Francis

NO TIME TO WASTE

Francis was the youngest born in a large family. By the time he began his university studies, his parents’ funds had run dry. His brothers and sisters supported him, but they had their own young families to care for and could not continue to sustain him for much longer. “The unemployment rate in Kenya is very high,” he says, especially among young people. He began to see that it often takes five to ten years for many university graduates to find employment, especially in the education field, which Francis was pursuing. “I didn’t have the luxury of waiting. I needed to be employed.”

It was then, in 2017, that he saw an ad on Facebook for Generation. It promised a connection to real-world employers following a short training. “This was exactly the sort of opportunity I was looking for.”

WORKING HIS WAY UP

After completing the Financial Services Sales course, Generation connected Francis with various employers, and he chose Jubilee Insurance Company. Leaning heavily on the behavioral and mindset skills drilled into him during the bootcamp, he saw himself achieving wins early in his tenure at Jubilee and began quickly advancing through the ranks. “I went from being a regular sales agent to a unit sales manager overseeing a cluster of other salespeople, and now an agency sales manager overseeing other managers.”

FRANCIS RETURNS TO GENERATION

As Francis became a team leader, it fell on him to recruit new agents to the company. So he reached back to Generation and began to hire other alumni like himself. “I recruited from Generation because it helps us save time on training and retention. The retention rate of Generation alumni is higher than people from other recruitment channels. And they know how to come in and hit the ground running in sales because they are prepared for the real-world market.” Since then, he has recruited 48 sales managers from Generation. He says many of them are promoted “because of the training they received.”

WEATHERING THE STORM

When COVID-19 hit, the financial services industry took a nosedive. Many people could no longer afford financial planning in a time of great need. But Francis dug in his heels and leaned heavily on his training. “We were taught consistency and perseverance, and how to work together. All of us were pulling in the same direction. I helped my team to achieve their goals, and they helped me achieve my goals at the same time.”

While many others were laid off or couldn’t make a living in a commission-based work environment, Francis and the team under him continued to survive and even thrive.

“Because I’ve been amassing wealth, I’ve been able to buy my own car and house. I was financially in a position to start a family. I’m now blessed with a beautiful daughter. I am very thankful for the opportunity that was given to me by Generation.”