Kenya's Keroche Breweries founder and chief executive Tabitha Karanja has been recognised for her fighting spirit and entrepreneurial mind. She received the Entrepreneurial Excellence in Africa Award in the Lifetime Africa Achievement Prize in Accra, Ghana on Saturday 20 August, becoming only the fourth Kenyan to have won the prize after former President Mwai Kibaki, industrialist Manu Chandaria and US-based Harvard University Professor Calestous Juma.
“I am super excited with this recognition,” Mrs Karanja said on Wednesday before taking on the first leg of the journey to Ghana where to receive her prize on entrepreneurship excellence. Mrs Karanja’s big news arrived two weeks ago in a bulky envelope delivered by an international courier in the mid-morning. It was a typical busy day at the Keroche Breweries office off Nairobi’s Riverside Drive, and Mrs Karanja happened to be in. The first person she shared the news with was her husband and Keroche chairman Joseph Karanja.
About Tabitha Karanja
Tabitha Karanja is founder and CEO of Keroche Breweries. She is one of Kenya's leading entrepreneurs, a remarkable trailblazer and an example of a woman made good against all the odds. Tabitha chose to venture where none before her had dared. She took on an 87-year-old business monopoly and entered an industry with a deeply entrenched male gender stereotype. Tabitha broke the mould to become Kenya’s first home-grown beer and alcoholic drink manufacturer. Today, her company's state-of-the-art production facility is targeting 20% of the Kenyan market.
For her enormous contribution in liberalizing the liqour market in Kenya, Tabitha was honored by President Mwai Kibaki in 2010 with a most significant Kenyan accolade - the Moran of the Order of the Burning Spear (M.B.S.) Award.
Read Tabitha Karanja's 100 Lionesses Profile here.
About the Award
The Prize for Entrepreneurial Excellence in Africa is awarded to an individual in recognition of their fortitude, devotion and commitment to the betterment of life through business development in their country and Africa at large. This is a Prize unparalleled for their Leadership qualities so exhibited in their country and Africa at large.
This individual’s contribution towards economic empowerment combined with commitment to ethics, quality and public service, shows the conviction that economic sustainability is crucial to continuing independence. One who recognizes that his generosity of spirit is not borne out of privilege or making a profound statement for his gender but his unyielding spirit and determination to make a difference through entrepreneurial acumen and resourcefulness. One who is driven by a passion to succeed as an enabler to serve and to be of service to humanity.