Nairobi Garage is a Kenyan coworking and flexible-office business whose ownership is not fully disclosed in the public sources reviewed for this article. Hannah Clifford has been publicly associated with the company as a director and senior executive, while current business intelligence data identifies Luna Ruffo as CEO and Kresten Buch as a board member. Nairobi Garage’s origins are closely linked to 88mph, the African technology investment and accelerator business founded by Buch.
That makes the answer to the question “Who owns Nairobi Garage?” more nuanced than naming a single individual.
Public information establishes the company’s founders, executives and historical links, but it does not provide a complete current shareholder breakdown. For that reason, management positions and board appointments should not be confused with legal ownership.
The distinction is important for a business that has become part of Nairobi’s startup and technology ecosystem.
What is Nairobi Garage?
Nairobi Garage is a flexible workspace company serving startups, entrepreneurs, SMEs, independent professionals and larger businesses in Nairobi.
Its current offering includes coworking desks, private offices, meeting rooms and event spaces. The company also provides business networking, workshops, investor introductions, PR support and other services designed to help members grow.
Its business model reflects a broader shift in Nairobi’s commercial property market.
Instead of committing to conventional long-term office leases, companies can rent flexible workspace and scale their office requirements as their businesses change.
Nairobi Garage currently lists locations in Spring Valley, Kilimani, Karen and Westlands.
Who founded Nairobi Garage?
The origins of Nairobi Garage are connected to 88mph, an Africa-focused technology accelerator and investment business founded by Danish entrepreneur Kresten Buch.
The concept emerged from a practical problem faced by the 88mph team: finding office space suitable for a growing technology business.
Rather than maintain unused space, the model evolved into a workspace that could accommodate other entrepreneurs and companies.
That idea eventually became Nairobi Garage.
The company’s early development is closely associated with Hannah Clifford, who became one of the most recognisable figures in the business.
Hannah Clifford’s role
Hannah Clifford has been publicly identified as a director and senior executive of Nairobi Garage.
Her involvement dates back to the company’s early years, when she helped develop the workspace operation and its business model.
Her name has also appeared in reporting about Nairobi Garage’s expansion.
When the company opened its third office in Karen in 2019, Business Daily identified Clifford as general manager. The Karen facility provided about 14,000 square feet of workspace and expanded Nairobi Garage’s presence beyond Kilimani and Westlands.
Three years later, Business Daily again identified Clifford as a Nairobi Garage director when the company opened a 12,000-square-foot outlet in Nairobi’s central business district.
Her long association with the business makes Hannah Clifford and Nairobi Garage an important search and ownership connection.
But being a director does not, on its own, prove that Clifford owns a particular percentage of the company.
Is Nairobi Garage owned by 88mph?
Nairobi Garage’s history is strongly connected to 88mph, but the historical relationship should not automatically be described as current ownership.
The company developed from an office-space initiative associated with 88mph before becoming a separate business.
That distinction is critical.
88mph’s connection to Nairobi Garage explains the company’s origins, but public sources reviewed for this article do not establish that 88mph currently owns the entire business.
Likewise, Kresten Buch’s position as a board member does not establish his current percentage ownership.
The question of current shareholders therefore remains separate from the company’s founding history.
Who is the CEO of Nairobi Garage?
Current company information compiled by CB Insights identifies Luna Ruffo as the CEO of Nairobi Garage. The same source lists Kresten Buch among the company’s board members.
Ruffo represents a later stage of Nairobi Garage’s development.
The company has moved beyond its original startup-office concept and now operates a broader flexible workspace business serving companies at different stages of growth.
Its current model includes coworking, private offices, meeting facilities, event space and business services.
Kresten Buch and Nairobi Garage
Kresten Buch remains an important name in the Nairobi Garage ownership story because of the company’s historical relationship with 88mph.
Buch founded 88mph and became involved in Africa’s technology investment ecosystem.
His connection to Nairobi Garage helps explain why the company initially developed around startups and technology businesses rather than as a conventional office landlord.
Current business intelligence data lists Buch as a board member of Nairobi Garage.
