How two brothers from Kenya are making millions from the selling of matumbo in the US

Every single day, the US Embassy in Nairobi receives hundreds of applications from Kenyans wanting to relocate to the United States.

The rising cost of living coupled by the desire to show you’re killing like your social media friends has made chasing the American Dream a phenomenon.

So much so that being turned down that American Visa seems like a sentence of failure, especially to the ilk who pay hundreds of thousands of shillings to agencies to help ‘facilitate’ their travel.

David Kimani and his brother Collins Ngure were until 2002 your normal Joe, battling under the African sun. However, lady luck smiled, actually, gave a huge laugh, at them some two decades ago as they found an opportunity to pursue the American Dream.

The two brothers have tapped into the popular food truck culture across the Atlantic. Based in  Birmingham, Alabama, United States Kimani and Ngure are making a killing out of selling Kenyan cuisine, no not pilau njeri.

The duo’s truck, branded Sahani sells assorted Kenyan meals including Chapati, sausage, mokimo and mutura which all retail at between Kshs. 300-500.

But that’s not where they make a kill. A plate of Nyama Choma and Matumbo are going at a whooping cost of Kshs. 2,400 per plate! Read that again!

Somebody said that Matumbo is tasteless and has no nutritional value.

Kimani thinks otherwise.

“(Matumbo) is so rich and flavorful, really good. When people first hear tripe, they’re like, ‘ugh.’ We give them samples—‘Here, try this.’ And they say, ‘Yeah, let me get that,” he said in a past interview.

Having relocated to the US with their parents, the duo saved up some money and purchased a food truck and they were soon in business, giving the people of Alabama the matumbo treat.