Home>An Alumni Success Story of Entrepreneurship in Mumbai
29.07.2019
An Alumni Success Story of Entrepreneurship in Mumbai
Antonia Achache and Jérémie Sabbagh are the proud founders of Suzette and Kitchen Garden, a chain of restaurants in Mumbai. Suzette, a French crêperie, and Kitchen Garden, an organic salad and sandwich bar, are well known by the young urban crowd and expats for their trendy and healthy cuisine, which is not always easy to find in the bustling city!
This entrepreneurial couple met when they first came to India in 2005 for an exchange at Jahawarlal Nehru University (JNU) in Delhi during their studies at Sciences Po. They fell in love with each other and with India, so much so that they worked hard to return after their Master’s degrees - in International Development for Antonia, and in Finance and Strategy for Jérémie. Their dream came true in 2008, when both of them landed a job in Mumbai. Antonia got hired by the education NGO Pratham, and Jérémie, who had become a corporate lawyer after Sciences Po, joined a law firm.
In 2011, they opened their first restaurant, Suzette, along with a third partner, Pierre Labail, who was also working in Mumbai. It was just a side business at the beginning: "We were missing French cafés and we got inspired by the culture of entrepreneurship that we have in India", reminisces Jérémie. Encouraged by excellent results, they left their respective jobs 8 months later: a decision that they don't regret today as their restaurants employ 200 people and continue to grow by 50% every year.
Read about them in the press:
- Elle: Where Mumbai's hipsters and models are eating now
- Vogue: You'll want to buy everything from this new luxury kids wear label
- India Today: Four things to look forward to this season
See more Sciences Po stories on entrepeneurship:
- FEMPO: Period-Proof Underwear Made in Sciences Po
- "After ten years in banking I wanted to do something good enough to put my name on it."
