Ahmed Badawy: President Ruto’s master builder on whose shoulders affordable housing dream rests

But as the arguments rage on, construction of affordable homes continues in some parts of the country. In Mombasa, the Buxton Point Apartments are nearing completion, while the building of Starehe Point in Nairobi is well underway. 

Each project has 2,000 housing and commercial units, with prices ranging from Sh2.3 million for one-bedroom apartments to Sh4.7 million for three-bedroom ones.

Behind the two mega projects is 39-year-old investment analyst Ahmed Badawy, the Managing Director, of Buxton Point, who does not seem at all fazed by the enormity of the tasks he has undertaken.

“After my KCSE in 2002 at Memon High School in Mombasa, I drifted towards finance and accounting,” says Badawy. He was good with numbers and loved business education. He joined Oxford Brookes University (UK), where he got is Bachelor’s degree in Applied Accounting and Finance, topping it up with a Master’s degree in Business Administration at Strathmore University.

Badawy believes in allowing people to own what they have been hired to do so that they engage fully. “I am always on the lookout for talent and drive. An open-minded, motivated workforce usually delivers the job. The team is what basically defines the company, diligently executing our commonly driven strategy. When the organisation wins, we all win,” he offers.

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The strategy has borne fruit and he regards among his achievements the fact that those who work under him take the initiative to make important decisions within the space management has created. As they are in the business of building lifestyles that will affect a large demographic, diverse inputs are paramount to achieving their goal.

“Our philosophy revolves around providing a lifestyle and not just an apartment, hence the focus on amenities such as a swimming pool, gym, sports facilities, community centre, Early Childhood Development Centre, outdoor communal recreational facilities and food courts,” he says.

Staff skillset

Badawy says that if his board were to add a miscellaneous one million dollars to his budget, he would use it to uplift the skillset of his staff. He encourages collaborative working between departments and has launched a programme to professionalise all his staff in their respective fields. “We call it role enrichment and it has yielded results. We are also training interns from local universities,” he adds.

Read: President Ruto to launch ‘biggest’ affordable housing project

Amongst other ventures, Badawy has been the managing director of a food franchise, a regional weekly newspaper, and a company that generates electricity for off-grid areas.

His biggest mentor is former Mombasa gubernatorial candidate Suleiman Shahbal, with whom he has been working for the last 12 years. “I have been an apprentice of my chairman (Shahbal), who took me under his wing and introduced me to the world of global finance. Under him, I have learnt invaluable skills which have played a big part in enhancing my career,” he says.

Badawy served as head of finance and operations for the Suleiman Shahbal Campaign Secretariat and Suleiman Shahbal Foundation. “My work involved setting up the financial and operational processes for the 2013 and 2017 Mombasa gubernatorial campaigns, including fundraising activities,” he says.

“I also managed and coordinated the presidential campaigns for the Jubilee Party in Mombasa County.”

His experience in international finance includes specialisation in the audit of banks and financial service companies while working for Ernst & Young in Dubai and as a financial analyst for the International Petroleum Investment Company in Abu Dhabi from 2009 to 2011.

Read: Should you buy a home under state's affordable housing programme?

If he had a chance to change anything in his life, Badawy says it would be getting into marriage earlier. “It would have settled me and made me focus early,” he says.

Despite his seemingly impossible schedule, Badawy works smart to get everything done. He wakes up at 5 am to pray, do yoga and spend time with family before taking his children to school. He is in the office by 8 am.

“I exercise in the evening and I am usually home by 7 pm,” he says. His parting shot? “Family is the only pillar you can rely on, so give them the time and attention they deserve. Keep relationships; they always matter. My policy on money is don’t let money enslave you or define you.”