Tabitha Karanja is Forbes Africa’s 2014 Woman Entrepreneur of the year. She is the first female brewery owner, a journey that saw her wrestle with a multinational brewer that had enjoyed eight decades of monopoly in Kenya. Her company, Keroche Breweries, is a multi-billion shilling industry that employs hundreds of Kenyans and produces pocket-friendly beers, spirits and wines.
From humble beginnings, Tabitha Karanja has transformed a local fortified wines plant into a leading brewery in Kenya and the Eastern and Central Africa region. The journey of patience and hard work began more than two decades ago when she was just an ordinary woman in the countryside. Although she harboured dreams of striking it rich some day, fighting it out with multinationals never crossed her mind. It all started in the early 1990s when her husband, Joseph Karanja, closed his hardware shop in Naivasha Town to try his hand at brewing instead. With fewer than 10 workers, Karanja ventured into producing fortified wine, only to discover that he had sipped more than he could swallow. He turned to his sceptical wife for help.
“He convinced me that fortified wine was the key to our dream of owning a large business enterprise,” says Karanja, who has never regretted her decision to partner with her husband in the business arena. However, nothing could have prepared her for the bruising battle that lay ahead. “We were being fought from all corners of the country.”
The businesswoman remembers the many times she wept as powerful individuals, in and outside government, launched relentless attacks on her. “Never did they think of me as a woman simply trying to make a living.” Politicians led the onslaught, openly telling wananchi to shun her products, which they called chang’aa (illegal spirits). It was the beginning of what Karanja calls “tough beer wars.” She had many sleepless nights wondering if it was worth her effort, but she was determined to soldier on. “It was a long, often lonely journey, as my husband and I weathered crisis after crisis.”
She soon discovered that she had to be stronger than her husband, who was getting battle-weary. Officials from government departments kept knocking on her door, demanding bribes to the tune of one billion shillings. At one point, they even closed the business. To come this far, I had to venture where only the brave-hearted dared: to take the bull by the horns in an arena where few before me dared to challenge a decades-old business monopoly Karanja is glad she fought hard through trials and tribulations to build Keroche Breweries. Her determination led her to a place no Kenyan had ever been. She became not just the first woman to own a brewery, but also the most successful one. Her resilience has won her accolades, including being rated the second woman to watch in 2013 by Ventures Africa magazine, a bi-monthly Pan-African business publication. The magazine champions African capitalism by celebrating African success, free enterprise, the entrepreneurial spirit and rewards of hard work. In 2013, she was also awarded Kenya’s Golden Jubilee Award for Tremendous Achievements in Manufacturing. The 2009 Moran of the Burning Spear awardee was also named Forbes Africa’s 2014 East Africa and Africa Businesswoman of the Year.
She has also featured in many publications as a success story of Africa’s greatest entrepreneurs and business leaders. She has been rated among 13 other iconic women in Africa, who include former President of Malawi, Joyce Banda, and former Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf.
As chief executive officer, Karanja steered Keroche to quickly distinguish itself as the only brewer of high quality and healthy natural, sugar-free beer, winning the hearts of many Kenyans. The factory is the sole producer of award winning brands such as Summit Lager and Summit Malt. “To come this far, I had to venture where only the brave-hearted dared: to take the bull by the horns in an arena where few before me dared to challenge a decades-old business monopoly,” Karanja says. She had to overcome gender stereotypes to become a major player in the lucrative beverages industry.
As Keroche boss, she has paved the way for many other women in a country where females are scarce in boardrooms and even rarer in million-dollar start-ups. Karanja has painstakingly turned her brewery into a lucrative business, succeeding in breaking the 80-year monopoly by the multinational East African Breweries Limited. By the time she launched Summit, Karanja had become a force to reckon with and had survived the turmoil to gain recognition and admiration. It was time to expand her territory since she had gained great experience from her travels to wine-producing and brewing countries such as South Africa, Germany and the Netherlands.
In her first five-year expansion plan, she invested KES 2.9 billion in a plant that saw Keroche soar to dizzying heights. The fully automated brewery has the capacity to produce 250 hectolitres per brew with an annual capacity of a million hectolitres. The investment increased Kenya’s beer market to 20 per cent from three. When she started the fortified wine business for the low-end market in 1997, she knew it would be tough, and for 10 years she stood up to the big names in the wine industry. In 2007, prohibitive taxes levied on alcohol-makers made it hard to keep prices low. Keroche products became too costly for target customers, forcing them to die out and pave the way for ready-to-drink vodka.
