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Good to the Last Drop

Alum News

Margaret Nyamumbo
BY CHRISTINA BARBER-JUST

Published September 10, 2019

Kahawa 1893 coffee bagKahawa 1893 is a coffee importer and roaster whose line of East African coffees includes Safari Blend, a medium roast with notes of stone fruit and caramel, and Serengeti Blend, a dark roast with hints of fruit and dark chocolate. ("Kahawa" means coffee in Swahili; 1893 is the year coffee was first grown in Kenya.) Founder and CEO Margaret Nyamumbo ’11, a Smith economics major with an MBA from Harvard Business School, grew up on a coffee farm in Kenya and started the company with the goal of increasing financial independence for women coffee farmers in Africa. “We dedicate 25% of our profits to support access to credit for these women so they can participate in trade and empower themselves financially,” Nyamumbo says. Prices start at $14.95.


This story originally appeared as part of the Smithies Create column in the Fall 2019 issue of the Smith Alumnae Quarterly.