Steve Chumba is the general manager at Wyndham Garden, one of the top global hotel chains in Azerbaijan, job he landed without educational background in hospitality.
His journey to the top ranks, however, was not without challenges as he narrated in an interview with Chams Media's Daring Abroad aired on April 1.
Chumba was born and bred in Elgeyo Marakwet where he supported his family on their farm.
He proceeded to Makerere University in Kampala Uganda, to pursue a course in Information Technology(IT).
While in college, he worked part-time at a hotel as a doorman. He looked for a job in IT after completing his studies without much success and decided to pursue hospitality.
At the hotel in Kampala, Chumba rose through the ranks to a night receptionist then supervisor and later a front office manager.
“While I was studying IT, I got an opportunity to study at a hotel, after finishing my studies, I decided to just continue with my hospitality,” he narrated.
The hotel eventually hired him as a manager and it was while serving in the position, that he was contacted directly by the hotel in Azerbaijan through LinkedIn and offered a job.
“I was a bit curious about this country because it was new to me. I did my research and felt that it was an adventure I could take.
“Getting an opportunity outside Africa would also raise my profile in the hospitality industry and gave me the opportunity to work in a different environment and type of market,” Chumba stated.
Chumba narrated that it took him a while before settling in Azerbaijan noting that they were about 7 Kenyans in the country that he knew of.
In March 2023, Chumba hosted the Prime Cabinet Secretary Muslia Mudavadi who made an official visit to Azerbaijan representing President William Ruto at the Non-Aligned Movement Contact Group in response to covid -19.
“Before that, we did not even know where the Kenyan embassy in charge of Azerbaijan was. When the announcement was made that the Prime Cabinet was coming, the embassy found me online and contacted me.
“We planned everything and even hosted them at the hotel including our ambassador and some other Kenyans. We had a dinner together with him and shared the opportunities that are here,” Chumba stated.
Chumba was pursuing a bachelor's degree in hospitality management at the International University of applied sciences in Germany.
