Top-40 men urged to hold youths’ hands on their way up the ladder

High-achieving men in society have been challenged to reach out to the youth and mentor them to become better citizens.

Motivational speaker Simon Mbevi, speaking at the Top-40-under-40 Men of the year gala dinner in Nairobi on Wednesday, said outstanding men should give their time, money, platform and power to uplift others.

“A man stands tallest when he cares for the weakest. You make a living by what you get, but you make a life by what you give,” said Mr Mbevi.

The Top-40-under-40 competition recognises outstanding men below the age of 40 across professions.

Mr Mbevi urged them to observe financial, relation and moral integrity.

“Can we trust you with public money? The men being celebrated today, let us rise up together and be strong, we’ll be tested, don’t fall into temptations of corruption,” he said.

The event is a brainchild of the Business Daily, a publication of Nation Media Group (NMG).

NMG Chief Executive Joe Muganda challenged the finalists to push themselves to the edge, adding that if they are successful they build a greater country for those who will come after them.

“I believe that one of the reasons we do what we are doing today, is recognising those who are trying to transcend this journey to make a better place for those who will come after us,” said Mr Muganda.

Darshan Chandaria, the chief executive and director of Chandaria Industries, said the Top-40-under-40 finalists have a duty to leave a legacy for future generations that will inspire them.

Mr Chandaria, a finalist, said success is not the destination but a continuous journey.

“No matter what milestones you hit, there is always another milestone ahead which you must aspire to get to,” said Mr Chandaria.

The Top-40-under-40 men initiative started in response to public demand following the success of the women’s version.

“We had no intention of running a Top-40-under-40 men version, but we kept on getting feedback why are we not recognising the men who are doing great things as we do for women,” said the Business Daily Managing Editor, Ochieng Rapuro.

He said the goal is not to make people great or feel great.

“By recognising you we are doing just simple things. What we are doing here is basically to say that what you have done is successful, what you have done is promising and therefore can be used as an example to inspire others,” said Mr Rapuro.

He said the Business Daily’s intention is to inspire others to do the things that the finalists are doing—hence create more opportunities for employment.

The Top-40 men finalists were selected from a list of more than 600 unique profiles submitted for the competition.