My favourite Java House is at Wilson Airport, a haven for calming my nerves before the perilous flying-coffin journeys to the Kenyan coast or savannah[1]. Java House, Kenya’s tastier answer to Starbucks, operates over 80 branches in East Africa, including a smattering in neighbouring Rwanda and Uganda. This proudly Kenyan brand, however, has primarily been backed by foreign investors, including ECP and Abraaj. This week, one of these investors was in court, over a quintessential emerging markets dispute: allegedly unpaid taxes. This matters because of the tension between attracting investment for development, and making sure locals benefit from it.
Share this post
The tax man dines at Kenya’s Java House
Share this post
My favourite Java House is at Wilson Airport, a haven for calming my nerves before the perilous flying-coffin journeys to the Kenyan coast or savannah[1]. Java House, Kenya’s tastier answer to Starbucks, operates over 80 branches in East Africa, including a smattering in neighbouring Rwanda and Uganda. This proudly Kenyan brand, however, has primarily been backed by foreign investors, including ECP and Abraaj. This week, one of these investors was in court, over a quintessential emerging markets dispute: allegedly unpaid taxes. This matters because of the tension between attracting investment for development, and making sure locals benefit from it.