Twiga Foods CEO Peter Njonjo Takes 6-Month Sabbatical
Peter Njonjo, the CEO of Twiga Foods, an e-commerce and food distribution company, has announced that he will be taking a six-month sabbatical.
In an announcement published in a local daily, the co-founder of the business-to-business (B2B) marketplace explained that after what he described as “an intense 2023,” he had decided to step away from his CEO role to focus on personal matters.
Njonjo expressed pride in the impact Twiga has had on food security in Africa, particularly in Kenya, since he joined as CEO in 2019.
He highlighted achievements such as job creation, the reduction of agricultural waste, and ultimately lowering food costs.
During his sabbatical, Twiga’s Chief Operating Officer Laurent Gouault and Chief Financial Officer Zuber Momoniat will oversee operational and commercial, as well as finance and legal functions, respectively.
While on sabbatical, Peter Njonjo will remain on the board of directors.
Twiga’s chairman, Hein Pretorius, expressed full support for Njonjo’s decision, acknowledging his commitment to completing Twiga’s recent funding round despite personal sacrifices.
Twiga, founded in 2013 by Njonjo and Grant Brooke, secured undisclosed funding in late November from existing investors Creadev, Juven, TLcom Capital Partners, and DOB Equity.
The announcement followed a legal dispute with cloud services vendor Incentro Africa, which filed a debt collection lawsuit against Twiga.
Despite the challenges, Twiga confirmed talks with Incentro to settle the debt after securing funding.
The company has undergone restructuring to cut costs and achieve a more efficient organization, with Njonjo emphasizing increased investment in technology to align with the company’s strategic goals.
