[Dr. Bitange Ndemo [right] with President Barack Obama. He once sold vegetables after failing to secure a job. Photo/Nation]
Ex- ICT Permanent Secretary Bitange Ndemo has for the first time opened up about his challenges after completing studies in America.
In 1993, the renowned economist recalls, he quit a well paying job as Financial Systems Analyst only to find himself jobless in a country that was struggling from economic downdown.
"I found myself broke, jobless and married. A relative came to my rescue when she told me to join her in exporting horticultural products. I used to drive three-ton canter to Murang'a in search of French beans ," he wrote on Facebook.
At his rural home in Kisii, his fellow village mates started doubting whether or not he ever studied in US.
And life could further worsen when the horticultural industry was facing crisis in Europe with Ndemo hardly affording food in Nairobi.
"Life become so difficult such that even affording rent was difficult. My village mates started doubting if I ever went to school in US," he recalled.
Many years later, Bitange would be appointed by retired President Mwai Kibaki as PS in information ministry, a portfolio he held until 2013.
His contributions to both economic consultancy and use of ICT in the modern business has seen him get acknowledged by Ex-US President Barrack Obama.