My Cafe in Kampala

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  MUGUME SHAFIKI

  :: 20 May 2022 21:38:34

  Nice place When three US-born former relief workers started the Nairobi Java House in Kenya 15 years ago, all they wanted was a place they could “get a good cup of coffee”. Today Java is East Africa’s largest coffee chain with 25 outlets in Kenya and Uganda. The company has also diversified into the pizza and frozen yoghurt business through its five Planet Yoghurt stores and one 360 Degrees Pizza outlet. From its humble beginnings in a shared kitchen where its co-founders learned how to roast coffee and make pastries, Java has grown to become the face of the success of casual dining restaurants and coffee chain models in Kenya. When Java started in 1999, Kenya’s economy was struggling, there was no coffee drinking culture and there were no modern shopping malls. Kevin Ashley, co-founder and CEO of Nairobi Java House, tells How we made it in Africa he never imagined Java would become this big a success. The firm has 1,200 staff and is expanding fast, opening 12 stores a year. In 2012 pan-African private equity company Emerging Capital Partners (ECP) acquired a stake in Java for an undisclosed amount