Most successful entrepreneurs had to face numerous setbacks in starting their business. Billionaire Tabitha Karanja is not an exception. Currently she owns and manages a multi-billion company, Keroche Breweries.

Tabitha Karanja is the Founder and CEO of Keroche Breweries, the first and largest brewery in Kenya owned by a non-multinational company.  Keroche breweries accounts for more than 20% beer consumption in the country.

About the company

It took almost two decades for Keroche to be an established company. Before starting the company, Tabitha was a librarian at a government office. She then left the job in 1997 to start a hardware shop in Naivasha. While in working on her hardware she realized a market gap in the liquor industry. This prompted Tabitha to start her own breweries company with the help of her husband.

One of her company’s main brand is Summit (Summit Lager and Summit Malt): One of high class liquor brands with the highest consumption rate in Kenya. The brand was established in 2005.

Her business has faced a number of challenges. E.g. tax low, accusations of unethical trade practices that led her Keroche billboards to be pulled down, selling unhealthy drinks etc.

But her company has had a reputable growth and Keroche Breweries is currently worth billions of shillings.

Tabitha Karanja has won many awards. In 2014 she was named Business Woman of the year at CNBC All Africa Business Leaders Awards.