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Biography:
Efrem Fesaha is a first-generation Eritrean American who graduated from Washington State University with his B.A. and is currently a candidate for a Master's in Business Administration at Seattle University. Before establishing Boon Boona Coffee, Efrem worked for 13 years in corporate finance for local companies such as Holland America, Nordstrom, and Amazon. In 2011, Efrem returned from a three-month stay in his family’s native country of Eritrea, where he became inspired by the Cafe culture in the capital, Asmara, and returned to Seattle to venture into coffee. Boon Boona Coffee was launched with the aim of sourcing the highest quality coffee from Africa. In collaboration with coffee farmers across many African nations, they look to develop long-lasting relationships and support the sustainability of their crops. Efrem won the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) Washington Small Business Person of the Year award in 2022. He was recently named 2022 Pacific Northwest Small Business Person of the Year, selected among state winners from Alaska, Idaho, Oregon, and Washington.
Advice:
Be passionate about that thing, whatever it is; your heart needs to be in it.