By Jabali Digital
A new journey has begun for 7 agripreneurs towards the certification of their products by the Kenya Bureau of Standards (KEBS).
The seven are Mary Ayieko of Asali 4 Her, Everline Omondi of Barakatele Enterprises, Caroline Okoth of Shicode Enterprises, freshly retired journalist Josephine Wareta of Royal Farm, Cynthia Ondieki of Feedme Enterprises and Felix Otiende of Felly Farm.
Fresh from an 87-hour one-on-one mentorship support by Afrifortified officials on how to better their enterprises, the seven competed in a startup pitch competition 2025 at the organization’s offices in Kisumu on May 16, 2025, with all of them getting a nod for financial support to complete the certification process.
According to Sharon Adhiambo Obado, Afrifortified’s partnerships director, they work with agri-food SMEs and smallholder farmers, centering on bridging the gap between research, commercialization and investment.
“We have different thematic areas that we work on. One of them is that we support SMEs in product development. Another thing that we do is to strengthen the food systems through advocacy, where we hold roundtable discussions with different stakeholders,” she said during an interview on May 14, 2025.
The certification process, she noted, entails accessing Kenya Industrial Research and Development Institute (KIRDI) services for incubation and iteration of products, which attracts a fee of Sh30,000.
That is besides the at least Sh11, 650 required for one’s products to be certified. “They need to pay a service fee of 30,000 Kenyan shillings which AfriFund will be able to pay as well,” said Sharon.
That means the organization will spend at least Sh41,000 on the certification process of each of the seven agri-preneurs.
After the investment, she said the organization works on a plan that sees the beneficiaries inject some money back into the fund, once the business becomes stable for the fund's sustainability.
She however maintained that the main aim is to ensure an enterprise grows to a level of creating job opportunities, especially for youth and women in communities, adding that they intend to support 21 agri-food SMEs across the country this year.
Josephine Wareta peeling potatoes, one of the first steps during production of crackles. Photo/JD
Josephine Wareta, one of the beneficiaries is a budding entrepreneur working on the sweet potato value chain, producing crackles with orange and purple-fleshed sweet potatoes as her raw materials. The two varieties have high nutritional value.
She started the initiative after training by GIZ, where they were first taken through the agronomy of sweet potatoes.
“And then after that, a few of us who were very serious were hand-picked and trained on value addition. And from that sweet potato, you can make mandazis, you can make chapati, you can make cakes, you can make crisps,” she said.
She started on a small scale while still working at the Kenya Broadcasting Corporation (KBC). She retired in December 2024, meaning she now has all the time required to nurture and grow the venture into a full-time commercial enterprise.
“I started with the crackles because for me, it was a new thing that we thought only belonged to a certain community. But realizing that I could make it from our own products, I was so excited about that. So that's what I'm focusing on now.”
With time, Wareta said she will venture into the other products of sweet potatoes like mandazi, chapati, cakes and crisps.
When she started, her target was children only to realise that even adults love the crackles, greatly boosting her morale to soldier on.
“In the next two years, I'm seeing myself in the major markets, supermarkets in this country. Because we are also working on the process of getting certification, and once that door is open, even the sky is not the limit,” she added.
From her current returns, Wareta said the initiative has the potential of bringing in handsome returns once certification is done.
Everlyn Omondi displays a bottle of peanut butter. Photo/JD
Exit Wareta, enter Evelyn Akinyi Omondi, the founder of Barakatele Enterprises in Kisumu. She specializes in the production of peanut butter from groundnuts.
Initially, she was a hospital administrator earning Sh38,000 per month. On a good month, she said, the peanut butter business can give her about twice the amount she used to earn while in formal employment.
Over the years, she has managed to build a strong client base, ranging from homesteads to institutions of learning.
“From each bottle I sell, I get in between Sh80 and Sh100 after I've deducted all my expenses. I can sell between 48 and 96 bottles in a month,” she says.
Omondi has two casual workers who assist her in production. She foresees an increase in the number of workers and profit margins, once the certification process is over.
The process is expected to be completed in the next three months.