FROM WRITING ABOUT CARS TO FIXING THEM.
Meet Willy Abuga – An Entrepreneur in the Mazda Cars Business
“I joined Dedan Kimathi University of Technology (DeKUT) when it was a small college; everyone knew everyone - at least that’s how it felt for me. The experience was fun & enlightening, a good environment and friendly staff. DeKUT laid the foundation to where I am currently at. That’s not to say that I learnt about fixing cars while at the University but that journey, unknowingly, began there because despite not transitioning to what one would call a conventional career, the course I took has greatly helped me in what I am doing right now in terms of programming & general tech in vehicles. Further, the University prepared me for the world in that it was where I first had independence from my parent and through interactions with other mates, we explored and started making ends meet. This gave me significant perspective, exposure and a mix of independence and interdependence that I count on today; in my life and business” - Willy Abuga.
What makes you tick?
For Abuga, it has always been his love for cars. Since he was a kid, he had this great love for cars and guess what? He has finally turned this to a business.
When Abuga graduated here at Dedan Kimathi University of Technology in 2014 with a Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, he spent six months searching for a job and when that did not work out so well, he continued with his online writing hustle; something he started doing while pursuing his degree to earn his living and also assist his parent in paying for his school fees. It was in the process of bidding for online writing jobs that he came across a client from the Netherlands who specifically needed research content on automotive. Given his love for cars, this was music to his ears. Writing content relating to cars became like an area of specialization in the writing field and he loved it. The writing fueled desire for practical experience and during his free time, Abuga started visiting a mechanic in Kasarani where he would engage in some minor mechanic work as a spanner boy to get practical experience to the content he was working on; at any given time. In his words, “fixing & finding solutions to cars slowly grew on me to a point where I now fix cars for a living.”
What does it take for one to run a car business or any business? Many times, most people get stuck looking for capital, personnel, space, clients and all that but Abuga did not let that be him. He started his business, M + H Auto, under a shade that could only accommodate three cars; “I started the workshop in 2018 by putting a few funds together, set up a shade that could accommodate 3 cars and bought just the basic tools I needed” he says. M+H has since grown both in terms of clientele and staff to now having a full time staff of 10 employees. The workshop deals with mazda cars and has been making tremendous strides such that Abuga has been approached by major dealers in the industry like CMC (who is the official approved Mazda dealer in East Africa) to help them in troubleshooting cars whenever there is an issue. In case you’re wondering how the course Abuga studied serves him at M+H, he says that his course and exposure at DeKUT has greatly helped as he is able to apply the knowledge gained to program vehicles in areas like ECU tuning, key programming etcetera.
As Abuga continues running M+H, located at TRM Drive in Roysambu (Nairobi), he hopes to open branches across the country in the near future and be the leading solution provider for Mazda cars in Kenya.