Kenya Climate Innovation Center Incubator

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

My name is Petronella Gathu. I am the co-founding director of Mimea Farmers Produce Limited, a company that is dealing with sweet potato and its value chain from production to processing. We're based in Nairobi and we have a production in a place called Narok in Kenya.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Kenya Climate Innovation Center?

They provide business development and fundraising for startups, as well as accelerator and incubation programs.

I wanted mentorship, advisory, technical, and financial services from them.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We've worked with them for the last year. They have taken us, incubated us, and helped us structure ourselves. They’ve also given us advisory services, training in aspects of business, technical support, and helped us fundraise for some of the processes that we have within Mimea.

What is the team composition?

I've worked with around four people.

How did you come to work with Kenya Climate Innovation Center?

As a startup, you definitely want to get as much help as you can. They have a program that is supported by the Danish government, and they were asking for interested companies to come into the program and get whatever support. We made an application and they accepted us — they’ve given us support for the last year.

How much have you invested with them?

N/A. It's not a paid partnership.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them about a year ago and the partnership is still ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?

Before KCIC came on board in Mimea, we had a dream of doing value addition. It was only a dream, but that dream became a reality when they came in. We are setting up a plant for value additional on sweet potatoes and in terms of support, they have given us a lot of training, especially on setting up structures and processes. 

They've also exposed us to experts in the industry, which we wouldn’t have managed to do by ourselves. For instance, we've been trained through taxes and policies in human resources, and we've also been taken through marketing trainings, and those kinds of things — it's been a 360 for us.

How did Kenya Climate Innovation Center perform from a project management standpoint?

Since we began, they put us on an annual program, so every other week, we have activities where we meet. They also communicate very well on emails. Sometimes they call us and we have business analysts or business advisors that are attached to us, as well as business mentors — we've kept a conversation going with them throughout, especially with three particular mentors. They program your activities and every other week, they tell you what is expected or is going to happen. For instance, next week, there’ll be a webinar. 

They send us the programs, the timings, and everything, so we go into it and we’re trained. If we’re not available, there's always a backup, such as a record of the training slides that were used, which they give us. They also open up space in such a way that even if whatever training they've given us isn’t sufficient and we need a little bit more support, they offer that to us. 

An example is their training on HR or finances. The other day, we asked them to do a market survey for us, and they've actually been doing it. The report will come in maybe a month or so — they're really very supportive.

On top of that, they're also doing social media enhancement platforms, along with e-marketing or online marketing. If we feel that we need those after the marketing survey, they've also offered to do it for us.

What did you find most impressive about them?

We're in two other accelerator programs, and what makes KCIC stand out is that they have good management. While the people on the ground are not as good, I think they've bridged that gap so that we feel attended to, listened to, and provided for. The advisors are real and knowledgeable — they're full of wisdom, and that helps bridge the gap between us and KCIC itself.

What makes them stand out is that person who is connecting with you is very knowledgeable in your value chain. They give you relevant information and they make you aware of many things and opportunities you didn't even know exist — they will tell you so that you can take advantage of them.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Capacity. I think because of the goodwill they have, and the support they're giving many startups in Kenya, many people are realizing their value — I can almost feel that they're stretched a little bit in terms of capacity.

Any advice for potential customers?

Sometimes as a startup, you undermine yourself and think, maybe my idea is not worth listening to. KCIC will listen and they will validate your idea by putting you into a program where you can actually discover yourself, get the confidence that it will take to make it a mature business, and run with it.