Like many other graduands, Mr. Wilfred Mwangi did not know what the future held when he left Strathmore College in 1996, armed with a Certificate of Professional Accounting (CPA).

Luckily for him, he soon found a job as an administrator introducing an illustrious career that saw him work for 6 years as a Financial Expert at Citibank in New York.

Having had enough experience in New York, Mr. Mwangi came back to Kenya to start his own company, Afripoint Capital East Africa.

To say that Mr. Mwangi has not achieved success would be a mockery.

Looking back, Mr. Mwangi says that turning down an offer to study an arts degree at Kenyatta University for an accounting certificate at Strathmore set him on the path to success.

Though not an easy road, coming from Kibera slums, Mr. Mwangi survived on one meal a day. He remembers spending most of his lunch-time hours in the library reading as he did not have money to buy food.

“Strathmore University was a great place to learn. It instilled in me a sense of purpose, that no matter how good I was, I still had to put more effort. Skipping meals did not deter me from excelling, “said Mr. Mwangi.

Mr. Mwangi experienced other challenges, aside from skipping meals; often he was interrupted by the loud noise from local pubs that made it nearly impossible for him to read at home.

Despite these setbacks Mr. Mwangi remained firm to achieve his goal of becoming an accountant.

He made good use of the well-stocked library and facilities Strathmore University had, as well as meeting with his lecturers who were approachable and committed to helping students excel in their studies.

Mr. Mwangi’s story mirrors the grass to grace tales of other people who have achieved success. The proud father of two believes that anyone can achieve success as long as they have hope in the midst of adversity. To achieve this, he has written a book The Slum Dreamer to inspire others.