Last Friday, Margaret Nyamumbo of Kahawa 1893 continued the long tradition of coffee companies going on Shark Tank in hopes of receiving large sums of investment capital. And like many of those that came before her, Myamumbo scored big time.
As we reported last week, Nyamumbo came in with an opening offer of $350,000 for a 5% stake in Kahawa 1893, who “sources coffee directly from African women who often aren’t fairly compensated for their labor.” According to CNBC, her pitch was quite successful, with only one shark, Kevin O’Leary, not making Nyamumbo an offer because he believed her $7 million valuation of the company was too high.
Listen to our interview with Margaret Nyamumbo on the Seed to Cup podcast:
“You’re worth more,” Mark Cuban interjected, and thus began the bidding war. Offers went as high as $700,000 for a 25% stake in the company, which Nyamumbo rejected due to not wanting to give up that large of a percentage of her company. In the end, both Robert Herjavec and guest shark Emma Grede offering the initially requested $350,000 but for an 8% stake, with Nyamumbo accepting Grede’s proposal, due in part to her experience as a Black businesswoman and fundraiser.
“This is just a dream come true for me, getting another Black woman supporting me and mentoring me,” Nyamumbo said. “All the other women farmers that we work with—they’re going to be so excited.”
So expect to see Kahawa 1893 popping up all over the place. And if you’d like to get ahead of the curve, head over to Kahawa 1893’s official website to order a couple of bags for yourself and see what all the fuss is about.
Zac Cadwalader is the managing editor at Sprudge Media Network and a staff writer based in Dallas. Read more Zac Cadwalader on Sprudge.
