How it all Began
HISTORY: As with many good stories, this good story starts on a mountain. This mountain, however, was not just any mountain, but the “Roof of Africa”. Mount Kilimanjaro juts up from the African plain as the tallest free-standing mountain in the world. It stands as something to be conquered and perhaps something to be feared. Inspired by co-founder, Dr. Pamela Pyle, leading the Kili-Sisters up this sleeping giant the previous year, John Constantine took the challenge and led the following year. Each team raised hundreds of thousands for a ministry they both love in Rwanda.
One can imagine that many dreams begin on this mountain as long hours of the nights lend themselves to dreaming and long hours of the day to sharing them. This good story and dream of Umubano, however, began with a snack. Dehydrated fruit was a simple, nutrition rich snack for John, however, for his Burundi climbing partner, JeJe, it was a delightful flavor and texture experienced for the first time.
A dream begins when they discovered that this common snack in much of the world was not so common where fruits are easily grown, Rwanda, the “Land of a Thousand Hills”. Both dreamers at heart, John and JeJe, spent their days of climbing talking of possibilities for a mountain top dream. What if they could bring dehydration to crops sometimes wasted for lack of preservation opportunities and in doing so, create jobs, and build into a Rwandan economy ripe for agriculture growth? What if a mountain top dream could strengthen the bond between those who worked tirelessly in the fields by celebrating success? What if…? Imagine.
Upon returning to the states, John and his wife Rebecca, Chief Creative Officer, transformed their kitchen into a dehydrating laboratory. Friends and relatives became taste testers as they developed techniques for dehydration of fruits, vegetables, and meats. Dreaming became doing and John and Rebecca shared this mountain dream with friends and fellow dreamers, Scott and Pamela.
Back porch dreaming began and through the next year, late night dreaming as John spent nights beginning the process of market research. Those mountain side talks while climbing were confirmed by authorities such as the World Food Bank. In excess of 30% of fruits and vegetables grown in East Africa failed to reach a mouth due to food waste from lack of preservation opportunities. Crops which grew in abundance became scarce when the growing season ended.
This dream now became a mission and a model for Umubano. In partnership with Pamela, they hired regional business analysts, Karisimbi Partners, for a formal feasibility study. Upon completion of this study, it was clear that dreams can become possibilities, possibilities can become probabilities, and probabilities can become viabilities. A business model created unlike most and yet fulfilled a vision of the original dream:
Create jobs that provided dignity to its employees
Lift entire communities out of poverty
Provide a reasonable rate of return on investment
While the food lab was churning out fruits and vegetables, Pamela was building a bond with Pacifique, a young Rwandan professional, who she met while running on an awareness run in Kigali, Rwanda. Little did they know that they would be able to take this relationship and formalize it through a new initiative being cooked up in the Upstate of South Carolina on the other side of the world.
In 2019, the company, Umubano Group was formed. Umubano means “good relationship” in Kinyarwanda and good relationship is what this early group had shared, and good relationship is what they desired to continue with all aspects of this company. In May, the partnership continued with an exploratory trip to Rwanda. Pacifique Bukire, an agricultural business leader and engineer, led the team to several farms identifying opportunities for partnerships. His knowledge for supply chains was only exceeded by his passion for helping small farmers and Co-Ops leverage to economies of scale. Karisimbi Partners facilitated several relationships with business and government officials and continues to add to the organization with ongoing market research and additional feasibility studies.
Mountain top dreams, South Carolinian dreams, and running dreams became reality with the formation of The Umubano Group. John, as CEO, brings experience of leading and building, while Rebecca uses her gifts for marketing, and product design. Pamela, as Director for Strategic Partnerships, has been able to leverage relationships domestically and internationally for creating opportunities within the portfolio of The Umubano Group. Pacifique is fulfilling his dream and passion as Managing Director, Rwanda. You might ask, what of JeJe? Well JeJe is enjoying dried mangoes as he completes his master’s degree in Global Leadership in Portland, OR. Yes, that was also a Kilimanjaro dream. A mountain for dreamers who dream of conquering mountains.
Looking into the future, Umubano Group will partner with additional investors, and dreamers, as it continues to identify business opportunities which meet its main objectives.
To learn more about our next steps, or to learn how you can get involved, email us at
john@johnaconstantine.com