Kivu Noir – Rwanda’s Footprint

In the early beginnings of this year, I had the pleasure of sitting down with a promising young man, a coffee business entrepreneur. But before I dive into our juicy conversation, you might be wondering what took this long for me to publish the article. While I could list you a million reasons why it only came down to the fact that I was writing about a brand that could potentially put Rwanda on the map as far as food branding goes.

Rwanda is notoriously known as a country that rose from the ashes of a genocide and is now ranked as a leader for women's empowerment and one of the safest and cleanest African countries. The only food and beverage brands that are generally popular to the Rwandan community/diaspora include: “Akabanga”, “Agashya” and “Inyange”. Unfortunately, those have not yet made a global impact or are internationally recognized. This is far different from other western countries, such that when you think of the USA for example, brands like “McDonalds “or “Starbucks” immediately come to your mind. So, I do hope that today I will achieve some food brand justice and most importantly get you to indulge in a cup of Kivu noir coffee!

First, let me introduce to you the founder of Kivu Noir Coffee and now Kivu noir Café business owner, the 27-year old Kevin Mbundu.

Kevin grew up in Rwanda and spent most of his teenage and adult life in the USA, where he developed a passion for business entrepreneurship. He describes himself as an easy-going, sports fanatic, hardworking, and entrepreneur by nature guy, pretty much your best-bud but also the I-know-what-I-want-in-life kind of guy. It is not a surprise that Kevin has achieved his business brand at such a young age, the blood for business runs in his DNA, as his father and grandfather combined have more than 30 years of experience in the area.

When asked about the origin of his business he answered “I sought for a new opportunity, a way to diversify and add value to the coffee market, I wanted to avoid the detriment of Rwandan coffee being commoditized and hence Kivu Noir was born”.

At home, in the workplace or café one simply finds gratification with a cup of coffee, so you may ask what makes this coffee brand so special or attractive to a coffee enthusiast. Kevin summarized it like this “Kivu Noir coffee is a world-class luxury brand, it is illustrated as an element from the periodic table symbolizing a new element on the table…The name Kivu Noir represents the Rwandan topography, whereby Kivu is a Lake found in Rwanda and residence to Kivu Noir Coffee farms while Noir is French for Black and a choice made to enhance perception language of luxury”.

During our discussion, I discovered that most coffee growers in Rwanda are women and Kevin continues this trend of uplifting women by employing mainly women at his coffee farm. He explained to me that “It’s not that we want to make a publicity stunt that we mainly employ women but instead that we understand that Rwandan women have the art and craft capacity that is required in processing good coffee”.

On top of the hard labor that goes into growing good coffee, Kevin is constantly looking for new ways of up keeping his business “I subconsciously work on my business 24/7, every good project takes time and besides what do you have to lose anyway”. I say he’s right, just that many of us are not ready to take that big risk. In 2020, his eyes had set on a new horizon whereby he opened his first Kivu Noir Café.

The man is not afraid for sure, for I should remind you that he opened this café during the pandemic. “It was very organic, the way it all unrolled, we advertised our café on social media, through the support of friends and family we managed to gain an audience. Plus, being that it was a collaboration with Moshions a well-known Rwandan fashion brand, we knew that this new space would spark curiosity”. If I can paint you a picture of the café, I would describe it as a small charming space, with green and earthy vibes, white and black painted walls which complements the coffee brand very well. While I was there, I imagined myself on a private balcony surrounded by plants and smelling the coffee aroma, home in a capsule.

I wanted to know more about challenges he encountered and mistakes he made in the past to enlighten young people like him who want to take the same route and his reply was “There are always challenges, specifically to the coffee sector even though Rwandan coffee is locally made and sourced, the gap is in the know-how of coffee processing down to making a simple cup of coffee, which is why we are bringing you videos to teach people more about coffee”.

He then added, “As far as mistakes, you are bound to make them but my advice is that you shouldn’t do what other people tell you to do, trust your instincts, because then if it is a mistake, you will take the blame and perhaps for a safety net, consult with your friends and family”.

“How do you know your product is ready to be put on the market and what should we expect from Kivu Noir next?” I asked.

“The only way to find out is by coming up with a variety of options for people to try out and also testing it with your clients, they are the true judges of your creation. What to expect from us next, well it is top secret so stay tuned” he replied. I sure hope we all will follow up with his next move.

We will often hear about horror stories about failing businesses and what I have learned thus far as the author of this blog, is that each experience and journey will be different. In the last minutes of our conversation, Kevin highlighted that “There is a sense of responsibility that comes about running a business and especially handling people”. I do no doubt that this young man will make his footprint in the coffee business or make a global impact, for his dream is to open more cafés hence putting Rwanda on the map for food branding.

Alors les amis, I hope when you come to Rwanda or already are in the land of a thousand hills, you make a short stop at Kivu Noir Café .... Because if you were once a coffee newbie like me, you will come back for your second cup and you will surely want to know more about this brand.