After a disastrous tour experience left her team sleeping in a van, Sheila Too decided she could do better.
At the time, Too was working as a banker in Nairobi. She and her colleagues had booked a trip through a newly established tour consultant who lacked experience. The company overbooked the hotel, and the entire group ended up stranded for the night. Frustrated but inspired, Too saw an opportunity: Kenya deserved better tour experiences, and she could help create them.
In 2023, she officially launched Kobiro Safaris, a Nairobi-based travel company dedicated to offering visitors an experience they wouldn’t find anywhere else. Today, she is expanding that vision through the Master of Business Creation (MBC) Global program at the University of Utah’s David Eccles School of Business.
Too first tested her entrepreneurial instincts while still in banking, organizing her workplace’s annual team-building trip. “In the next year, I booked for my workplace,” she said. “We booked the flight, the airport transfers, the hotel, and everything went smoothly.”
From that trip, Too knew the company had a future.
Kobiro Safaris is now a family operation owned by Too, her son, and her mother. Determined to build credibility in a competitive industry, Too enrolled in a Diploma in Tourism Management, even though her university background was not in tourism. “We registered the company and started learning more,” she said. “I actually had to enroll for a Diploma in Tourism Management, even though that was not my core course in university.”
Based in Nairobi, Kobiro Safaris aims to showcase the beauty of Kenya to both local and international travelers. For Too, the mission is simple: when someone visits Kenya, they should leave with memories they could not have created on their own.
“When a tourist comes to Kenya, either local or international, I am able to offer immersive travel that enables them to book something extra, something fun-filled and lasting,” Too said.
Since joining the MBC program in August 2025, Too has reorganized how she approaches her business. She had been following the program since 2018 and had always wanted to pursue it, but it was previously only offered in the United States.
“Every other time, I used to find MBC, but it was only offered in the U.S., and I didn’t want to go to the States to do the course,” she said. “When MBC Africa came, it was an answered prayer for me because I still have a young family. I want to do business here, manage my family, and upgrade my business while here in Kenya.”
Too describes MBC as a turning point. “MBC has helped me reorganize my business,” she said. She admitted that before joining the program, she wasn’t focused on scaling strategically. Now, she approaches marketing and growth with greater clarity. “MBC has shown me how to do marketing for my company through social media,” she said.
For Too, however, success is not measured only in strategy or scale. It is measured in satisfied clients.
“My greatest reward is when customers are willing to come back for a second trip or refer others to use my company,” she said. “That is my joy.”
What began as one frustrating night in a van has grown into a company built on care, preparation, and passion. Through Kobiro Safaris, Too is not just booking trips; she is curating experiences from the heart.
Learn more at kobirosafaris.co.ke/
