The Magnate Runner-up Never Let Failure Put Her Down

Lina Marie Dyur, he Magnate TV show second runner-up had to fight fierce competition to make it to the finale. She didn’t win the ultimate prize, which was Kshs. 1.5 million seed money to pump into the winning business idea. She wound up as second-runner up in the competition.

One of the qualities that probably helped push her so far in the competition was her ability to endure setbacks. In a recent interview with The Standard’s Eve Gal, she spoke about her previous work experience in Zimbabwe at AFDEM (The African Civilian Response Capacity for Peace). She worked at the NGO as an IT and communication liaison until 2011 after funding ended and she had to lose her job.

Having accomplished so much and with an impressive resume, she still found herself without employment. That is when she decided to concentrate on her own company, Firestorm, a communication strategy firm for small and medium enterprise, which she had already registered it earlier. Due to loss of employment, she finally got time to concentrate on it.

She participated in The Magnate TV show in the hopes of winning the top prize to fund Maya Expo, a health event for women to promote health and wellness. She didn’t win the prize but she has still seen her idea to fruition. She held the first Maya Expo at the Junction last month and hopes to do one in October for breast cancer awareness.

Despite the setback she suffered in Zimbabwe and not winning on The Magnate, each time she has managed to recover and bounce back with her own projects.