THE COFFEE ROASTER ENTREPRENEUR SERIES: BOON COFFEE

by Dhiren Bhatia / September 07, 2020

In today’s episode, I speak to Orit Mohammed, founder of Boon Coffee. After finishing her Masters of Arts in Economic Development in the United States, Orit spent a few years working for some international organizations. In 2008, after getting married to a fellow Harrar native, she moved to Dubai where she and her husband continued to establish their business in the UAE and start a family. After having three children and raising them for a couple of years, she decided to reconnect with the coffee culture she grew up with.

Boon Coffee, a company that started off as a “one roasting machine and a box of cups” now supports thousands of coffee farmers based in Ethiopia. Orit’s decision to source Ethiopian coffee – arguably the best coffee harvest in the world and geographically very close to the UAE – formed a strong link between hardworking farmers and consumers who are very particular about the source of what they consume. The company recently added a B2C component to their business by introducing two cafes in Dubai.

Orit loves being in Dubai and is proud of her product as well as a brand that has traveled not only through the GCC but also all the way to Europe and the United States. In this episode, she walks us through the challenges and stereotypes she’s had to confront as a result of being an Ethiopian female entrepreneur.

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Episode Highlights

04:00 – Why Orit moved from the US to Ethiopia and then to Dubai
13:10 – How she got into the coffee industry
16:00 – Gaining exposure in the coffee market and landing her first big deal
29:00 – Where Orit’s confidence for the coffee business stems from
35:00 – The very first “NO” that Orit got
36:25 – How COVID19 affected business
47:10 – Plans to open cafes in other parts of the world
47:45 – Orit’s biggest challenge that she’s had to overcome
50:14 – Orit’s source of inspiration
56:35 – An important lesson for someone that’s just starting
59:21 – Regrets and lessons

Thank you for listening! I hope you enjoyed this episode and I’d love to hear your feedback. You can email me at hello@elevatedentrepreneur.fm and help me improve or if you have someone in mind that would be a great guest on the show, feel free to recommend them via email.

If you liked the episode, I appreciate you leaving a review on iTunes as it helps other entrepreneurs to find the show. You can also share the episode via Facebook, LinkedIn and Instagram and tag someone who you feel would benefit from the podcast!

Thanks and lots of love,

Dhiren Bhatia

  • Episode Transcript
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