Kenyan Tycoon David Langat Finally Pays Tanzanian Tea Farmers After Several Years

Kenyan businessman David Langat, the founder of DL Group , is making good on a long-promised pledgehis company has begun paying decades-old debts owed to tea farmers and factory workers in Tanzanias Njombe region, a vital step toward revitalizing the struggling industry. Langat first expanded into Tanzanian tea territory in 2018, acquiring three firmsMufindi Tea and Coffee Limited, Rift Valley Tea Solutions Limited and Kibena Tea Limitedfrom the British-owned Rift Valley Corporation for roughly KSh 6 billion about 60 million at the time. That purchase gave his DL Group a near-total stake99 percentin the three businesses, instantly raising the companys production capacity in the country to an estimated 11,000 tonnes annually, placing DL among Africas top tea producers. The new payout follows pressure on Langats company over unpaid debts that had weighed on local growers and workers for years. At a campaign event in Lupembe ward on Friday, President Samia Suluhu Hassan said DL Tea Company has secured funds to pay their debts and has begun transfers to both farmers and factory employees. She added that the company will also clear outstanding contributions to the national social security fund. Langats investment isnt just about settling dues. The Tanzanian government is teaming up with his business to enrich infrastructure and farming capacitysupplying new factory machinery to the Luponde and Ikanga plants and backing farmers with seeds, subsidies, agricultural officers, and even avocado seedlings and pesticides to improve output. In addition, the government plans to build 50 avocado-storage facilities capable of preserving produce for up to three monthsgiving farmers the flexibility to access global markets at better prices. Infrastructure improvements also extend to roads, which have grown from 270 kilometers in 2020 to 468 kilometers todayboosting access for the regions produce. For many in Njombe, the long-awaited checks from Langat represent more than a financial lifelinethey signal renewed trust. After years of uncertainty, the Kenyan tycoon who expanded into Tanzania seven years ago now holds an opportunity to cement a legacy as a stabilizing force for one of the countrys most important export sectors. Langat, 64, is among Kenyas wealthiest but least publicity-seeking tycoons. He built his fortune in real estate, hospitality, insurance, and manufacturing, often preferring quiet boardrooms to flashing cameras. His DL Group controls hotels, shopping malls, and industrial parks, including the multi-billion-shilling Eldoret Industrial Parkone of Kenyas largest private industrial investments. He is also a major player in hospitality, owning properties along Kenyas coast and in the capital, Nairobi. But it is agriculture, and particularly tea, that links him directly to East Africas rural economies. His foray into Tanzania was seen at the time as a bold expansion beyond Kenyan soil, a sign of his ambition to build a pan-African agribusiness empire.