3 Kenyan Agriculture Companies Receive $1.9M to Innovate

Sereni Fries, Bubayi Products Ltd and Prosoya Kenya Ltd have received a $1.9 million grant from the European Union through the AgriFI Kenya Challenge to support innovation and the growth of Kenya’s agri-enterprise sector.

According to European Union Ambassador to Kenya Henriterre Geiger said, “We expect this grant to go a long way in creating more jobs and integrating smallholder farmers in value chains while introducing climate-smart agriculture innovative practices,”

Geiger stated the three companies were selected because of their innovative ideas and their social impact.

Established in 2019, Sereni Fries processes about 1200 tonnes of Irish potatoes annually into fresh-cut potatoes. It has three processing facilities at Athi River, Mlolongo, Mombasa and Nakuru. The supplies are sourced from 500 farmers.

Bubayi Products Limited, which was established in 1963, produces and distributes new and improved seeds to farmers in Kenya. On the other hand, Prosoya Kenya Ltd, established in 2010, produces ready-to-eat and ready to use fortified blended foods for the low-income segment of the population.

The AgriFI Kenya Challenge Fund is a European Union initiative to support productive and market-integrated smallholder agriculture through the provision of financial support worth $20.3 million to agri– enterprises. It is funded by the European Union and co-funded by SlovakAid.

According to Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) Agriculture contributes 26 per cent of Kenya’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and another 27 per cent of GDP indirectly through linkages with other sectors.  The sector employs more than 40 per cent of the total population and more than 70 per cent of Kenya’s rural people.