairo became a father to a son who was born approximately two months after he had resigned from his freelance job to pursue building his own brand.
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“I remember calling my mum, telling her my son had been born and I started laughing. She got mad but later came to the hospital, she saw my son and she was concerned because I’m still not mature and I wasn’t sure about my baby mama,” he said.
Kairo decided to quit the freelance job. This means that he had little to no revenue stream fuelling his pockets anymore. What followed was a disastrous year since he cared for a newborn and a lactating mother.
“There’s a kid who expects you to be the dad but there’s no money. There’s a girl who expects you to man up and take care of her,” Khalif recounts.
In 2018, Kairo began anew by partnering with a car dealer who offered him a commission-based salary.
Through this partnership, Kairo gained valuable knowledge on how to import vehicles from abroad and distinguish legitimate car dealers from fraudulent ones.
“He taught me everything from how to source cars, who to buy from and who not to buy from, but I also brought in the social media aspect,” he noted.
Soon after, Imports by Kairo was established, initially as a Facebook Page where he’d sell cars.
He worked in the dealership for some time but was soon advised to start his own company, owing to his huge social media presence. Kairo didn’t turn a deaf ear.
Albeit the thought of owning a company at 24 was good, he lacked capital. To remedy this, Kairo invited two guys into his business who would pump the money as he pitched his idea.
“Compared to me at that particular time, these two guys were loaded, but I had the brand and the systems. In my perspective we’d make a good team because one of them was in Kenya and the other one in China,” he said.
The gentlemen agreed to launch the company and name it Imports by Kairo, as it was a huge brand success already.
“They suggested this because I had my own name and I was known; we trade under the name. When I did that and agreed that the company be called that name, we became three shareholders. In other terms, I had sold my name,” he said.
This venture did not have a Happy Ever After ending, after all, due to squabbles and accusations among the trio.
Months down the line, Kairo’s voice was demeaned and he was sidelined from making important business decisions. This was mostly because of the age gap between him and the investors.
“It might sound like a big deal but I’ve realized that if you have a gold reputation, you’ll never lack an investor willing to finance your operations,” he said.
“They actually opened a secret company to supply Imports By Kairo. I didn’t know about it,” he added.
With the growing disconnect among shareholders, Kairo eventually signed off on everything he owned in the business.
“People close to me advised me that with the fight, one person was going to kill the other, and I’d understand, because why do you show me such disrespect and this is something that I worked hard for?”
The breakup with the company seemed ugly because Imports by Kairo released a statement denouncing him. They also file a motion to sue him in court. The case is still pending hearing.
“We hereby wish to confirm the departure of Joseph Kairu Wambui – alias Khalif Kairo from Imports by Kairo Limited. Contrary to Claims that the Company is under new management, we wish to clarify that it has never been under his stewardship & there is no structural change in management. The company will issue an official statement soon,” the statement read.
Months after quitting Imports By Kairo, he was given a showroom by one of his friends where he has set up his new company, Kai and Karo.
His audience in his new company has grown to nearly 20k followers on Instagram and over 40,000 Facebook page likes. He has also developed his own website for potential customers at KaiandKaro.