Saturday, February 18, 2023 –American billionaires have shown interest in pumping millions into a Kenyan coffee making business – Kahawa 1893.
This is after a Kenyan entrepreneur, Margaret Nyamumbo, attracted their attention during the ongoing Shark Tank Show.
In the series that went live on Friday February 17, Ms Nyamumbo presented her idea on Kenyan-made coffee in her effort to bag a sh 44 million or $350,000 in funding for five per cent stake investment.
“I grew up on my grandfather’s coffee farm in Kenya. We are very proud of the coffee that grows on our soil. Unfortunately, farmers don’t always make enough for the delicious coffee that they produce,” she told the investors all who gave her their full attention.
She valued her business – founded in 2017 – at a whopping sh 881 million or $7 million. The company is based in Berkeley City California in the United Sates with about 10 well-paid employees.
Members of the panel and who now want to invest in the company included renowned business moguls – Emma Grede, Mark Cuban, Lori Greiner, and Robert Herjavec.
Following her pitching, all the sharks asked for stakes in the business with Grede offering her sh 44 million or $350,000 for a 12.5 per cent stake; while the second one, Herjavec suggested working with Grede for 12.5 per cent. If Nyamumbo agreed to this deal, she would have to give up 25 per cent of the company.
Additionally, the third and fourth sharks also opened an offer of 12.5 per cent deal to the Kenyan entrepreneur.
After a heated discussion, Nyamumbo decided to work with Grede as her investor who changed her initial deal to sh 44 million ($350,000) for an 8 per cent stake.
According to 2022 Forbes report, Grede is one of the richest self-made women in the USA with a net worth of sh 44 billion an equivalent of $360 million.