MasterCard, through its Agribusiness Challenge Fund, is seeking proposals from Small and Medium-sized Enterprises(SMEs) in the agriculture sector in Kenya and 20 other African Countries, with projects that can create employment opportunities for the youth, women, those with disabilities as well as refugees. SMEs selected by MasterCard will receive grants ranging from US$ 500,000 to US$ 2,500,000, disbursed over 3 years, based on the applicants’ development stage, scalability, and business model. MasterCard said any funding will be done after the evaluation of the SME and its proposal and will also include the provision of technical assistance for three years. The…
Author: Jackson Okoth
Kenya’s government has confirmed plans to use the local co-operatives network to position Kenya as a leading superfood producer and exporter. Kenya is already producing superfoods such as Avocado, Macadamia, and Blueberries, which are also beginning to feature.According to Co-operatives and Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Cabinet Secretary Simon Chelugui, the government is zeroing in on the US$ 171.8 billion global superfoods market as part of the agricultural transformation deliverables under the Bottom-Up Economic Transformation Agenda (BETA).The escalating demand for superfood-infused snacks, the rising adoption of veganism and vegetarianism, and the growing consciousness about preventive healthcare measures are some of…
Tabasamu DT Sacco (Deposit-Taking), based in Kwale, saw its turnover increase to KSh 207.3 Million in 2023 from KSh 173.6 Million in 2022, a rise of 19%. Tabasamu Sacco’s balance sheet grew to KSh 1.144 billion in 2023 from KSh 1.052 billion in 2022, an increase of 8.8%.The Society’s share capital grew from KSh 77.7 Million in 2022 to KSh 94.5 Million in 2023.The Board of Directors recommended payments of dividends on share capital at 10% and interest on members’ deposits at the rate of 4.6%. “With introduction of the mandatory housing levy, enhanced NHIF and NSSF deductions, and a…
Kenya will resume the export of avocado fruits in March this year after the Agricultural Food Authority (AFA) lifted its three-month suspension. This decision to resume avocado exports by Kenya comes after the Horticultural Crops Directorate (HCD) halted exports on November 3rd, 2023.The export of Fuerte and Hass avocados varieties by sea will be limited to sizes of 184 grams until the open export window fully reopens.The freeze was meant to curb the export of premature fruits, a practice that had severely harmed its reputation in the export markets. Kenya exports its avocado fruits to the Netherlands, the United Arab…
The Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) asked Sacco regulator, Sacco Societies Regulatory Authority (SASRA), to regulate the giant Kenya Union of Savings and Credit Co-operatives Limited (KUSCCO)’s unregulated deposit-taking business two years ago. The Sacco lobby had written to Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) more than two years ago, claiming that SASRA had left the Union out of its regulatory oversight lense.This was despite KUSCCO being one of the biggest players in the Sacco sub-sector.The giant union has a membership of over 4,000 Saccos, and holds over KSh 20 billion in member funds and deposits. In a series of letters…
The Climate Investment Funds (CIF), through its Trust Fund Committee, has endorsed a $70 million plan, with an initial allocation of $46.39 million. The funds are meant to advance the integration and utilization of renewable energy in the Kenyan grid, enabling the country’s transition to 100 percent clean energy by 2030.This approval, as part of the Climate Investment Renewable Energy Integration (REI) investment program, will support Kenya’s ambition to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 32% by 2030 and achieve Net Zero by 2050.Kenya’s CIF REI plan will support access to clean, adequate, affordable, and reliable electricity in the country. It…
Kakuzi Plc, a listed agro business firm, saw its half year net profit tumble to KSh 171.1 million at the end of the first six months of 2023 compared to KSh 341.3 million in HY 2022. According to the firm’s Board of Directors, the firm’s financial performance was hit by a glut in the global macadamia market, leading to a loss of KSh 329 million in the macadamia business. The firm is eyeing recovery in the domestic macadamia market retail sales to mitigate the glut in international markets. Kakuzi is a leading macadamia exporter in Kenya “The global macadamia glut…
Kenyan onions have shot up in price due to shortages occasioned by a cut in imports from Tanzania. Available data shows that onions are now selling at KSh150 per kilo due to reduced imports from Tanzania. The shortage has been made worse by a fall in local production due to high production costs and drought conditions that have persisted in Kenyan farms in recent years. Compared to recent months, Kenyan onion prices have shot up by as much as 87.5% from KSh80 per kilogram in March, depending on the variety of onion. Data from the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics…
Microsoft says it is committing to working with Kenya’s Ministry of Agriculture through a platform that will digitize agriculture in Kenya. Microsoft Kenya Acting Country Manager Kunle Awosika said the tech firm would continue investing in agritech on the continent to develop agritech that enables data-driven, precise, and connected farming that optimizes yields boosts farm productivity and increases profitability. As part of this investment, a Microsoft team based in Kenya has developed an Agri chatbot, which provides extension and advisory services to smallholder farmers using feature phones or smartphones via SMS, WhatsApp, and Telegram. The AgriBot provides farmers with a…
Ethiopia plans to increase its local wheat output by up to 70% in 2022 as the country cushions itself from supply chain constraints due to the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict. Data from the Ethiopia Agriculture Ministry estimates that the country will harvest some 2.4 million tonnes compared to 1.42 tonnes the prior year. This output is forecast to lower the country’s wheat deficit to just 400,000 tonnes in 2022 after an additional 600,000 hectares of land was put under wheat cultivation this year. In 2021, Ethiopia added 187,000 hectares to grow wheat. Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed has implemented a nationwide wheat…
Kenya Orchards Plc, a listed firm that manufactures and sells fruit and vegetable bottled and canned products for domestic consumption in Kenya, has emerged from a net loss of KSh 12.5 Million in 2020 to a net profit KSh 3.7 Million in 2021. The firm, whose bottled product range includes fruit jams, tomato paste, tomato sauce, maple syrup, mayonnaise, custard powder, white vinegar used as a meat tenderizer and corn starch, recorded reduced revenue of KSh 49.4 Million in 2021 from KSh 57 Million in 2020. Kenya Orchards, which issued a profit warning in 2020, appears to have emerged from…
Kenya’s stagnant sugar industry has received another reprieve. This is after the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa(COMESA) regional trading block granted it a two-year extension of the sugar import safeguards, beginning March 2021 to February 2023. The current safeguard was due to be lifted in February next year. Kenya’s sugar industry was first granted protection against imports from the 19-member COMESA block in March 2002. While Kenya has been seeking extensions of the safeguards, little progress has been made to revitalize the sugar industry, still riddled with huge debts, old technology and poor management practices. At its 41st…