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Number 19 on the 2025 list
Ahmed Omar Mandela is a founder from Uganda, named to the AFN 100 in 2025 for growing Café Javas to ten Kenyan outlets, more than it runs in Uganda.
By September 2025 Café Javas, the Ugandan café chain founded by Omar Mandela, had ten outlets in Kenya, where it trades as CJ's, more than the nine it runs at home in Kampala and Entebbe, the Observer reported. The Kenyan count included seven branches in Nairobi, two in Mombasa and a new one in Lavington. Mandela also founded the Mandela Group, with interests in hospitality, retail and manufacturing.