When Caroline Mwangi first left for Germany in the 1990s, it was on an au Pair programme, a cultural exchange opportunity where young Kenyans would travel to live with a host family. In exchange for accommodation and a small stipend, the au pair would help care for the family’s children.
“That year, things were very difficult in Germany, and I couldn’t join the university as I had hoped, so I travelled back to Kenya. It was uncommon for people to come back that soon,” says the 49-year-old career consultant. “I knew God had a reason why it didn’t work, and I prayed that other doors would open.”
She had done a secretarial course in Kenya, and naturally, one would expect her to fall back into it as a means to survive.
She found a footing in the hospitality industry, starting at the very bottom of the ladder because she lacked formal training in the industry. Interestingly or perhaps coincidentally, she worked at a German establishment.
“I worked at the Hotel Boulevard for two years. Learning and working happened simultaneously, as it does for many unskilled workers,” she says.
“I worked for a German-Austrian baker who made German bread in Kenya,” she says.
While at it, she was learning German on the side to elevate her proficiency, and she even started teaching it. She would then start a sandwich-selling business, among others, before luck struck again.
“Things had gotten better in Germany. My host family encouraged me to seek another opportunity. After six years of living in Kenya after my first German experience, I went back. It was a difficult decision to arrive at since I had already set up businesses in Kenya and had friendships to keep,” she says.
When she reached Germany, she did a gap year in Munich before going to Augsburg, where she studied International Management. After graduating, she did the mandatory six-month attachment.
“I interned at Bosch [a giant German tech and engineering company] and later got a job at a smaller company in Nuremberg, where I stay. I worked there for seven years before leaving to work in the government under the Ministry of Works in the finance department.”
Caroline is a sworn networker of note. If you asked her to describe what she does, she will disarmingly smile at you and say, “I am a community builder.”
Having run businesses in Kenya, she thought of trying her hand at entrepreneurship in Germany.
“Earlier on in my stay here, I realised that there weren’t many Kenyans in academia, so I started networking to establish the true status. This came in the form of a Facebook group. It gained good traction and developed into a page. We began receiving enquiries. Can you help my sister or my brother? How can I study in Germany? How do I begin the process? The usual question. It became apparent that there was a need for such services. There was also the need to do things the right way, hence the translation from an online platform to a registered business. Additionally, we were keen on getting projects from Germany, and this called for a little more officialdom,” she says.
AG-Career Hub was built as a consulting and information platform that connects Kenyans with global opportunities. The company was founded in 2018 by Caroline and Boniface Mwangi.
“One of our key areas of focus is in academia: for the students who would like to study here. They are done with their high school and would like to come into the undergraduate tier, or they have finished their undergraduate and would like to come and do their Master's here. Another key area is bringing nursing students to do nursing apprenticeships in Germany. So far, we have brought in 25 students, and in September this year, we will be bringing more. The numbers are growing since there is demand and a labour shortage in Germany," she says.
Starting a company as a foreigner
How was it starting a business in Germany as a foreigner? “The German workforce is made up mostly of people who are employed. From what I see, there is security in employment, and the systems actually work to support this category of people. To go against the grain, therefore, meant summoning all the courage I needed,” she says.
They are exploring ways to they can expand their linkages by including sectors like IT in their portfolio.
“Say somebody doesn’t want to relocate to Germany, but there is a German company that can hire them to work remotely, this is an area we are keen to venture into,” she says.
Does she miss Kenya? “I have created a home here together with my husband and children. But, yes, I miss Kenya, I miss my family and friends. I miss the food, especially mahindi choma (roast maize).”
