Long journey from job seeker to MD of top real estate firm

Markem Management Limited MD Johnson Mukuha at his Westlands office on November 3, 2015. PHOTO | DIANA NGILA 

By ANNIE NJANJA, ANjanja@ke.nationmedia.com

Soon after graduating from Jomo Kenyatta University (Jkuat) in 1998 with a degree in architecture, Johnson Mukuha’s quest for a job hit a dead end.

Following a number of failed attempts to secure a employment, he bought Markem Management Limited from his uncle with the hope of making his debut in the construction industry.

“Instead of going through the process of registering a new business, I bought the company from my uncle, it had a good classification in construction,” said Mukuha, who is now the Managing Director of the company.

His bid at entrepreneurship did not work out as planned because the property market was not as well established as it is today.

Not one to give up easily, Mukuha decided to try his luck in Botswana and when he failed he went further south.

Johannesburg marked the beginning of his flourishing career in the construction industry. For three years, Mukuha worked with developers and project managers, slowly learning the ropes of the industry.

“I learnt the management aspect of the industry in South Africa and it has been a great influence in my work to date,” he said. “I was passionate about construction and I thought it was time I registered a company,” he said.

 “The restrictions I faced were mostly because I was a foreigner. The construction body even asked me to put together capital of Sh20 million before being registered.”

Frustrated, he decided to head back home and started building homes for people under Markem Ltd. “I came in as an underdog, there were bigger players such as Villa Care. The competition was stiff and I did not do very well,” said the 42-year-old.

But still challenges confronted him in the form of rogue consultants. “I got frustrated when I saw the level of mismanagement of projects by consultants, and that is when I made the decision to lead from the front.”  

On his journey to claiming his position as one of the most sought after project managers, Mukuha had to learn necessary skills. He enrolled for a Masters course in Finance and Project Management. This was the turning point for Markem Ltd.

The company is now a one-stop shop in the construction industry. It offers advice to investors and manages real estate projects.

“By working with registered engineers, architects, interior designers, Nema and quantity surveyors, we save investors the agony of visiting all of them,” he said.

Work within budget

“We are here to advice investors on the best way and how to finance projects if they are not self-financed.”

Given the volatility of the shilling, Markem strives to work within budgeted costs. The company also conducts feasibility studies on behalf of clients by looking at the location of the land and advising them on the kind of development to put up.

He said that competition is currently not stiff but this may not be the case in future as universities have introduce construction management courses. Markem employs 16 project managers, six are based at the company’s second office in Juba, South Sudan.

Employees at the Juba office mainly oversee projects on behalf of Southern Sudan’s Ministry of Health. The company is managing a $300 million (Sh30.6 billion) project in the country.

In Kenya, Markem manages the Sh1.2 billion The Edge project. The company makes money by charging a three per cent commission on the total cost of a project. Mukuha said that they can hand-in up to five projects in a year.

The most memorable projects in his career are setting up the Southern Greens complex in Kileleshwa, and Farasi Court in Westlands, Nairobi.

“I am particularly happy with Farasi Court because the owner had a piece of land but did not know what to do with it. We came up with designs, arranged for financing, took care of construction and sold it out on behalf of the client. It was a success,” he said.