Kenyan avocado exporter becomes part of the processing: Direne Ltd. lands new customers, looks to add more as it builds facility and ITC helps it gain certifications.

• Author: Tambwe, Mujinga

The month of May 2019 was a defining time for Direne Ltd., which exports Kenyan avocados and mangos. As a small firm the company was lagging far behind in accessing international markets.

The challenges it faced were typical of that small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) have to deal with in most countries. Competing with larger enterprises is difficult for smaller Kenyan firms. Smaller businesses often fail to grow because of issues such as lack of capital. Their size and lack of resources get in the way of competing with larger companies in establishing a loyal customer base.

Seeking a solution, Direne Chief Executive Tom Owuor attended Macfrut, the international point of reference for the fruit and vegetable industry in Italy, in May. He described it as a game-changing event. Participants made contact with buyers from Europe and Asia and some of these contacts translated into Direne receiving orders from those regions for the upcoming avocado season, starting in March 2020. Owuor then visited Hong Kong in September and acquired new Chinese clients as well.

In order to serve customers in those markets, his company is now applying for a number of certifications, including ISO 22000:2018 on food safety management and GLOBALG.A.P. agricultural certification. His efforts have been supported by the International Trade Centre (ITC) Market Access Upgrade Programme (MARKUP), a regional development initiative that aims to contribute to the economic growth of the East African Community (EAC).

Completion of these requirements provides access to new customers and ensures full traceability required by international markets.

At Macfrut, Owuor also...