Muthoni Schneidewind Running Coffee Empire in Germany: Kenyans are known to dare abroad in efforts to find greener pastures for themselves and their families.
The story of German-based Muthoni Schneidewind is an example of grass to grace, as she navigated life from a coffee picker to running multiple businesses in Kenya and beyond.
Speaking to Chams Media, the third-generation coffee farmer narrated how she used to help her father pick coffee during the weekends, which paid for her school fees from primary all through to secondary levels.
“It’s coffee that took me to school, I’m from the generation that knows what it is like to be a farmer’s child,” she noted.
“Everyone knows that Coffee farmers are poor. I wanted to change the narrative. Coffee is our heritage, coffee is in my blood,” she noted.
Muthoni, a farmer, restaurant owner, business owner and philanthropist, worked in various Kenyan companies as a marketing consultant, before moving to Germany in 2009.
“I worked for Vitacraft, a German company that produces pet food, and later got another role with Coca-Cola,” she narrated.
After working at Coca-Cola for a few years, Muthoni started her business, Chania Coffee, in 2013, after discovering the high prices of Kenyan-branded coffee, in the European country.
The entrepreneur started the business small, by researching importation avenues, to partner with Kenyan coffee farmers in their efforts to export the product outside the country.
Muthoni then completed the necessary paperwork in both Germany and Kenya, so she could import coffee from farmers directly to Germany, eliminating the need for a middleman.
“I found that there was a law passed in Kenya in 2007, allowing the direct trade of Kenyan coffee to the world,” she noted.
In February 2014, she was able to ship her first coffee container from Kenya, airlifting 30 kilograms in the first batch.
“It was very expensive, we did not make any money, but at least we proved to our farmers and consumers that it was possible,” she explained.
Her businesses include Chania Coffee House in Germany, Kenya-Dorf-Volunteers (KEDOVO CBO), and KEDOVO Germany.
By SUSAN MUKAMI MWANGI
Source-https://www.kenyans.co.ke/
