The late President Mwai Kibaki sold Union Towers, a 14-story building in Nairobi’s Central Business District (CBD), to Mount Kenya University (MKU) for Ksh800 million in 2014.
MKU is a private university founded and owned by Simon Gicharu.
Gicharu acquired the building to expand its presence in Nairobi’s CBD and strengthen its virtual learning programs.
The university had been leasing several floors of Union Towers prior to the purchase and viewed the location as ideal for attracting working students.
Early Life, Education & Family
Gicharu was born in 1964 in Gathiruini village, Kiambu County, Kenya.
He is the first in a family of seven.
Gicharu attended Kiawairia Primary School, but later he joined Gathiruini Secondary School.
He attended Murang’a High School for his O-levels.
He joined Kenyatta University in 1990, graduating with a Bachelor of Education Science, majoring in Mathematics and Chemistry.
Gicharu is married with three children.
Simon Gicharu Career
He started his career as a lecturer at Thika Technical Training Institute.
In 1995, he earned a British Council scholarship to study Managing Enterprise Development at Cranfield University in the United Kingdom.
He established the Kenya Entrepreneurship Promotion Programme (KEPP), which provided microloans and training to young entrepreneurs.
Gicharu is the founder and Chairman of the Board of Directors of Mount Kenya University in Kenya and Mount Kigali University in Rwanda.
Both institutions are members of the Inter-University Council of East Africa.
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He is also the patron of Mount Kenya University Foundation, and founder of Cape Media Ltd., which owns ‘TV47’ and ‘Radio47’.
Additionally, Prof. Gicharu is the Chairman of the Rural Electrification and Renewable Energy Corporation and the National Private Universities Owners Association of Kenya.
He is the founder of the Equip Africa Institute and patron of the Mount Kenya University Graduate Enterprise Academy.
He is also a board member at Thika Water and Sewerage Company, and the patron of Inter-Universities Rover Moot under the Kenya Scouts Association.
Prof. Gicharu has previously served as the chairman of the Board at Water Services Regulatory Board, Geothermal Development Company, and Rural Electrification and Renewable Energy Corporation.
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Awards
In his educational career, Prof. Gicharu has achieved several milestones.
In 2016, he was awarded an honorary Professorship by the International University of Management, Namibia, for his sterling entrepreneurship in education.
He received a Doctor of Philosophy Degree from Gulu University, Uganda, in 2014.
Gicharu was also inducted into the World Entrepreneurs of the Year Hall of Fame in Monaco, France, that same year.
He was the 2014 Eastern Africa Entrepreneur of the Year.
In 2012, Prof Gicharu received the Chief of the Order of the Burning Spear (CBS).
This is the highest civilian honor that can be bestowed by the President of the Republic of Kenya.
He won the Marketing Society of Kenya’s Superlative Trailblazer Award in 2011.
In 2010, Kenyatta University, his alma mater, granted him the Outstanding Alumni Award during its Silver Jubilee celebrations.
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A man with a Sterling career. Congratulations Don