Success has largely been a family affair for Michael Agwengi Rabar aka Myke Rabar or DJ Myke.
Juggling work and family is difficult but Mr Rabar, founder chief executive of HomeBoyz Deejays and HomeBoyz Entertainment says this close-knit unit has been at the core of his accomplishments.
The Rabar family recently revealed a Sh294.5 million fortune in Homeboyz Entertainment (HBE) as the firm defied Covid-19 headwinds to list on the Nairobi bourse with the introduction of 63.2 million shares.
The accomplished deejay and employer could not hide his joy and pride as he introduced his wife Rose and two daughters during an event last December to mark the firm’s listing.
He said his wife was particularly instrumental in helping him reach this remarkable level of success in running the often “owl-hour” business across East Africa.
“Thanks to my wife Rose Nyaguthii Maina for understanding and taking extremely good care of our children on the many nights I spent deejaying or overseeing HomeBoyz affairs.”
Besides the home front, Mr Rabar disclosed that Rose was actively involved in the day- to- day running of his firm as the finance and administration director as well as his brother, Mr John Juma Obonyo, who serves as an executive director_an unusual mix of in-laws in a thriving enterprise.
Rose is the second largest shareholder with 27.568 million shares valued at Sh128.47 million. Mr Obonyo holds 20,000 shares while retaining his position as a director at the unrelated HomeBoyz Radio.
Deejaying as a career is often a parent’s no-no bet for their children’s careers, but the older Rabar’s rags-to-riches journey that started in 1992 put to rest these misgivings, with the multiple-degree holder steering Homeboyz to play among the elite boys as the firm sets to trade in the open market.
“We have always shone in the dark and solved many challenges for our many clients from small family gatherings to mutli-million shilling corporate events,”said the CEO.
And old habits die hard. During the event at Sarit Centre’s Convention Centre in Nairobi, Mr Rabar proved that he was still a dab hand at the decks, easily drawing guests, among them Sports Secretary Amina Mohamed, to the dance floor.
On his career choice and vision Mr Rabar says: “This is what I know best but the next HomeBoyz needs to professionalise its operations under a board and management team while allowing me to remain as its vision- bearer. The one-man does-all days are long gone and it is up to its management to plan it operations.”
Allowing a new team to take up operations while embedded in a value-based arrangement is best done from a business point of view as opposed to family or marriage ties which he says are best done with the founder of an enterprise as the fulcrum of the business.
“In future, what will hold HomeBoyz together is each individual’s value in the success of the business not Rabar spending sleepless nights away from his wife and children. It is each individual’s efforts that will generate the profits that HBE will thrive on,” he says.
Mr Rabar employs a permanent staff of 200 young workers whom he regards as his work family.
New business lines
The entrepreneur says the choice to ride against the storm fuelled by the Covid-19 pandemic is informed by his business mantra that expansion into new business lines and further into the region requires new financial muscle that is best sourced via the bourse.
“This is patient capital where investors will enjoy profits from our ventures that will now be visible globally. Our listing opens new doors for mergers and acquisitions as well as access to cheaper capital for new projects,” he said.
Mr Rabar and his brother have 245 shares each in Homeboyz Radio while Radio Africa that recently paid an undisclosed amount of money holds 510 shares.
Listing at NSE’s Growth Enterprise Market Segment(Gems) by way of introduction means Mr Rabar’s 35,612,000 ordinary shares worth 165.95 million as well as his wife’s and brother’s shares are available for sale via private treaty for the next one year ahead of a planned 15 percent listing of the shares.
The move gives them leeway to discover the true value of their company whose shares are currently valued at Sh4.66 a share.
HBE boasts a public relations and advertising agency outfit, six audio recording studios, an events management division, a full audio-visual rental and maintenance arm, a music technology company and a roadshow gigs division that enable it to offer a one-stop shop solution for any firm’s promotional campaign.
Mr Rabar’s flagship brings together HBTV, HomeBoyz Rugby Club, the entertainment wing with loud speakers and open air digital display synonymous with State ceremonies while corporate firms with regional subsidiaries also lease their equipment for events in Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda.
“As a founder, it was easy to sleep late or ‘keep night vigil’ on the deck but an outsider or the next generation in line cannot understand efforts made to grow a company. That commitment will be defined by money (investment) put in a business where the management and board is held accountable by shareholders,” he adds.
Selling music cassettes
Mr Rabar says he started his entrepreneurial journey by juggling his university studies with selling music cassettes to matatu operators by day and taking up deejaying jobs at night.
To grow business, he says one needs to re-invest cash into the enterprise every time there is a windfall, adding: “Never shy away from trying a new venture.”
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Myke Rabar holds a B.Sc. degree from University of Nairobi and a Diploma in Audio Engineering from the London School of Audio Engineering Economics Degree from the University of Western Ontario.
He has a Masters Degree from the University of Cape Town. He attended Lagos Business School
The government awarded him national honours (HSC) for his service to the nation in promoting youth in sport and the entertainment entrepreneurship industry.