Bidco Africa to contract female sunflower, bamboo growers

Bidco Africa Limited chairman Vimal Shah during the launch of one of their products at their station in Ruiru, Kiambu County. The company plans to contract female and youth sunflower, bamboo growers going forward.


Photo credit: Salaton Njau | Nation Media Group

What you need to know:

  • Bidco Africa seeks to contract women and youth to supply sunflower and bamboo.
  • SheTrades connects women to the market, provides them with resources, information and tools to sustain their businesses during the pandemic.
  • @iBizAfrica by Strathmore University builds women’s businesses through credit and training on business improvement and growth.
  • Kenya Association of Manufacturers runs Women in Manufacturing (WiM) progam

Bidco Africa seeks to contract women and youth to supply sunflower and bamboo. The firm's agribusiness development lead Mr John Kariuki said they plan to engage those whose size of farms are more than an acre.

"Those without land should not be discouraged. They can lease land," he said during a recent webinar on Opportunities for Youth and Women in Agribusiness organised by Invest in Africa.

The firm buys a kilogram of the high quality sunflower at Sh32. For the bamboo growers, he said, their plantations have to be located within 200km radius from Thika. 

The distance caveat shoulders farmers from incurring losses as transport cost may override the earnings, hence the nearer the farm, the higher the chances of better returns.

They buy a kilogram of bamboo, used to fire boilers, at Sh5.50.

Apart from buying their produce, the firm could offer contracted farmers technical support, he said. He noted that Bidco Africa believes in enhancing economic growth through empowerment of women and youth, thus the extension of business opportunities.

"We should be able to enhance (our) economic prosperity by investing in women and young generation," he said

Bidco Africa, a manufacturer of edible oils, hygiene and personal products, food and beverages as well as animal feeds, is the latest profitmaking institution to bolster women's efforts to succeed in micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs).

International Trade Centre (ITC), Standard Chartered Kenya, Strathmore University and Kenya Association of Manufacturers (KAM) have established schemes to benefit women in different ventures including agribusiness.

SheTrades in the Commonwealth Kenya, is for instance, an initiative of ITC that not only connects women to the market, but also provides them with resources, information and tools to sustain their businesses during the pandemic. The initiative was launched in April, 2018.

Women running businesses in sectors of textiles and apparel and agriculture including tea, coffee, horticulture especially avocado, beans and peas can take advantage of the initiative’s benefits.

Those in tourism, information technology and business process outsourcing are also among the female entrepreneurs targeted by the initiative.

SheTrades in the Commonwealth Kenya, national coordinator, Ms Phyllis Mwangi said 744 SMEs owned by women have, so far, gained from the training.

“(They have gone through trainings such as) export preparedness, branding for international markets for textiles companies, digital marketing and cloud technology and digital infrastructure,” she said.

Under the initiative, 261 businesses have been connected to international buyers through international trade fairs and in country business linkage events, she said.

Women in Technology Program by Standard Chartered Kenya and Strathmore University's business centre @iBizAfrica is another business facility for women.

The program that has been running since 2017, builds women’s businesses through credit and training on business improvement and growth. There is an annual call, and one can apply for the program through an online application to @iBizAfrica.

Successful applicants are put through a 12-week training on various business topics including book keeping, leveraging on technology and branding. Outstanding SMEs are then awarded credit to boost their businesses.

Standard Chartered Head of Corporate Affairs and Brand Marketing for Africa and Middle East, Ms Olga Kimani said more than 1,000 entrepreneurs have applied for the program so far.

Out of these, 30 were shortlisted to take part in the program and 15 outstanding start-ups received Sh1 million each to grow their businesses.

 “To date, from cohort one, four out of five of the companies have received follow-on funding from both development partners and equity investors ranging from $50,000 to $150,000 and their businesses have grown revenue and sales in double digits,” she said.

Kenya Association of Manufacturers (KAM) also runs Women in Manufacturing (WiM) progam launched in 2017.

WiM offers trainings and mentorship for women industrialists in Kenya and links them to bigger markets. It connects budding entrepreneurs with seasoned women industrialists who mentor them. To join WiM, one has to be a KAM member first. The membership subscription is done through KAM website.