6 things you didn’t know about Laura Akunga-Murithi

Meet 28 year old Laura Akunga-Muriithi, a polished business owner who has been at the center of online conversation after she posted a Ksh10 million car she gifted her husband on his birthday.

Appreciating him for being her best friend, she presented him with a ribbon-topped white Toyota Landcruiser VX V8 in front of family and friends. The moment, which was captured on amateur video, was posted online.

The ripple effect of the post landed Laura and her husband on news bulletins, radio shows and blogs. As discussions about her extravagant gift continued, more and more people were keen to find out who the generous woman was and what she did for a living. Here are some interesting facts about her:

1. Laura has been married to her husband Mark Mwenje Murithi, an advocate of the High Court who just turned 30, for one year.
2. Laura is the Founder and CEO of an 8-year-old company Benchmark Solutions. According to the company website, the firm has operations in 13 countries including Rwanda, United Arab Emirates and China.
3. In 2014, she was feted alongside Lupita Nyongo and Ory Okolloh as one of Kenya’s top 40 women under 40 by Business Daily Africa. Her bio for the 2014 Timeless Woman Conference also listed her as the 2010 Young African Woman Entrepreneur of the year.
4. Laura has tried her hand at Shamba In an interview with the Miss Independent blog, she tells how she helped her parents to upscale their home shamba to a lucrative venture by helping them increase their output. Laura says that she even sold manure to plush suburban homes in Runda.
5. At 19, Laura lost her dad to a form of cancer known as Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma. Having been named after her paternal grandmother, she had a particularly close relationship with him and his passing was a particularly difficult period for her.
6. She went to Limuru Girls Secondary School and later United States International University (USIU) where she studied International Business Administration in Finance.