Peter Njonjo on business strategy
From MEET COVER STAR Peter Njonjo: 'Africans are Spending a Significant Amount on Food' · · Forbes Africa
“Not to say that you keep on changing where the organization is going but once you have clarity about what it is that you want to achieve then you can give yourself a bit of flexibility in terms of how you achieve it; that iterative approach allows you then to adapt for what's happening in the environment.”
On , Peter Njonjo, CEO & Co-Founder at Twiga Foods, spoke about business strategy during MEET COVER STAR Peter Njonjo: 'Africans are Spending a Significant Amount on Food' on Forbes Africa.
About Peter Njonjo
Peter Njonjo, co-founder and former CEO of Twiga Foods, has spoken extensively about the company's mission to address inefficiencies in Africa's food supply chain. He has described the retail industry in Africa as "broken" and "very informal," noting that "pretty much nothing has changed over the last 50–60 years." Njonjo has cited the example of a tomato costing about $100 a metric ton in California compared to $420 in Nairobi and $2,500 in Kinshasa, arguing that "some of the world's poorest consumers are paying some of the highest prices when it comes to basic food items." He has stated that Africans on average spend half their disposable income on food, a figure he compared to the United States 150 years ago. Njonjo has said Twiga Foods aims to "leverage technology to build efficiency into some of these supply chains" and that "technology could provide a solution to accelerate food security." Njonjo resigned as CEO of Twiga Foods and stepped down from its board in January 2024, though he remains a shareholder with a stake valued at over $1 million. He previously spent 21 years at The Coca-Cola Company, where his last role was President of West and Central Africa. Njonjo has credited his wife with encouraging him to sell their matrimonial home to finance Twiga Foods in its early days. He has also spoken about the importance of mentorship, saying that "there are many dreamers like myself" in the entrepreneurial ecosystem and that supporting them "really keeps me focused on the agenda of ensuring that we continue driving this multiplier effect."