Our goal is to contribute to the revival of growing quality Arabica coffee in the Mt Elgon region of Eastern Uganda. We plan to achieve this through innovation and by working with other players in the coffee sector to find solutions for challenges faced by coffee farmers.

This has led us into creating our own brand of roasted premium Arabica coffee; Mountain of the Sun Coffee, grown on the rich, volcanic soils of Mt. Elgon in the Eastern part of Uganda and sold to the world.

Our Founder and CEO Emmanuel George Masaba was inspired to start this company by watching his father, who grew quality coffee, but just like most coffee farmers, but sold it off in the raw form at low prices which could not sustain the farm. “This made me believe that though Arabica coffee was part of my heritage (Bagisu’s heritage), if we continue with same practice, we will end up abandoning coffee growing and cut down the trees. We chose to engage in solving the challenges faced along the production and marketing lines. We now focus on growing good quality Arabica coffee, process it following recommended international standards and are building an genuine brand that will deliver our coffee to the world.” 

In the 1970’s, my parents bought a piece of land (approximately 5 acres) in Mooni village, Mbale district (now Mbale City); on the slopes of Wanale hill, for establishment of a family residence. Three quarters (3/4) of this land was dedicated to growing food crops, fruits, coffee and rearing livestock for subsistence. This is a farming practice carried on by my parents from their parents, mainly for livelihood of the family.

Farming on small scale for subsistence, has always been a mainstay in my family linage and is a major occupation for most Bugisu families.

In 2017, one year after my retirement from formal employment and committing to full time Entrepreneurship, I and my father agreed to grow more coffee on part of the family land. I had always been intrigued by the history and effects of growing coffee on the livelihood of my fellow Bagisu and this seemed like the right opportunity. This venture however, did not take off because of lack of a reliable water source near the plantation, failure to get the right seedlings and insecurity from the neighbourhood. Later, this same zeal led me into working with Carico Café Connoisseur (a coffee processing and exporting company) helping them establish their export function, local business and CSR function. This work experience enabled me to practice many business theories and implement systems for a successful coffee business model, before I resigned to pursue my own business interests.