Laban Njuguna, The First African to Own a Coffee Auction in America and Why He is Betting on Kenyan Coffee
By Mukurima Muriuki
Regardless of one’s station in life, most people are able to afford a daily cup of coffee. While the British keep the tradition of teatime alive, coffee has continually gained in international popularity. In America alone, 70% of the population consumes at least two cups of coffee every day. During the American Revolution, it became unpatriotic to drink tea. President John Adams wrote to his wife, Abigail, on July 6, 1774, that he was told at a restaurant in Maine that they stopped serving tea and only served coffee. He made it a point never to drink tea again.
An American television icon, comedian David Letterman, once jokingly said, “If it weren’t for the coffee, I’d have no identifiable personality whatsoever.”
Today, Laban Njuguna is ensuring that his company, Zabuni Specialty Coffee Auction - the first regularly-scheduled specialty coffee auction in the world, provides robust Kenyan coffee not only to world leaders and television icons, but also to your average Joe
Growing up in Nairobi, Njuguna’s grandparents, maternal and paternal, had small coffee farms which provided primarily for their families. He remembers visiting his grandmother during the December holidays and joining her in the tedious task of harvesting beans by hand. In his loving family of six, he was the last of the four children. A fond childhood memory of his was when he and some neighborhood kids made wire cars. They would “drive” them with 2 sticks and a tire. As a creative child, he considered himself a dreamer. “I have always been a dreamer– still am. My dream as a kid was to be a horse jockey. That was before my height and size got other ideas. Then I wanted to be a safari rally car driver, and that never worked out either.
Nobody in Kenya grows up with the desire to sell or trade coffee someday, however, I knew that I wanted to see people do better for themselves. In all seriousness, the one thing I have always wanted to do is add value to people’s lives. I think it came from seeing how my late mother gave of herself, her time, and her finances to anyone and everyone she could, and not because she had much, but because she believed in lifting and empowering others,” Njuguna explained.
It was the year 2000 when Njuguna made his move to America. He said, “I’ve been here literally all of my adult life. I came kicking and screaming. I never wanted to leave Kenya but my mother and Mama Nduta, a close family friend, literally dragged me to the airport. I had a smoking-hot girlfriend that I loved and never wanted to leave. Anyway, I came, broken-hearted and all, to attend college. Mother knows best, I guess.”
When asked why coffee isn’t consumed as much in Kenya, Njuguna explained the history of Africa and coffee. “During colonial times coffee was too valuable a product for the white settlers to allow natives to consume it. The natives were (and still are) a source for cheap labor, so they allowed our forefathers to consume tea but not the more valuable coffee. That idea culturally stuck in the locals' minds.” He believes that Africans must overcome this unfortunate brainwashing and learn how to better market and sell their products and services.
Njuguna further explained how Kenyan diasporans in the U.S. have more to offer. “We are already doing a lot, but there’s room to improve and areas to explore. When I look at the Jewish, Italian, or Irish diasporas, they are powerful and effective in all sectors of American society: economic, societal, faith, political, etc. We can do the same if we learn to come together. We must be effective advocates for our motherland, not only on Twitter, but also in our communities, states, and nations with people and offices of authority. But first, we have to be in the room and at the table. If you are not at the table, then you are on the menu. We are tired of being on the menu.”
He believes that Africa will soon be very competitive with the West. “As incomes rise, and Inter-African trade barriers and tariffs slowly come down, Africa will be more competitive by making their products more appealing. I want Kenyan farmers to stand tall and proud with dignity and to know that they produce an exceptional product that is highly sought after and desired by American coffee consumers. We will not rest until they get the recognition and compensation they deserve and make it sustainable. We are in this for the long haul,” he remarked.
At one time, those interested and involved in marketing and selling coffee here at AWM heard about a marketing company based in America that wanted to promote Kenyan coffee to the world as the leading specialty coffee. A report was produced, but it never saw the light of day. Njuguna heard about this report as well and commented, “I think you have very good sources. Yes, there is a document on Kenyan coffee sitting somewhere in GOK offices dusting away. Kenyan coffee can indeed become the premier specialty coffee brand in the world. I was there when the Americans made a presentation in Kenya to GOK outlining how to accomplish this. My hope is that GOK will listen and implement this plan.”
In order for the Kenyan coffee industry to reach the next level, Njuguna believes the country needs vision and integrity from their leaders. With effective leadership and a solid value system, he sees the coffee industry changing for the better. As the first Kenyan to have a coffee auction in America, he believes that outsiders see the coffee auction in Nairobi as one controlled by cartels/old men, who are eager to make something for themselves but not for the farmers.
However, he says that they are not a ragtag, analog group of men, but quite the opposite - they are a savvy demographic and have mastered the art of public relations by twisting narratives and possessing an uncanny ability to cover their tracks. In his opinion, they are driven by their greed, and they see the farmer as an easy target to provide necessary and cheap labor to further their enterprise.
Although there are obstacles to overcome in the Kenyan coffee enterprise, he believes that all Kenyan coffee is fantastic; yet, there is one that’s a cut above the rest. He explained, “This coffee isn’t better because of anything the farmer does necessarily, but because of the God-given attributes of the area: the terroir, soils, altitude, etc., and that’s Kirinyaga. At Zabuni we joke that if God drank a cup of coffee every morning, it would be Kirinyaga coffee. It is exceptional and wonderful in every way. “The kings cup,” we call it.” Njuguna discussed Kirinyaga Gov. Ann Waiguru who once had dreams of having a Kirinyaga coffee shop in New York, but her idea never got off of the ground. He doesn’t completely understand why it failed, but he likes to see it as a “desire deferred.” His hope is that she will win a second term, so the necessary resources can be employed toward that endeavor. He has offered to work pro bono for the people of Kirinyaga in order to see this dream become a reality.