However, the available information does not establish that Buch personally holds a controlling stake.
That is why Kresten Buch should be described as a founder of 88mph and a Nairobi Garage board member, rather than automatically as the owner of Nairobi Garage.
How Nairobi Garage grew
Nairobi Garage expanded as Nairobi became one of Africa’s leading technology and entrepreneurial centres.
The company opened multiple locations to meet demand from startups and established businesses looking for flexible office arrangements.
Its Karen expansion in 2019 marked the opening of its third location, following offices in Kilimani and Westlands.
In September 2022, the company opened a 12,000-square-foot facility at 20th Century Plaza along Mama Ngina Street, becoming its fifth location at the time, according to Business Daily.
The expansion illustrates how coworking moved from a niche service for freelancers and startups into a wider commercial real estate proposition.
More than a coworking space
Nairobi Garage’s appeal goes beyond office desks.
The company currently markets coworking, private offices, meeting rooms and event spaces alongside networking and business-development benefits. Members can receive investor introductions, PR support, workshops, business services and access to a professional network.
That makes the company part workspace provider and part business community.
The distinction is important because its competitive advantage is not only the physical space.
For startups, the opportunity to meet investors, potential customers, advisers and other entrepreneurs can be as valuable as the office itself.
Nairobi Garage itself says its community has included thousands of companies over the years.
What makes Nairobi Garage valuable?
The company operates in a market benefiting from growing demand for flexible working arrangements.
Its current website offers coworking memberships, dedicated desks and private offices, with workspace options designed for businesses that need to scale up or down.
That model gives Nairobi Garage several potential revenue streams.
They include recurring coworking memberships, private office rentals, meeting-room bookings, event space and additional business services.
The company’s own marketing also emphasises the ability to avoid the costs and commitments associated with conventional office leases.
For growing companies, that flexibility can be commercially attractive.
Who are the shareholders?
This is the question that remains hardest to answer from publicly accessible sources.
A director is not necessarily a shareholder.
A CEO is not necessarily an owner.
A board member is not necessarily a controlling investor.
And a company’s historical connection to an accelerator or investment firm does not necessarily mean that the firm remains its current owner.
For a definitive answer on Nairobi Garage shareholders, the most reliable evidence would be current Kenyan corporate records showing the company’s registered shareholders and beneficial ownership structure.
The public sources reviewed for this article do not provide a complete shareholder register.
Therefore, Who Owns Africa cannot responsibly assign specific ownership percentages to Hannah Clifford, Luna Ruffo, Kresten Buch or 88mph without documentary evidence.
Why the ownership question matters
The Nairobi Garage story is significant beyond the coworking industry.
Who owns a business can reveal where capital comes from, who controls strategic decisions and how entrepreneurial ecosystems develop.
Nairobi Garage sits at the intersection of commercial real estate, technology, entrepreneurship and investment.
Its origins are tied to the development of Nairobi’s technology ecosystem, while its current business model reflects the city’s growing demand for flexible workspace.
That makes its ownership structure relevant to anyone tracking Kenya’s private companies and the people behind them.
The bottom line
So, who owns Nairobi Garage?
The most accurate answer from the public information reviewed is that Nairobi Garage’s current shareholder ownership is not sufficiently disclosed in the sources available for this article.
Hannah Clifford is strongly associated with the company’s development and has been publicly identified as a director and senior executive. Luna Ruffo is identified as the current CEO, while Kresten Buch is listed as a board member. The company’s history is closely connected to 88mph, which Buch founded.
But those facts do not establish who holds the controlling equity stake today.
That distinction is central to responsible business journalism.
For now, Nairobi Garage’s ownership story is best understood through the people who built, manage and govern the company, while the definitive shareholder question remains one for current corporate records.
What is clear is that Nairobi Garage has grown from an idea linked to Nairobi’s early technology-investment ecosystem into a significant player in Kenya’s flexible workspace market.
Its story is ultimately about more than offices.
It is about the people, capital and entrepreneurial networks shaping Nairobi’s next economy.
Who Owns Africa will continue to investigate the ownership, investment and leadership structures behind Africa’s most influential private companies.
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