They said he was crazy. They rejected his loan applications six times. They told him an engineer had no business running hotels. Today, Hasnain Noorani is the one smiling—literally. The Managing Director of the PrideInn Group has not only defied the skeptics but has rewritten the rulebook of Kenyan hospitality, turning a single 28-room hotel into a multi-billion shilling empire with over 900 rooms across the country.

Noorani’s journey is the quintessential "Kenyan Dream." A First Class Honors graduate in Manufacturing Engineering from the University of Nottingham, he returned to Kenya in 2006 to find a gap in the market: the "missing middle." Travelers had to choose between exorbitant 5-star luxury or dingy lodgings. Noorani saw the goldmine in between: "5-star service at 3-star value."

The 150 Million Shilling Gamble

"I was rejected by six banks," Noorani recalls with a chuckle. "They looked at my age, my engineering degree, and they laughed." It took a father’s belief—and a loan secured by family assets—to break ground on the first PrideInn in Westlands. The gamble paid off. The hotel hit 100% occupancy within six months, fueled by a client who booked 25 rooms for a solid block. The rest is history.

But Noorani is not just a bricks-and-mortar tycoon. He is a philosopher of business. His mantra, "Happy Staff = Happy Customers = Happy Profits," is not just corporate jargon; it is the DNA of his operation. In an industry notorious for high turnover and burnout, PrideInn staff are known for their genuine smiles. Noorani understands that in hospitality, the product is not the bed; it is the feeling.

• The Expansion Machine: From the flagship PrideInn Paradise Beach Resort in Mombasa to new ventures in Western Kenya, Noorani’s footprint is expanding. He was recently named one of the Top 50 Most Influential CEOs in Kenya.
• Resilience: The group survived the crushing blow of COVID-19, which decimated the tourism sector, by pivoting to domestic tourism—a strategy that saved hundreds of jobs.

Engineering Success

Ironically, Noorani admits that his engineering background is his secret weapon. "Engineering teaches you systems," he explains. "A hotel is a machine. If one gear fails—the kitchen, the housekeeping, the reception—the whole machine stops." He has engineered a hospitality machine that runs with Swiss precision and Kenyan warmth.

As PrideInn eyes continental expansion, Hasnain Noorani stands as a testament to the power of vision over credentials. He stopped building machines to build memories, and in doing so, he has engineered one of Kenya’s greatest business success stories.