The market has been opening up to the new drink despite going through what sheterms as her most difficult time in 2003, when the Provincial Administration raided more than 10 depots in Central Kenya. Politicians then joined the fray to bring down her business. Though it was a huge trial, she recalls: “I thought to myself, how can I give up on my dream and let my business crumble when I have come this far?”
The Karanjas summoned all their strength and willpower to turn their challenges into sources of strength, inspiration and motivation. “I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve walked along the corridors of justice to protect Keroche from competitors who were threatened by my daring to tread where only men do,” Karanja says.
By 2007, Keroche had penetrated the local market deeply. It was, therefore, a huge blow when it was not the competition, but an unexplained huge tax bill that forced her out of the wine business. It was scary, but her resolve to realise her dreams kept her going. She watched her business grow from a small three-room factory with a handful
of workers to a modern brewery employing hundreds of Kenyans, living up to her motto ‘Truly Kenyan’.
To weather the tax crisis, Keroche shifted to brandies, gins and vodkas. She went a step further and decided to venture into beer-making. With no money to match her competitors’ budgets, Karanja was determined that nothing would deter her from serving her consumers the best beer ever. On 24 October 2008, Kenya’s Prime Minister at the time, Raila Odinga, launched Summit Lager. “This was the best day in my life,” the Keroche CEO says. Her company had given Kenyans a choice after 87 years of multinational dominance. Given a level playing ground, the new venture would attract 25 to 35 per cent of the national beer market.
The brewery initially employed 100 people, with hundreds more engaged in distribution. It invested one billion shillings in loans from local banks in a new plant built by Italian and German engineers. The brewery has the capacity to produce 6,000 half-litre bottles per hour. The credible, well-established business enabled Karanja to
secure credit amid scepticism from most financiers. The business was lucrative and through earnings and bank loans, production expanded. The terrain changed. Karanja won the hearts of many, especially because Keroche
contributes a big chunk of its earnings to the country’s economy. “The government has been supportive of the local venture unlike in the past when I had many sleepless nights due to harassment by government officials.”
In 2015, the brewer commissioned a new KES 5.5 billion brewing plant with a capacity to produce 600,000 bottles per day and 30 brands of alcohol. The year also saw a return of the new weighty tax challenges with the country’s tax regulator. With two adult daughters and two sons, Karanja always has time for the family. In most cases, dinner is shared and birthdays are marked in a special way. Despite her busy schedule, she considers family the best thing in life. With a gym at home, she makes time for exercise. “I have to be fit both mentally and physically. When I get time, I jog. Good music with a Christian message makes my day.”
The entrepreneur, who loves to travel, both for business and leisure, accompanies her family whenever possible. She considers her husband her best friend and motivator. “He dreamed and I picked it up and look where that noble dream has taken us!” Karanja says her greatest achievement is seeing her children following in their footsteps. Already, their oldest daughter Anerlisa Muigai is shaping her own destiny in industry. She launched the ‘Executive’ brand drinking water in 2013. “The water was a huge success during Kenya’s 50 years (of independence) celebration,” says the proud mother.
The industrialist describes her family as having the biggest impact on her career. “I’ve always felt the responsibility to succeed and never fail them. They have held me up and encouraged me during tough times.” The entrepreneur formed Keroche Breweries Foundation to support at least four bright Kenya Certificate of Primary Education pupils from needy families yearly to pursue secondary education. Dozens of needy pupils have benefited from the kitty. “I
have to keep remembering that if I did not get support from my base (Naivasha), I would not have come this far,” she says.
Keroche runs a water project that supplies the breweries and the wider community. The firm also makes financial and social contributions to projects such as the Naivasha Safe House, which provides temporary shelter for abused children from the surrounding area. Karanja supports football and related clubs to help youth become responsible citizens. “I have to keep in mind all social responsibilities given the nature of my business… I have to adhere to the strict regulations that govern the industry and keep reminding Kenyans to drink responsibly in a campaign that costs the company a great deal of money.”
Karanja encourages women in large-scale businesses to never give up. “They should not shy away from competing with men. That is the only way they can become role models to fellow women.” She attributes her success to having a vision, a dream and a cause. “Hard work and resilience have also been key,” she says, “as have been finding the right team to work with.”
In August 2016, Karanja became the first Kenyan woman to bag the Entrepreneurial Excellence in Africa Award after former President Mwai Kibaki and Dr Manu Chandaria. In December 2016, she was also awarded the Global Inspirational Women Leadership Award.
The industrialist, who started off as a librarian in a government department, aims to distribute Keroche products throughout Africa. She regards Kenya as the kingpin in Africa both in development and opportunity. “Many countries are looking up to us, which is to say the country has lots of potential and opportunities.”