If you’ve been researching trusted car dealerships in Kenya, Kai & Karo, founded by Khalif Kairo, must have been mentioned somewhere.
Popular for its transparency, wide selection of vehicles, and customer-focused service, Kai & Karo quickly became a go-to dealership for car buyers across Kenya.
The History of Kai and Karo and Its Founder Khalif Kairo
Like most successful businesses, the Kai and Karo dealership sprang out of unplanned circumstances, forcing its founder, Khalif Kairo, to step up. The story of Khalif Kairo and Kai & Karo reads like a script from a Netflix TV show.
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Khalif Kairo Early Beginnings
It might be hard to believe, but Khalif Kairo’s story starts from a humble beginning. He was born in 1996 at the Pumwani Hospital in Nairobi.
According to an interview with Lynn Ngugi Network, the young, successful businessman grew up in the slums of Kawangware in Nairobi, learning the ropes of business by watching his mother run a small tuckshop on Amboseli Road at the periphery of the Lavington neighborhood and Kawangware slums.
Khalif Kairo Early Life: Education and Introduction Into Business
Khalif Kairo was introduced to business at an early age. In several media interviews, including Hot 96 (with Kev Matara) and the Lynn Ngugi Show, he narrated how most of his childhood memories revolved around his mother’s small shop in the ghetto.
“Much as I came to realize much later that we weren’t rich, in terms of experiences, I think I had a very rich childhood. We used to live in an iron sheet house with two rooms. The front was a shop behind the living area,” he disclosed in an interview with the Lynn Ngugi Network.
He started school at New Day Primary School, Huduma Primary School (Congo Stage), and later at a Christian school—World Hope Academy in the Dagoretti area. He went to Dagoretti High School (one year) and Kahuho Uhuru High School in Kiambu (he was expelled for leading a strike).
His life in the slums of Kawangware was both interesting and terrifying—experiences that would later mold his business acumen and sales grit.
He’s confessed to seeing the good and bad side of the slum, watching Police operations yanking out thugs to scary squabbles within local gangs. In an interview with Spice FM, he told the presenters he witnessed his first murder at 4 years old.
On the other hand, he had a Christian upbringing thanks to his teachers and mother and inspiration from neighbors who owned car businesses but lived in the slums.
“There were guys who used to live in the same hood who used to sell cars. So I’d see this guy come home in a Mark X, the next day, a C-Class. It really gave me the drive to become a car dealer,” he told presenters at an after-hours interview with Spice FM.
Khalif Kairo Entry into Automotive Industry Sales
Khalif Kairo admits that he sold his first car at 17 years old in 2014, and by 201, he’d made his first KES 100,000. Since that day, his car sales career has been a breeze! As of 2024, Khalif Kairo is thriving in the car sales business, and his car dealership is ranked as one of the best in Kenya.
But all this started when he asked his best friend, Johnie, to help him get a job as a salesman at a car dealership. Later, he spent weeks walking from one car dealership to the next, looking for a job. It was not an easy task.
After all the hassle, he stumbled on a job at Ocean Cross Car Dealership close to Valley Arcade. Here, he first experimented with what would end up being his biggest flex in the industry—digital marketing. He posted a couple of cars from the showroom on OLX, currently Jiji, and it was a success!
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Imports By Kairo: Entry Into Car Imports
After two years of success as a car salesperson at Ocean Cross, he moved to Kiambu Road from the Kilimani neighborhood. He started a partnership that eventually grew into Imports By Kairo, a countrywide car success.
Finally, Khalif Kairo was a big name in Kenya’s digital car sales world. It was a partnership between three gentlemen (him included). Ironically, his biggest success came during the global pandemic.
However, as most partnerships run, at the end of 2022, the three partners come to a fallout, marking his exit from Imports by Kairo and entry into Kai and Karo.
Kai & Karo: The Leading Digital Car Sales Platform In Kenya
After the fallout with his partner, Khalif Kairo swiftly moved to start his car dealership, Kai and Karo, off Kiambu Road in Nairobi. So, what makes Khalif Kairo such a brilliant car salesman?
“You need to be seen. If guys are not talking, I am not a happy person. People need to be talking,” Kairo revealed during an interview with Kev Matara and Stephanie of Spice FM.
Kai and Karo’s success is pegged on Khalif Kairo’s brilliance as a salesman and his ability to keep conversations rolling online. His strategy is aligning his often controversial charisma so close to his business that when he is trending online (positively or negatively), on the other end, he is selling cars like hotcakes.
For that, Kai & Karo has the best car digital platform in the country and beyond. He confessed during an interview that at one particular point when he was trending, his website had a maximum of 8,000 sessions, which is quite impressive for a car sales website.
He believes in first getting people’s attention and then leveraging it to his company’s advantage. When there’s a storm, he tries to post cars online as much as possible, which positively affects sales on his platform.
Why Kai & Karo is Kenya’s Leading Car Dealership
It’s quite simple why Kai and Karo are the leading car dealerships in Kenya—the owner cracked the digital code and ran with it. Kai and Karo thrive on three strengths: a good selection of vehicles, customer service, and after-sales service.
