BIOGRAPHY

...is an award-winning Kenyan businessman and officially a Washingtonian, for the amount of decades he has resided in the Washington D.C. metropolitan area. Kevin founded the Swahili Village Group from very humble beginnings with his wife. Now almost 20 years later, he has utilized this organization to build an authentic connection between the African culture and the rest of the world. "The African culture is very misinterpreted globally and it is time we stood up and displayed the authenticity of our originality in culture, food, arts and music." says Kevin Onyona.

He has achieved this currently through a set of fine dining African restaurants named Swahili Village restaurants. The first restaurant located in the state of Maryland was a gathering place for Africans away from the motherland to feel at-home through every meal, drink or visit. After serving the local community and travelers from far and wide in this humble restaurant for 10 years, receiving dining awards and community recognition by different national and international groups, he began his expansion to accomplish his original mission throughout the United States of America.

Known as The Consulate, Swahili Village DC positions itself as a fine dining African restaurant and social and cultural event space for programming that fosters U.S.-African engagement.

“We thought it was important to take an opportunity to truly celebrate our place here in DC and remind everyone that we have big plans as we move forward in our mission to bring people together through food, culture, art, and enlightened conversations,” said Executive Chef, Founder and CEO Kevin Onyona of Swahili Village —The Consulate DC.

“Our capacity to create an international space to bring about cross-cultural dialogue and build better bridges around Africa and with the rest of the global community can and should match our dreams of peace and stability for all of our brothers and sisters around the world,” added Swahili Village COO Emad Shoeb. “That’s what Swahili Village is about.”

Today the Swahili Village Group is a culmination of fine dining, cultural events, philanthropic initiatives and even impact international policies through the different facets of the entire organization. 

Kevin Onyona lives with his beautiful wife and 4 children in the suburban area of Maryland.