Peter Njonjo: Harvard Educated Co-Founder and Ex-CEO of Twiga Foods

Peter Njonjo is the former Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and Co-founder of Twiga foods company.

He was appointed CEO in April 2019 replacing Grant Brooke.

Moreover, Njonjo served as the President of Coca-Cola Company’s West Africa business unit for two years before his appointment to Twiga foods.

From January 2011 to July 2016, Njonjo was the General Manager of Coca-Cola East Africa. In his role, he led the Coca-Cola’s franchise bottling system, overseeing 13 bottling companies that directly employ more than 7,500 people across six countries on the Est Coast of Africa.

Likewise, the businessman stewarded system investments of more than $1 billion over five years and led the restructuring of Coca-Cola’s route to market across East Africa to drive long-term sustainable growth.

Also Read: Twiga Foods Say Firing Employees Was Necessary

Similarly, Njonjo served on the global team that created Africa’s largest Coca-Cola bottler – Coca-Cola Beverages Africa.

Prior to that, the Twiga Foods boss served as Coca-Cola’s Country Manager in Kenya from 2009 to 2011, where he oversaw activities for seven independent franchise companies.

Furthermore, in his tenure at coca-coal, Njonjo served as an Executive Assistant to the President of the East and Central Africa business unit; as the East and Central Africa business unit Planning Manager; and as Finance Manager for Coca-Cola’s leading juice supplier in Kenya, Beverage Service Kenya.

He joined The Coca-Cola Company in 1998 as an accountant based in Nairobi, Kenya.

Schooling

Peter Njonjo did his Executive leadership program from 2016 to 2018 at Harvard Business School.

He holds a bachelor’s degree in international business administration from the United States International University.

Prior to that, Njonjo went to Strathmore business school from 1995 to 1997 and studied accounting and finance.  He is a Certified Public Accountant.

Achievements

Nonetheless, the Twiga Foods CEO was voted among the top 100 young leaders in Africa by Forbes Afrique.

Similarly, he was voted among the top 40 under 40” by The Business Daily in Kenya for three consecutive years.

Njonjo is the former president of American Chamber of Commerce in Kenya and a former member of the Unites States International University Council.

He is a board member of The Jim McFie Education Fund, American Business Council in Nigeria, a member of the Africa Leadership Network and Young Presidents organization.

Also Read: Twiga Foods to Receive Ksh.300M From Hustler Fund

Twiga Foods

Twiga Foods was launched in 2014 to march vendors with bananas farmers.

Eventually, the company introduced other fresh produce including fruits and vegetables from within the country.

Twiga Foods is presently a technology and service company running a highly efficient supply chain connecting farmers, suppliers, vendors and customers with high quality produce, groceries, and home goods.

The company has grown over time, with more than 140,000 small retailers across the country, which covers about 25% of the entire industry.

Twiga foods has collection centers across the country with cold storage facilities, and mobilized trucks and vans for swift collection and distribution of produce.

Through the Twiga Foods platform, a vendor can order stock, and the firm is able to deliver a better, low-cost, quality product, compared to informal, broker-controlled markets.

On Saturday, August 19, the firm announced plans to lay off staff as part of its strategic restructuring amid a rough economic situation. 

“Regrettably, this exercise has seen the company declare some roles redundant across the organization in full compliance with applicable labour laws. 

“The review has further necessitated the resizing of its operating model across its regions,” the statement read in part.