He Left a 320K/Month Banking Job to Build Africa's Most Honest Bookstore | Abdullahi Bulle EP 21

He walked away from a 320,000 shilling salary, sold his car, sold his property, and was left with 20 bob in his M-Pesa. But Abdullahi Bula — founder of Nuria Bookstore — doesn't regret a single day. In this episode, Maya Ali sits down with one of Nairobi's most radical thinkers. Abdullahi pulls zero punches — on halal money, African poverty, the lies of saving, and why he believes true freedom is more important than happiness. This is one of the most honest, uncomfortable, and thought-provoking conversations we've ever had on this podcast. 🔥 WHAT WE COVER: – Growing up in Garissa with a self-made, uneducated father who built a family of 14 – How he accidentally entered banking and spent 8.5 years climbing to a 320K salary – Why he quit it all — and the painful reality of entrepreneurship nobody tells you – Why he doesn't believe saving builds wealth (and what to do instead) – His brutal take on whether halal money even exists in Kenya – Why African governments are "stupid" for being remote-controlled by the IMF & World Bank – The moment he had 20 bob left in his M-Pesa and almost shut everything down – How COVID became the unexpected turning point for Nuria – Why he doesn't seek happiness — only freedom 💬 "I don't know if there's halal money. Kenya is 80% Christian — everything is built on interest." 💬 "I would live alone on an island and die there. It's an evil, extractive society." 💬 "Our African leaders are textbook thinkers — that's how stupid we are." 📚 Find Abdullahi & Nuria Bookstore: Instagram: @nuria_the_honest_store Twitter/X: @nuriastore | @nuriabooks Facebook: Nuria Your Store Website: https://nuriakenya.com/ Nairobi: Biashara Street, Bazaar No. 12 Mombasa: Lynx Arcade, Links Road ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ 📌 TIMESTAMPS 00:00 — Intro & Welcome 00:55 — Meet Abdullahi Bula — Radical Thinker & Founder of Nuria 01:17 — Why Being a Radical Thinker Gets You in Trouble 04:21 — Selling the Bible as a Muslim: "Amazon does it. Why can't I?" 07:29 — Growing Up in Garissa — Father with No Education Who Built Everything 11:52 — Why Education Was Non-Negotiable in His Family 13:50 — His First Job: Cashier at 3,000 Shillings 18:40 — How He Accidentally Ended Up in Banking 21:35 — From Intern to 320K/Month — The Full Banking Journey 26:43 — "Money Is Not Happiness — It's the Road to Freedom" 29:28 — African Governments Are Failing Us: IMF, World Bank & Tax Rant 35:51 — The Decision to Quit 320K and Go All In On Books 38:13 — The Failed Businesses Before Nuria (Spare Parts, Juice, Camel Milk) 40:25 — Why He Chose Books — A Community That Doesn't Read 45:48 — 9 Investors Said No. Almost Closed in 2019. 49:42 — How COVID Saved Nuria Bookstore 52:23 — "I Don't Know If There's Halal Money" — The Controversial Take 54:53 — Why Saving Is a Trap and What to Do Instead 57:50 — Happiest & Saddest Financial Moment 58:53 — "I Had 20 Bob in My M-Pesa" — His Lowest Point 59:26 — "I Would Live on an Island Alone and Die There" — On Happiness vs Freedom 01:00:14 — His Advice for Anyone Wanting to Leave Employment 01:03:28 — Business Is the Path to Freedom — But It's Not Easy 01:06:18 — Where to Find Abdullahi & Nuria Bookstore ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ 🎙️ Islamically Correct is a podcast about faith, finance, and life — hosted by Maya Ali. Every episode features a Muslim entrepreneur or professional sharing their real money story. 📲 Subscribe so you don't miss the next episode. 👍 Like if this conversation made you think. 🔔 Hit the bell — we drop new episodes regularly. #IslamicallyCorrect #NuriaBookstore #AbdullahiBula #KenyanPodcast #MuslimEntrepreneur #Entrepreneurship #PersonalFinance #KenyaYouTube #MayaAli #AfricanBusiness #BookstoreKenya #HalalMoney #RadicalThinker #KenyanEntrepreneur #QuitYourJobHelp us spotlight meaningful Muslim money stories: 👉 Suggest a guest here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FA... Follow us on: Instagram https://www.instagram.com/islamically... TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@islamicallyco... X https://x.com/icpodke The Host https://www.instagram.com/throughmaya... 📩 For guest features, partnerships, or inquiries: Email: [email protected] #IslamicFinance #MuslimMoneyStories #HalalWealth 💬 Join the conversation—comment, share, and let us know what you learned. ⚠️ Disclaimer: Content shared is for educational purposes and does not constitute financial advice.