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W W W. M A I N E B I Z . B I Z 15 M AY 1 6 , 2 0 2 2 F O C U S S M A L L B U S I N E S S L ong before Jocelyne Kamikazi became a coffee entrepreneur, she hauled baskets of red, ripe coffee cherries on her head to the wash station in her native Burundi. After making the 30-mile trek from her father's farm, she'd sometimes have to wait in line for two days at the station. Today, on St. John Street in Portland, she owns Burundi Star Coffee, a café and retail shop she opened in March 2020 and runs with her husband, André Nzeyimana. e name of the business is a nod to the bright night sky that gave her comfort in her East African homeland. With her eye on expansion, Kamikazi plans to use a recently obtained low- interest $10,000 loan to buy a machine to package coffee, which she currently does by hand two hours every day. "It's a lot," the University of Southern Maine alumna says of the task, very different from her previous work as an interpreter at Maine Medical Center. As she shops for a packaging machine to fit her space, her long-term goal is to source coffee directly from growers in Burundi — she currently goes through a wholesaler — inspired by what Mike Mwenedata is doing at Portland-based Rwanda Bean Co., returning half his profits to Rwandan coffee farmers. "It's our responsibility to help them," she says at the shop one morning as customers sip coffee and thick banana soup, "and that's how we can be involved in the production." Microlending e loan she secured from Portland- based cPort Credit Union is underwrit- ten by the Indus Fund, a new microloan program for small business owners in Maine's growing immigrant community. Kamikazi was able to borrow the money at a much lower interest rate than the $44,000 bank loan she used to start her business and still has to repay, since all Indus Fund loans have a fixed rate of 3.5% and a maturity of five years. With close to $300,000 raised from 14 individual and corporate investors, Our clients benefit from the combined resources of our team of brokers, now and in the years to come. Portland, ME | 207.773.7100 | dunhamgroup.com "At the end of the day, it's all about the golden rule – the client comes first. We drill that into our brokers," shares Hastings. "When I get ready to retire, TC will have a relationship with clients that I've worked with for 35 years." For over 45 years, The Dunham Group has provided in-depth market knowledge and trustworthy representation for its clients. Brokers Greg Hastings and TC Haffenreffer frequently collaborate on deals that benefit both of their clients. The Golden Rule of Commercial Real Estate Greg Hastings, SIOR, Broker | Partner and TC Haffenreffer, Broker | Partner Fast internet redefined. We may have a new name and a new look, but we're more committed than ever to taking fiber internet to a whole new level. Learn more about our investment in fiber at Otelco is now C O N T I N U E D O N F O L L OW I N G PA G E » It's our responsibility to help [coffee farmers], and that's how we can be involved in the production. — Jocelyne Kamikazi Burundi Star Coffee

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