Trader goes bananas about value addition

Aska Nyakwara an entrepreneur in value addition. A food scientist by profession, she uses bananas to make wine, bread, jam and banana crisps among other products.

Photo credit: Richard Maosi | Nation Media Group

What you need to know:

  • According to Ms Nyakwara, value addition is profitable as a bunch of bananas that cost Sh700, gives crisps worth Sh2,200, translating to a profit margin of Sh1,500. 
  • Her business has grown over time as the value chain has employed more than 48 people so far — from harvesting until the final product  reaches the consumer. 
  • Most of her products, such as banana wine are sold online, with a litre going for sh800.  At various supermarkets, a 50-gramme packet of crisps goes for Sh30. 
  • Through her partnership with Kirdi she was also able to acquire three-phase machinery, back-up generators and packaging systems. 

When Aska Nyakwara graduated with a diploma in Food Science from Kisumu Polytechnic in 2003, she dreamt of landing a  white-collar job, but this was shattered after years of fruitless pursuit. 

To break the boredom, she volunteered in community-based projects that promoted healthy lifestyles. This gave her an opportunity to network with youth, who shared similar visions. 

Having been brought up at Bongweno in Nyamira — a banana farming county — she began to champion for change mobilising the many jobless youth  to plant other varieties of bananas apart from the traditional breeds. 

“I used to see my mother sell a whole bunch of bananas for Sh200. Nothing is worse than seeing all your hard work go to waste. What discourages me the most is the fact that bananas take up to 15 months to mature fully,” said Ms Nyakwara, a mother of three. 

Later, she moved to Kisii town where she began to do research in collaboration with Kenya Agricultural Research and Livestock Organisation(KARLO) for four years — between 2004 and 2008 — with emphasis on bananas. 

Her main aim was to identify the varieties of bananas that can do well in Nyamira highlands, and what products can be made out of bananas to generate income. 

Value addition is profitable

However, it took long to identify the bananas with superior qualities. That is after analysing Grand 9, Williams, paces, dwarf, cavendish and Ugandan varieties of bananas. 

By 2010 she was good to go. After fundraising in the family, she ended up with an initial capital of Sh10,000.

The money went into purchase of raw bananas and crisps cutting tools, as well as payment of rent and electricity. 

“Production of banana crisps thrived and after three months, I could make a monthly income of Sh100,000 or beyond,” she added. 

According to Ms Nyakwara, value addition is profitable as a bunch of bananas that cost Sh700, gives crisps worth Sh2,200, translating to a profit margin of Sh1,500. 

Her business has grown over time as the value chain has employed more than 48 people so far — from harvesting until the final product  reaches the consumer. 

This success made her diversify and in turn make more products out of bananas whereby she uses ripe bananas to make ready to eat military rationed food that is rich in energy. It also boosts immunity while improving vision.

Other products

Other products made out of bananas include banana jam, juice, wine, banana bread and baby food. 

In addition, she uses banana peelings to make vinegar. She is also improvising a way of develop fibre from banana stems. 

Most of her products, such as banana wine are sold online, with a litre going for sh800.  At various supermarkets, a 50-gramme packet of crisps goes for Sh30. 

In addition, Ms Nyakwara has developed banana flour that can be used to make chapati. It goes for Sh300 per kilo. 

Some of the products produced by Ms Nyakwara's value addition enterprise in Kisii. She says value addition is profitable.

Photo credit: Richard Maosi | Nation Media Group

“In the beginning, I could not finance my business to make baby food and the military rations so KARLO linked me up with Business Incubators for African Women Entrepreneurs to scale up production,” she added.

This was followed by the formulation of the military food rations with the  help of the Kenya Industrial Research and Development Institute (Kirdi).

This is after she made a proposal that was accompanied by a five-year business plan. 

Formulation of complementary baby food

Kirdi also assisted her in the formulation of complementary baby food, that is used when a parent starts weaning the child. 

“Fine flour powder from bananas is mixed with warm water or milk and given to children from six months and above,” she says. 

To make military food, she says, ripe bananas are mixed with soya, ground nuts, milk, fruits and some cereals then fortified as recommended. 

Through her partnership with Kirdi she was also able to acquire three-phase machinery, back-up generators and packaging systems. She buys 500 kilos of bananas from farmers at strategic collection centres every day. 

Before the Covid-19 pandemic, most of her products were sold at restaurants, but demand has since declined. 

“The government has adequate resources to empower the youth in order to solve the unemployment crisis in the country,” she added.