Season 2 finale of the BLAZE BYOB (Be Your Own Boss) TV show saw Brian Rono emerge as the winner standing after 10 weeks of intense competition. He overcame stiff competition from runners-up Monica Nyawira Kang’uru and Daisy Wanzala Sumba.
Rono, is a 25-year old potato farmer and actuary from Lembus, Baringo County. Monica is a beef farmer from Nyahururu and Daisy is the founder of DW Communications, a Public Relations and Marketing consultancy. The two took home Ksh. 1 million and Ksh. 700,000 respectively.
BYOB, is organized by BLAZE, and it pits young entrepreneurs from all over Kenya against each other in a battle to win a grand prize package of Ksh. 5 million. The 5 million constitutes 3 million in start-up capital and the remainder in the form of mentorship, financial advice and business support from Safaricom and various partners.
Safaricom launched its youth network BLAZE in 2016 with the aim of providing relevant products and services to Kenyans under the age of 26 years. BLAZE is centered on: Freedom, Empowerment and Success. Three themes which Kenyan youth identified as being of utmost importance to them. BLAZE engages the youth through mentorship summits, spark talks, training boot camps and the popular B.Y.O.B. TV show.