Nairobi, July 14 -- The listing of Family Bank on the Nairobi Securities Exchange on June 23 is a testament to why resilience, not capital or a forgiving market, is the real secret sauce of any successful business.

Founder Titus Muya was turned down for promotions early in his career for lacking a degree, registered a banking company in 1977 that sat dormant for three years due to lack of capital, and was then rejected for a banking licence outright. He switched to a building society instead. It was not until 2007 that the society became a bank, and almost two more decades before this listing.

Replace the banking specifics, and this becomes a familiar Kenyan business story, except that this one had a happy ending, thanks to the founder'...