2015-03-18Staff Report 2 Meet Moses King Kairimuti a young man who from a humble beginning rose to become one of the most dynamic young entrepreneurs in Namibia through perseverance, hard work and determination. Kairimuti was born in Okakarara and did his primary schooling there before moving to Okondjatu in the Okakarara Constituency and later to Ongwediva respectively for his Junior Secondary education and later to Windhoek where he continued at the Augustineum High School. Burning with a passion to become an entrepreneur like some of the successful businessman he admired, Kairimuti decided to drop out of school and scout for business opportunities at the age of 19 years. Kairimuti has a Diploma in Theology which he obtained from Gospel Outreach Christian Leadership School in 1998 and a Certificate in Radio Broadcasting. His first job was at the Gospel Outreach Church where he served as assistant pastor under Pastor John James. While working there, he also worked on a part time basis as a devotion conductor at the Namibian Broadcasting Corporation (NBC)’s religious desk. He also worked as a presenter at the Katutura Community Radio (KCR), today’s Base FM. It was during that period that Kairimuti made a name for himself on the local entertainment scene. “At the time I started a record label business and I worked with artists such as Jossy Joss, Gazza, The Dogg and Tangina”, Kairimuti reflects. “I had the first ever successful radio show called The show without a name, which I used to present with Joseph Ailonga, well known as Jossy Joss, and it was a very popular show that ignited the airwaves on Sundays. This show promoted local music and ushered a lot of artists onto the music scene, at that time only the late Jackson Kaujeua, Ras Sheehama, the late Willie Mbuende, and Steve Hanana were popular,” recalls Kairimuti. It was during that time that Kairimuti started staging concerts and various events to create a platform for artists to perform and produce his first single under Radical Records with Jossy Joss entitled Efundula, which took the airwaves by storm. Teaming with the talented Ben Kandukira, aka Big Ben, Radical Records produced a number of hits that were dominating playlists at various radio stations. “I was behind the success of Jossy Joss, The Dogg and Gazza,” says Kairimuti with a chuckle. Kairimuti also had a stint at acting, playing a leading role in NBC’s short- lived soapy that was known as Ordinary Day where he portrayed a popular DJ by the Name of Nico. As if artists’ management was not enough, Kairimuti ventured into new territories like event management and organised the first ever successful singing competition at the time under the banner “Pepsi Star Search Competition, which went around all Windhoek’s high schools in search of Namibia’s next singing sensation. Some of the prominent names that were discovered through the competition are the current RnB sensation Berthold, Snazzy and the ever talented and often controversial Martha Namundjebo aka Lady May. He went on to organise the first ever Miss Independence, a beauty pageant that was created to coincide with Namibia’s Independence celebrations which happened to be a huge success. In late 2006, Kairimuti left the entertainment industry being unprofitable at the time, left to to scout for serious business. In 2009, the well-spoken self- styled tycoon, reinvented himself and emerged as acting General Secretary of the Namibian Music Industry Union (NAMIU), making him the youngest person to serve on the National Union of Namibian Workers (NUNW) Central Executive Committee. Under his leadership at the union, the young Kairimuti was instrumental in recruiting close to seventy percent (70%) of Namibian musicians to join NAMIU, and was very vocal in bringing the plight of Namibian musicians in the public fora. Known to many as DJ MO, the name he was christened during his stints at various radio stations. Kairimuti returned to business and managed to reinvent himself and looking at launching MO Group international, a truly Namibian conglomerate that specialises in the wholesale and retail of electronic equipment, security, construction, marketing and consultancy. As a successful businessperson now, Kairimuti says one must be goal oriented and believe in oneself to rise to the top. The businessperson paid tribute to his mother for taking care of him and his nine siblings during hard times. To succeed in life he emphasises on setting targets and perseverance. ”Believe in yourself and always set targets in life because without targets, you end up falling for anything. Perseverance is needed in a person and always associate yourself with people or friends who create a positive environment around you”, he encourages. Kairimuti is currently the Executive Director at Albatrunca Investment Holdings. 2015-03-18Staff Report 2
