Who is Andrew Rugasira? Flash Uganda Media looks at his biography, age, wife, family, tribe, achievements, and relationship with Martha, Henry Rugasira, A Good African Story, the early life and education of the founder and CEO of Good African Coffee.
Andrew Rugasira, sometimes known as Andrew Magezi Rugasira, is a businessman and author from Uganda.
Rugasira is the writer of ‘A Good African Story: How a Small Company Built a Global Coffee Brand.’
He is also the founder and CEO of Good African Coffee, the first African-owned coffee brand to be sold in UK and US stores.
Early Life and Education
Andrew Rugasira was born as the third and only boy of five children to Martha and Henry Rugasira in 1971.
He has four sisters, two younger and two older. He was raised in Kampala, Uganda.
His father, from Kanungu district, Kihiihi, was an industrialist who founded the Kampala Chalk Factory in Uganda in the 1970s. His mother was an administrator from Luweero who worked in a bank before joining his father’s firm.
Rugasira was raised in a Christian home. However, at university, he abandoned his beliefs. He later reconnected with his Christian faith after discovering his purpose, which included making a difference in the lives of others in his community.
When he was eight years old, he joined a missionary boarding school, Savio School in Kisubi, where he studied primary five, six, and seven.
He then joined St Mary’s [College] Kisubi for two years after which he travelled to the United Kingdom stopping in senior two in Uganda.
He studied his O-levels in the United Kingdom. He subsequently transferred to another school in the north of England, Shrewsbury, to complete his A-levels.
In September 1992, he graduated from the University of London with a degree in Law and Economics.
Rugasira returned home soon after graduation and accepted a research position at the Centre for Basic Research in Kampala, with a specific focus on the influence of World Bank policies on Uganda’s industrial sector.
His father died at the age of 51 less than a year afterwards. He went from researcher to entrepreneur overnight, taking over the family firm.
Kampala Chalk Factory was closed a few years afterwards. This was owing to the liberalisation measures that went into effect in 1993, which made it difficult for local manufacturers to compete favourably.
Rugasira received his Master’s degree in African studies from Oxford University in June 2011.
He is a father of five children whom he fathered with his ex-wife Jackie with whom they had been married for a long period and separated around 2016.
His current partner is Alice Sibomana Rugasira as of December 2020.
Career and Professional Work Experience
After Kampala Chalk Factory collapsed in 1993, Andrew Rugasira founded his first company, VR Promotions Ltd, which specialized in promotions, logistics, and event management.
VR has created and organised a wide range of events, from huge international concerts to public awareness campaigns, from tiny rural health promotion programmes to large World Bank and UN project premieres, as well as logistical and transportation support for public sector clients.
During President Bill Clinton’s 1998 visit to Uganda, VR also provided major event support for public sector clients and the White House.
Rugasira extended the company to a full-service communications agency in 2000, offering a wide range of services such as advertising and communication assistance before selling his stake to focus on the coffee project.
Andrew Rugasira created Good African Coffee in 2003, naming it “The Rwenzori Coffee Company” at the time.
Good African Coffee was the first African-owned coffee brand to be sold in major UK supermarkets (Waitrose, Sainsbury’s, and Tesco).
The company works with a supply network of over 14,000 coffee farmers in western Uganda, where it has also formed 17 savings and credit cooperatives.
Good African Coffee is now accessible online in the United States, in addition to being available in over 700 UK supermarkets and 500 African retailers.
Rugasira launched Good African Chocolate on January 10th, 2016, to compliment his existing brand of Good African Coffees.
Published Works
Andrew Rugasira’s first book, ‘A Good African Story: How a Small Company Built a Global Coffee Brand.’ was released by Random House UK in 2013.
The book tells the tale of “Good African Coffee” from its inception to being the first African company to have its products listed in UK supermarkets.
It depicts Rugasira’s difficulties and tribulations, his adventure in South Africa, and his business background. It is an examination of doing business in Africa and the hurdles that businesspeople, particularly in Uganda, encounter in order to thrive.
Rugasira has authored various papers and articles for publications such as the Guardian (UK), Financial Times (UK), Telegraph (UK), and New Vision (Uganda).
Achievements and Awards
Andrew Rugasira defied all odds to become the first Ugandan to sell processed coffee in supermarkets in the United Kingdom and the United States.
He has received various accolades, including the Legatum Pioneers for Prosperity award in 2007 and the Africa Vision Award in 2005 from the African Times in Los Angeles, USA.
Destiny in Uganda honoured him with Business Personality of the Year in 2006.
In 2007, the World Economic Forum designated him a Young Global Leader.
Rugasira was named Ugandan Entrepreneur of the Year 2007 and Coffee Entrepreneur of the Year 2006 by the Uganda Coffee Development Authority.
He was also nominated for the Financial Times/Accelor Mittal Boldness in Business award in 2010.
He frequently lectures at leadership and business conferences and is passionate about community transformation efforts.
Rugasira is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts in London, where he presented a discussion titled “Trade Not Aid for Africa.”
He was also a member of Uganda’s Presidential Investor Roundtable (PIRT), the Chairman of Uganda’s Eastern African Fine Coffees Association (EAFCA), and a board member of Maisha Film Lab.
Controversies
Rugasira’s Good African Coffee and Good African Café Restaurants in Kampala were closed down by the Uganda Revenue Authority in 2017 due to Ugx 1 billion in tax arrears.
However, after a few days, the tax regulating agency cleared Rugasira after both parties reached an agreement.
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