Selection of Vehicles
From the outside looking in, you’d think Kai & Karo is a luxury car sales company—but you’d be wrong. Don’t let the polished image deceive you. Kai and Karo sell all types of vehicles, from tiny 3-cylinder Kei cars to top-of-the-range luxury vehicles.
Kai & Karo also sells vehicles to all income levels in Kenya, from vehicles under KES 300,000 to luxury cars priced over KES 20 million. The company is a jack of all trades in automotive sales.
Customer Service
It’s hard to beat Kai & Karo in customer service. The founder, Khalif Kairo, is so popular due to his transparency—and sometimes, even when it is not required.
For instance, most issues about his personal life are available online (the reason we were able to compile this article).
He also makes his business available on social media, getting into trending conversations out in the open and even solving disputes on digital platforms where everyone can see. This kind of transparency keeps his clients coming back.
After Sales Services
Khalif Kairo is very particular about Customer retention and experience. He is always willing to refund a client if his company’s services are not up to par, making his business stand out.
If you go to his socials, you’ll see him regularly posting vehicles from satisfied clients who’ve brought them back to be resold as they wait for new units to be shipped by Kai & Karo. For this, Khalif Kairo is a genius.
Also, Kai & Karo never sells bad units to clients, including accident vehicles, cars with a history of breakdown issues, or vehicles with legal problems.
Customer Testimonials: What People Are Saying About Kai & Karo
It is not a secret that Kai & Karo is considered one of Kenya’s leading automotive sales companies. This is mostly due to glowing reviews from satisfied clientele.
The following are examples of positive feedback the automotive dealership has received over the years:
- Martin Kieti (Google Review): Professional staff and legit cars. Everyone is welcoming, the cars are clean, and the purchasing process is straightforward and fast.
- Dennis Wekesa: A better place to get any of your favorite car brands. A walk-in and drive facility.
- Agnes Murungi: This is an amazing and reliable company. They have a new policy whereby if you help them sell a car, you get a commission.
Kai & Karo in the Digital Age
One reason Kai & Karo enjoys much success compared to most of its competition is that it embraces technology. Under the leadership of Khalif Kairo, the dealership has heavily invested in the digital space.
If you check on their website, you’ll notice the company has a competent HR workforce behind its digital department, with roles like Digital Marketing Heads and Executives, which is unheard of when it comes to the business of selling cars in Kenya.
Its website is also constantly updated with the latest vehicles in its inventory. It’s rare to inquire about a vehicle on its website and get a response that it has been sold.
Once transactions are made, the website is effectively updated to help avoid confusion with inquiries.
Brief research with most of Kai & Karo’s competition will help you note that vehicles sold five years ago are still on the website under ‘available.’ Small things like these separate Khalif Kairo’s business from the rest.
What Next For Khalif Kairo
Khalif Kairo has many dreams. He’s confessed that his role model is Elon Musk, and if you know Elon, you understand he is a man with a lot of zeal. Khalif Kairo is set on getting into premium automotive sales in Kenya and finally being at the top of regional aircraft sales.
Khalif Kairo Private Aircraft Flying License
It is not a secret that Khalif Kairo is looking to venture into Aircraft sales – just google Jetman Global, and you’ll quickly understand his ambition and business train of thought. Khalif Kairo officially completed flying school early this year after failing his private pilot certificate thrice.
He’s quite the determined entrepreneur, finally completing his course at FliteStar Academy in Nairobi. Khalif Kairo is now licensed to fly privately by the Kenya Civil Aviation Authority (KCAA).
Jetman Global
Khalif Kairo has pivoted from a lowly car salesman in Kawangware to the top of the industry, dealing with jet rental and sales. Jetman Global deals with everything aviation, including aviation consultancy, acquisition, charters, and pre-packaged tours.
Jetman Global offices are based in Westlands, Nairobi, on the 4th Floor of Westlands Business Park.
For those wondering what kind of local deals they can get with Jetman Global, here are a few things you can do: Spend a day in the Mara, buy and rent a plane, propose at unique destinations, and take local charters.
Kai & Karo Diamond Collection
Most people know Kai & Karo at Kiambu Road, but recently, Khalif Kairo finished a different wing of the company dubbed the Diamond Collection. At this location, the strategic entrepreneur wants to only sell top-tier luxury vehicles to the top echelon of society.
Kai & Karo Diamond Collection Branch is located at Diamond Plaza II, 4th Avenue Parklands, 3rd Floor (at the parking section).
“This particular branch is where we want to stock all the nice cars,” he revealed in an Interview on Eve Mungai Show.
Some vehicles you’d expect to see there in the future include top supercars like Ferrari, Lamborghini, and Porsche.
Is Khalif Khairo Married
As of the publishing of this article, Khalif Kairo exclusively revealed on the Eve Mungai Show and later to Spice FM after-hours interviews that he is married to his new girlfriend, Maria Wavinya. Critics feel that it might not be true, but in an interview with Kev Matara, he was quick to defend his stand.
“It’s actually true. Like, I got married. People think they know me, but there’s a whole life behind me that people don’t know,” Kairo said, rubber-stamping his stance on his married status in the Spice FM Interview with Kev Matara.