Interview Summary
Faustin Mbundu is the owner and chairman of the Rwanda-based MFK Group, a diversified holding company with investments spanning specialty coffee and horticulture, transportation and logistics, real estate and project management.
Mbundu begins the interview by discussing his childhood. Born into a coffee and gold trading Rwandan family living in Uganda, his father’s success motivated him to pursue a career in business. He talks about the difficulties faced by people of Rwandan origin in Uganda and how it pushed him to support the Tulsi led rebel group which ended the genocide in Rwanda in July 1994. As he notes in his interview, he “could not wait to come back home, to my real home, where I felt my roots were”.
When Mbundu moved to Rwanda in 1994 at the age of 30, he was given a leadership role in the Rwanda Chamber of Commerce and Industry. This allowed him to contribute to Rwanda’s development while continuing his own business. He explains how he grew his coffee business by exporting it to neighbouring countries including Uganda and Kenya, as Rwanda at the time lacked the capacity to process coffee.
Mbundu discusses how he borrowed capital to expand his fledging new businesses in Rwanda, especially the capital-intensive trading business. This was a break from the family tradition. He explains that his father had never borrowed money from a bank, as he feared losing control of his business and foreclosure, He goes on to discuss how the impressive returns on his coffee business, which was built from $2 million borrowed capital in 1994, helped his father revise his hostility to using debt to grow his business. However, he notes that the business did experience challenges, both after a secular decline in coffee prices after 1997, and through his own move into premium coffee after 2003, as financial institutions had difficulty understanding the changing nature of the business.
Mbundu explains that he overcame the challenge of retaining talent through a system of incentives combined with internal and external audits like financial controls and timely reports. He highlights that it was important to avoid a monopoly of information among employees. Explaining that he actively engages in customer feedback, he discusses the importance of a business leader’s involvement in a business. He also discusses the importance of building scalable businesses one by one and identifying a cash cow among the portfolio for stability. He explains how over time the development of the private sector, the evolution of the tax system and regulatory framework, the growth of the financial sector and diffusion of technology have made the Rwanda favorable for entrepreneurs. He believes that his leadership positions at institutions like the Rwanda Private Sector Federation, the Chamber of Commerce, and the East African Development Bank helped him contribute to this favorable outcome.
Talking about a cause that is close to his heart, Mbundu explains that he extends financial support to disadvantaged students. He concludes the interview by sharing the lessons he learnt in his entrepreneurial journey. They include the importance of pivoting early to avoid the fallacy of sunk costs , the risk of blurring business and social connections when working with other family members, , and “if you have a cash cow, don't strain it. Let it feed one mouth at a time.”
In management, it's not how you are attached socially to someone who gives you deliverables in your company. It's more about how you are attached to them and connect with them on numbers.
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Additional Resources
" MFK Group Founder Faustin Mbundu shares his entrepreneurial journey, "
CNBC Africa , July 5 2019.
MFK Group Founder Faustin Mbundu shares his entrepreneurial journey, July 5, 2019.
Faustin Mbundu on life, secrets to business longevity & embracing Rwandan identity I THE LONG FORM, March 25, 2024.
Wycliffe Nyamasege, " From helping his father run coffee farm to becoming a business mogul: The rise and rise of Faustin Mbundu,"
IGIHE Network , March 26, 2024.
Interview Citation Format
Interview with Faustin Mbundu, interviewed by Martin Sinozich, Kigali, Rwanda, 17 May 2025, Creating Emerging Markets Oral History Collection, Baker Library Special Collections and Archives, Harvard Business School, http://www.hbs.edu/creating-emerging-markets/.
