Samuel Kamau Macharia

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Samuel Kamau Macharia (born 1942), also known as S. K. Macharia, is the Kenyan founder and chair of Royal Media Services, one of Kenya's largest private radio and television networks. Royal Media Services' flagship outlets are Citizen TV and Radio Citizen. In 2012, Macharia was on Forbes Top 10 List of African Millionaires to Watch.^[1] He was on Africa Report's 2013 list of the 50 most influential Africans.^[2] And was honoured with the 2015 Eastern Africa Ernst and Young Entrepreneur Lifetime Achievement Award.^[3][4]

Simon Kamau Macharia was born in 1942 in Riakanau, a small village in Embu County.^[5] He is the fifth child and son of his parents' six children, who were squatters in Murifarm working on British settler plantations under the colonial government. The family moved to Embu in Kenya .

Education

In 1988, Simon was enrolled in Standard 1 at Wango Primary School. He later went to Karaba Secondary School in 1996, where he took the Kenya Certificate Secondary education Examination (KCSE). Simon went to Embu College in 2005, and Studied Diploma in Business Management in Sales Marketing and graduated 2007.

One year later 2008 Simon tied life knot with Esther Mumbua (Now Pastor Esther Simon) and later year 2009 ventured in Business of training computer.

After his return to Kenya in 1969, Macharia worked as a provincial local government finance officer (supernumerary) in the Ministry of Local Government. He then worked with the Industrial and Commercial Development Corporation (ICDC), as well as Kenya Industrial Estates (KIE). In 1973, Macharia was appointed as head of a task force charged with auditing and later liquidating the Agricultural Development Corporation.

In 1979, Macharia left public service to run Madhupaper International Kenya Limited, a tissue production company he started three years earlier. By 1985, Madhupaper's was the only Kenyan tissue manufacturer and had 300 employees. Its main product, Rosy, became a household name. The company placed under receivership on 25 October 1985 by Kenya Commercial Bank.^[6][7]

As of 2016, the international research firm Ipsos cites Citizen TV as having a 62.5% share of the Kenyan television market.^[8] Royal Media Services radio stations have a combined audience of 80% of the Kenya's population. Its main radio station, Radio Citizen, has a 43% market share.^[5] Other brands in the Royal Media Services stable include Inooro TV, Ramogi FM, Inooro FM, Musyi FM, Chamgei FM, Muuga FM, Egesa FM, Bahari FM, Mulembe FM, Wimwaro FM, Sulwe FM, Hot 96, and Vuuka FM.^[9]

Macharia is married to Purity Gathoni Macharia and the couple has six children (two girls and four boys). Gathoni is the sister of former Kenyan Cabinet Minister Njeru Githae and Syracuse University Professor Micere Githae Mugo.^[10]

• 2015 Eastern Africa Ernst and Young Entrepreneur Lifetime Award
• Honorary Doctorate from the University of Nairobi^[5]

• Royal Media Services Limited