Coffee is one of Africa’s oldest global exports—rich in flavor, history, and economic significance. Yet for decades, the continent’s role in the coffee industry has been limited to one end of the value chain: farming. Roasting, branding, and retail have remained firmly in the hands of global players, often far removed from the land and people who grow the beans.
Enter Kahawa 1893, a Kenyan-founded, US-based coffee brand that is changing the narrative. Not just by selling premium African coffee to global consumers, but by doing so on African terms—with African ownership, African storytelling, and African equity at its core.
Founded by Margaret Nyamumbo, a third-generation Kenyan coffee farmer and former Wall Street analyst, Kahawa 1893 is more than a specialty coffee brand. It is a movement to reposition Africa at the center of the global coffee conversation
Name: Kahawa 1893
Founded: 2017
Founder: Margaret Nyamumbo
Headquarters: San Francisco, California
Origin: Kenya (with women-led farms in Nyeri, Kirinyaga, Murang’a)
Product Range: Whole bean, ground, single-serve, cold brew
Distribution: Direct-to-consumer, Amazon, Target, Whole Foods (select locations)
The brand’s name is no accident. The year 1893 marks the introduction of coffee to Kenya by missionaries during British colonial rule. What followed was a century of extractive economics—where African farmers grew the crop, but foreign companies reaped the profit.
By naming her company after this turning point, Nyamumbo signals a reversal of history: reclaiming agency over African coffee and building a vertically integrated business that benefits the women and families who grow it.
A Founder’s Journey: From Farm to Wall Street and Back
Nyamumbo’s story is emblematic of the new generation of African entrepreneurs: globally educated, socially conscious, and commercially ambitious. After earning her MBA from Harvard Business School and working in private equity in New York, she returned to Kenya only to find the same economic model her grandparents had operated under—one where the growers had the least power.
Rather than simply critique the system, she chose to rebuild it. Kahawa 1893 was born from this insight: that Africa can—and should—own more of what it produces.
Today, the company works directly with women farmers in Kenya, pays above-market rates for their beans, and reinvests a portion of proceeds through a “women’s tipping system”—a digital wallet that allows consumers to directly support the producers behind their coffee.
Building a Global African Brand
While many African commodities are exported raw and rebranded abroad, Kahawa 1893 is part of a new wave of companies bringing finished, premium African products to global shelves.
Its packaging is unapologetically African in aesthetic, and its storytelling is grounded in both quality and cultural pride. But it also competes where it matters most: taste, brand clarity, and ethical sourcing.
The company’s cold brew products and compostable single-serve pods have made it competitive in Western markets—while its direct-to-consumer model allows for storytelling that builds lasting customer relationships.
In 2023, Kahawa 1893 became one of the first Black woman-owned coffee brands to be stocked by Target, a milestone that placed it at the intersection of visibility, representation, and market access.
A Different Kind of Supply Chain
One of Kahawa 1893’s most significant innovations is not in the cup—it’s in the supply chain.
Rather than operate through traditional middlemen, the company buys directly from co-ops and women-led farms in Kenya. Through digital tools and blockchain verification, it ensures traceability, transparency, and fair pricing. It also offers training and financing to its farmer network, allowing them to improve yields and retain more value from their crops.
This model doesn’t just produce better coffee—it produces a better system. One where African producers are partners, not suppliers.
What the Industry Can Learn
Kahawa 1893 challenges several long-standing assumptions in the global consumer goods sector:
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Origin can be a brand advantage. African heritage, when positioned with authenticity and quality, is a powerful differentiator.
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Ethics and excellence are not trade-offs. The brand proves that premium quality and fair trade can co-exist—and scale.
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Representation matters. Having African women not only grow the product but lead the business reshapes the narrative around ownership and identity.
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Value capture must shift. Africa can no longer afford to be the world’s farm. Kahawa 1893 shows what’s possible when value is captured at origin, not exported.
The Road Ahead
Kahawa 1893 is growing steadily—expanding into new U.S. retail markets, investing in ready-to-drink formats, and exploring distribution across Europe and the Middle East.
Yet for all its commercial promise, the company remains grounded in its founding purpose: to build a business that makes Africa visible, valuable, and central in the global marketplace.
It is more than a coffee brand. It is a reclamation of economic agency.
And it offers a playbook for any African entrepreneur seeking to go global—not by mimicking others, but by leading with origin, excellence, and ownership.
About the Author
Aurel Kinimbaga is a finance executive and contributor covering African brands, ethical supply chains, and economic transformation in emerging markets. His writing explores how entrepreneurs are shifting Africa’s role in global trade—one product, one policy, and one business at a time.