New York-based Kenyan entrepreneur in the coffee industry and founder of "Kahawa 1839", Margaret Nyamumbo, has made Kenyans proud after swimming with the ‘sharks’ and closing a Sh44 million deal in the popular reality TV show entitled "Shark Tank."


Nyamumbo approached the sharks for $350,000 (Sh44 million) for a 5 per cent stake in her company.

She took to her Twitter account to share the good news that she bagged the deal.

"We did it! We got a deal," Nyamumbo wrote.

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The astute businesswoman persuaded the British businesswoman, co-founder, and CEO of Good American, Emma Grede, to invest Sh44 million in her company for a tenth of an 8 per cent stake.

“Hi, Sharks. My name is Margaret, Nyamumbo. I live in New York City. Today. I’m seeking $350,000 dollars for 5 per cent of my company Kahawa 1839 Coffee,” Nyamumbo went.

“Sharks, did you know that the best coffee in the world grows in Kenya? I would know I grew up on my grandfather’s, coffee farm in Kenya. As Kenyans were very proud of the coffee that grows on our soil, but there is a catch.”

Nyamumbo expressed the coffee farmers' concerns about the measly payments they receive for their high-quality coffee during her presentation.

While noting that women contribute 90 per cent of the labour in coffee farming but are underpaid because they do not own the land, Nyamumbo cited this as her motivation for developing a new method of compensating coffee farmers.

Emma Grede. PHOTO/FACEBOOK

"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," Nyamumbo said.

"In fact, 90 per cent of the labour and coffee come from women, but so many are not compensated because they do not own the land that's why I created a new way to compensate the coffee farmers."

After careful negotiations and a heated haggling session, Grede made an offer that Nyamumbo could not turn down.

"Let me write this really, really simple. Yeah, I will do the deal. The 350 at 8 per cent," Grede proclaimed, and the deal was sealed.

In the reality TV show, budding entrepreneurs from across the world pitch their business models to a panel of investors and persuade them to invest money in their ideas or businesses.

The panellists who took part in the episode were Kevin O'Leary, Lori Griner, Robert Herjavec, Mark Cuban and Grede.