About SGI · Est. 2010

One car.
One phone number.
Fifteen years ago.

Most of what SGI is today comes from how we ran that first month. Same drivers. Same number. Same prices we said upfront. We've grown into a forty-person operation across taxi, business transport, and safari, and none of those three things changed.

When I started SGI in 2010, I had one car. A Toyota Voxy. I parked it outside my house in Karen and waited for the phone to ring. The first month I drove maybe twelve trips. Most of them airport runs, all of them at strange hours.

What I learned that first year is what we still run on. People remember the driver before they remember the company. They remember whether you waited when their flight was late. They remember whether you knew the back road around traffic on Mombasa Road. They remember if you charged them what you said you would.

So that's the company we built. Drivers who stay long enough to recognise repeat customers. A dispatch line that one of us answers, not a call centre. Prices we say upfront, even when traffic surges and Uber's pricing engine would charge four times. We can do this because we've never tried to be the biggest. We try to be the one you keep calling.

Fifteen years on, we have forty drivers and guides, four kinds of vehicle, and we've gone from city taxi to airport transfers, corporate accounts, and full safaris across East Africa. The thing that hasn't changed is what we just told you. Same drivers, every trip. Same number, every time.

If you've used us for years, thank you. If you're new here, welcome. We hope you'll stay a while.

— Steven
Karen Square, Nairobi
Milestones

How we got here.

2010

One car, one number

Steven starts SGI with a single Toyota Voxy and a phone number. First trip is an airport pickup at 4 AM.

2014

First hotel account

A Karen-area boutique hotel signs a monthly transport agreement. The shape of the Business product begins here.

2018

Safari arm launches

Two 4×4 Land Cruisers added. James joins as senior guide. First multi-day Mara trip runs in October.

2022

Twelve vehicles, three classes

Fleet grows to twelve across executive, safari, and group transport. Karen Square office opens.

2026

Forty drivers and guides

Today. Five vehicle classes, six destinations, regular accounts with hotels, embassies, and corporates across Nairobi.

The team

You'll know their names.

A few of the people who'll be at the other end of your trip. Forty in total, mostly in Nairobi.

SK
Steven Karanja
Founder · Lead Driver

Built the company. Still drives most days.

With SGI 15 years
JM
James Maina
Senior Safari Guide

KPSGA-certified. Mara and Amboseli specialist.

With SGI 12 years
PN
Peter Njoroge
Driver · Mara Routes

Long-distance and the conservancies up north.

With SGI 8 years
MW
Mary Wanjiku
Dispatch & Operations

The voice on the other end of +254 723 299 422.

With SGI 6 years
JK
Joseph Kamau
Airport Specialist

JKIA and Wilson, day or night, never late once.

With SGI 9 years

Plus thirty-five more drivers, guides, and dispatch staff.

Where we work

Karen Square, Nairobi.

Our office is in Karen, twenty minutes from JKIA on a clear morning. Drivers report here at the start of their shifts. Vehicles park here between trips. If you're nearby, the kettle's usually on.

Open in Google Maps
Drivers & guides
40+
Vehicles in fleet
15
Years operating
15
Active accounts
30+

Now you've met us.

Tell us where you're going, who you are, or just say hi. Steven still picks up the phone when it's not busy.