As a businessman, Njuguna has learned the art of having integrity, working hard, listening well, persevering, and loving his craft which he believes are integral traits to being successful. He said that failure is the best teacher; though painful and maybe very costly, it provides wisdom. “So fail early and fast. When you have a small business, and especially when it's new, the highs are few and far between, therefore a thick skin comes in handy. They say that ‘success has many fathers but failure is an orphan.’ I don't handle failure well, but I learn and improve every day, own my failures, and keep moving forward.”
Njuguna has also learned how to effectively manage employees by putting the right people in the right jobs, providing them with needed resources, and “getting the heck out of their way.” He remarked that his leadership style is hands-on but not in an overbearing, controlling way.
“I love to empower people to take ownership and responsibility. The bald eagle forces its young out of its nest and they end up soaring. If you entrust people with responsibility and give them an opportunity to thrive, they will.” As any effective leader knows, there will be internal conflicts and it is imperative to know how to solve them when they arise. He feels that the key to solving conflicts is by having effective communication skills. He further explained that people must keep talking and listening to one another. “Having respect and loving others will go a long way in resolving conflict and issues that arise,” he said.
Zabuni Specialty Coffee Auction’s biggest clients are small and medium-sized roasters with annual turnover of about $500 to $5m. They primarily buy in pallet-sized quantities or less at a time. Zabuni also works with cooperatives in Kenya. Njuguna said, “Our process for choosing the right cooperative is to examine the quality of coffee - it has to be specialty grade coffee. The next factor we look for is a desire by the coop/farmer to do things differently in order to have different and better outcomes.”
Kenyan Delegation led by CS Peter Munya at Zabuni office in NE
Currently, he is living in Nebraska. When asked how he ended up in NE, he said, “I came here kicking and screaming, but God! I married a girl from “Ushago” (the rural area) and that's how I ended up here. We wanted to be closer to family as our children grew, and it indeed was the right thing to do. I love it; the quality and quantity of life is second to none. I also came to discover that I am a country boy at heart so now when I travel to Kenya, I spend most of my time in Ushago.”
Since arriving in Nebraska, Njuguna has had an excellent experience as an international businessman and views the local government as a godsend:
“They became emotionally vested in the process and walked with us. They gave us a business loan with a 3% interest rate and topped that off with a $100k forgivable loan, basically a grant. In Nebraska there's like one degree of separation and people are genuinely nice and want to help others succeed. They will invest in you if they see that you have a solid plan and are passionate about what you do and want to contribute to this society and economy. There is a reason that the State of Nebraska has won the President’s Cup three or four times in the last ten years, they really believe in small businesses and investing in them. The county governments in Kenya dont help business people, they have other priorities.”
Recently, Deputy President William Ruto was in Nebraska and Njuguna had the privilege of speaking with him for the second time. “I think well and highly of him simply because he is bold and brave enough to do things differently for Kenya and Wanjiku. He also shared that he would like to enhance and open up new trade and investment relationships with individual States, entrepreneurs, and companies, something that I'm a big advocate for especially in the Midwest agriculture sectors. l leave it at that for now,” he said.
As Crypto is becoming a major currency in the marketplace, Njuguna sees only benefits for the African farmer. “Coffee and blockchain can not only co-exist but they can thrive. The only thing is the focus should not be on the technology solely but on the people. If coffee farmers and consumers are the integral ingredients to any supply and value chain and there's an ethical emphasis on the blockchain (as opposed to just efficiency) then it would work wonders.”
In addition to having a successful career, Njuguna has a wonderful homelife. He feels blessed in many ways: getting married to Cora, becoming a Christian, experiencing the births of his four children: Sam, Murugi, JoJo and Muruthi, and starting Zabuni Specialty Coffee Auction. As he has previously mentioned, he also loves serving people - especially the farmers in Africa and in businesses here in the U.S. One of his favorite leisure activities is watching the Kansas City Chiefs, his favorite NFL team. In his spare time, he enjoys reading the Bible, and other books like Apollo’s Arrow by Nicholas Christakis and The Riches of This Land by Jim Tankersley.
Balancing a family and work isn’t easy, and Njuguna gives credit for his success to God. He also acknowledges the contribution of his wife, Cora. He said, “It’s tough, but I have a fantastic wife. She’s a Superwoman of sorts and tells me where I need to be and when I need to be there. We make a lot of sacrifices because we have a young business, but I’m still home almost daily to make sure I see the kids off to bed and spend most weekends with family goofing around.”
With all of his successes, Njuguna isn’t immune to the struggles of the human spirit. He said that his biggest fears are failure, poverty, being content with mediocrity, and being a letdown to his loved ones and community in the US and Kenya. To extinguish those fears, Njuguna turns to his faith in God which has sustained him throughout the years. The following verse is one that he remembers when those fears appear out of nowhere: “The plans of the Lord stand firm forever, the purposes of his heart through all generations.” Psalm 33:11
We here at AWM wish Njuguna, his family, and Zabuni Specialty Coffee Auction continued future success. With business management skills and having his priorities in the right place, we can only imagine the many lives he will positively impact, and the exciting adventures that await him and his family. We look forward to hearing back from Njuguna in the years to come.
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