{{Short description|Kenyan businesswoman (born 1964)}} {{Infobox person | image = | name = Tabitha Mūkami Karanja, MBS | image_size = | caption = | birth_date = {{Birth date and age|df=yes|1964|08|29}} | birth_place = Kijabe, Kenya | death_date = | death_place = | education = {{ubl|Bachelor of Business Administration and management|MSc Business Administration}} | years_active = 1996 - present | citizenship = Kenyan | known_for = {{ubl|Leading and ownership of Keroche Breweries|Senator Nakuru County, Kenya, 2022 - present}} | alma_mater = {{ubl|University of Nairobi|Kenya Methodist University}} | occupation = {{ubl|Business person|industrialist|entrepreneur|politician; Senator Nakuru County, Kenya, 2022 - present}} | title = {{ubl|Chief executive officer|Keroche Breweries}} | predecessor = Susan Kihika | political_party = United Democratic Alliance (Kenya) | spouse = Joseph Mūigai Karanja | children = 4 }} '''Tabitha Mūkami Mūigai Karanja''' is a Kenyan businesswoman, entrepreneur, industrialist and Nakuru County Senator. She is the founder and current chief executive officer of Keroche Breweries, the first large brewery in Kenya owned by a non-multinational company. Keroche Breweries accounts for 20% of Kenya's beer consumption, as of October 2012.<ref>{{cite magazine |url=http://www.ventures-africa.com/2012/10/meet-pioneer-female-brewer-tabitha-karanja/ |title=Meet Kenya's Pioneer Female Brewer, Tabitha Karanja |date=27 October 2012 |access-date=18 October 2014 |magazine=Ventures Africa Magazine |archive-date=6 April 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150406023954/http://www.ventures-africa.com/2012/10/meet-pioneer-female-brewer-tabitha-karanja/ |url-status=dead }}</ref>
==Early life and education== Tabitha was born near Kijabe, in central Kenya. After attending Kenyan schools, she took up employment in the Ministry of Tourism as an Accounting Clerk. She met and married her husband, who owned a successful hardware store in Naivasha town. In 1997, the couple closed the hardware store and went into the wine-making business.<ref>{{cite web|title=Tabitha Karanja, The CEO of Keroche Breweries: Resilient At 50|date=29 August 2014|accessdate=18 October 2014|url=http://www.standardmedia.co.ke/evewoman/article/2000133131/tabitha-karanja-the-ceo-of-keroche-breweries-resilient-at-50| first=Peter|last=Muiruri|newspaper=The Standard (Kenya)}}</ref>
==Career== Beginning in 1997, Tabitha Karanja and her husband started making fortified wine, targeting the lower end of the market. In 2007, when the government enacted heavy taxes on locally made wines, her product was priced out of the market. She switched to manufacturing ready-to-drink gin and vodka, which her state-of-the-art factory still makes today. In 2008, she added beer to her repertoire of alcoholic drinks, beginning with a brand called ''Summit''. In 2013, the factory began expansion plans to increase beer production from 60,000 bottles per day to 600,000 bottles per day.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://edition.cnn.com/2013/03/12/business/tabitha-karanja-kenya-beer/|title=Female Beer Boss Who Took On Drinks Giant|date=15 March 2013|last=Jessica Ellis|first=and Lillian Leposo|publisher=Cable News Network (CNN)}}</ref> The refurbished plant, which cost KSh5 billion (US$55.5 million), was commissioned by Adan Mohammed, the Cabinet Secretary for Industrialization, on 31 March 2015.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nation.co.ke/business/Keroche-Breweries-Plant-Beer/-/996/2672142/-/11npq2vz/-/index.html|title=Keroche Seeks Larger Market Share With Sh5bn Brew Plant|accessdate=1 April 2015| date=31 March 2015|newspaper=Daily Nation (Nairobi)|last=Mwangi |first=Macharia}}</ref>
In the 2022 Kenyan General Election, Karanja ran for and won the Nakuru County Senatorial seat. Karanja's UDA Party ticket garnered 442,864 votes against her main competitor from the Jubilee Party, Lawrence Karanja's 163,625 votes.<ref>[https://thekenyatimes.com/latest-kenya-times-news/keroche-bosstabitha-karanja-wins-nakuru-senatorial-bid/ "Keroche Boss Tabitha Karanja Wins Nakuru Senatorial Bid"]. ''thekenyatimes.com''. Retrieved 3 March 2026</ref>
==Personal life== Tabitha is married to Joseph Mūigai Karanja and together, they are the parents of four children; James Karanja Mūigai, Anerlisa Mūigai, Edward Mūigai and the late Tecra Mūigai. Joseph Karanja Mūigai serves as the Chairman of Keroche Breweries Limited.<ref>{{cite web |work=The Campus Mirror Kenya |url=http://kenyancampos.blogspot.com/2013/04/keroche-breweries-tabitha-karanjas-bold.html |title=Keroche Breweries Tabitha Karanja's Bold Journey To The Top |date=October 2014 |author=The Campus Mirror Kenya |access-date=25 October 2021 |location=Nairobi, Kenya |archive-date=13 October 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181013215548/http://kenyancampos.blogspot.com/2013/04/keroche-breweries-tabitha-karanjas-bold.html |url-status=dead }}</ref>
==See also== * List of Kenyans by net worth * Economy of Kenya
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== {{Wikiquote}} * [http://www.businessdailyafrica.com/Corporate-News/Keroche-hires-sales-staff-for-new-plant/-/539550/2662216/-/h3q774/-/index.html Keroche Hires Sales Staff for New Plant]
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Karanja, Tabitha}} Category:Living people Category:21st-century Kenyan businesswomen Category:21st-century Kenyan businesspeople Category:People from Nakuru County Category:Kikuyu people Category:Kenyan Christians Category:1964 births Category:Women in brewing Category:University of Nairobi alumni Category:Kenya Methodist University alumni Category:United Democratic Alliance (Kenya) politicians Category:Kenyan women in politics