Mary Okello’s Wealth: Dr. Mary Okello has earned nearly Sh. 1 billion from the recent sale of a 71 per cent stake in her school Makini. The Makini Schools founder sold the high-end group of eight schools to two foreign investors.
She surrendered the management of the institution that host over 3,200 students in April this year to UK-based investor Scholé Limited and South Africa’s Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE)-listed Advtech.
Earnings from the school that was started some 40 years ago are estimated to stand at around Sh. 800 million per year with the students paying annual fees of around 250,000.
Makini School fees to rise after buyout deal
“A 71 per cent interest in Makini School Limited (via Schole Mauritius Limited) was acquired on 1 May 2018 for a consideration of R130.8 million (about Sh. 930 million),” disclosed Advtech in a trading update last week.
Advtech, a private education operator in Africa, said the Makini acquisition had boosted its total revenue for the six months ended June by 13 per cent to R2.3 billion (about Sh. 16.3 billion).
Mrs Okello was the first female bank manager at Barclays Bank East Africa, founder of the Barclays Bank Women’s Association, and Senior Advisor to the President of the African Development Bank. She holds two honorary doctorates – one from United Graduate College and Seminary in the USA for her contribution to humanity, and the other from Africa Nazarene University, Nairobi, for distinguished service to the community.
“We have always strived to improve the standards at Makini and now we wish to firmly establish schools as centres of excellence. In this regard, we have decided the time is right to introduce experienced international educationists and I am writing to share with you this new development about Makini Schools,” Mrs Okello said in April when news of the transaction first broke.
“With the support of the Advtech Group they (Scholé Limited) have undertaken to give new impetus to the Makini Schools by ensuring that children benefit from an enhanced quality of education and facilities. Makini will be continuing with the Kenyan curriculum.”
Makini, which was started in 1978 with eight pupils, has performed consistently well in national examinations over the years.
The new owners have announced plans to expand Makini beyond its eight schools in Nairobi and Kisumu, underlining foreign investor interest in Kenya’s high-end education.
“The acquisition of the Makini Schools group in Kenya, and securing of a management contract in Uganda, added nine schools, five campuses, boarding facilities and approximately 4,100 students to the division’s enrolments,” Advtech said in the statement.
The South African private education firm plans to further open a school under its Crawford Schools brand from September in Kiambu’s Tatu City, continuing its aggressive expansion drive in Kenya.
The Sandton-based firm says the institution will have a capacity of 1,700 students taking the Cambridge Curriculum.
“…The imminent opening of the Crawford International School in Nairobi has resulted in significant progress being made in our strategy of expanding our operations on the rest of the continent,” it said last Monday.
Schole runs schools in Africa and already owns Crested Crane Academy and Pestalozzi Education Centre in Lusaka, Zambia and Kisubi High School in Kampala, Uganda.
Crawford will admit learners from kindergarten to A-levels as well as offer boarding facilities for senior students.
“Our curriculum is based on a progressive educational approach, which prepares children for the 21st century and allows for development of the global competencies required of students,” Jenny Coetzee, managing director of Crawford International Schools Kenya, said in an earlier statement.