“We prefer to hire women, and I’m not saying this because
I’m a woman. Over the years we’ve seen the ability of women
to work on various tasks under high pressure without
complaining. For example, our longest serving employee
of 10 years, the operations manager, is a woman. I’ve
experienced that women are more committed,” says Kinoti.
Sourcing from Female Farmers
Shalem Investments mobilizes smallholders into groups of
20-50 members. The groups are formed based on business
indicators, such as the type of crop, the size of land, and the
farmers’ capacity. The grouping can also be based on social
indicators, such as the empowerment of youth and women.
There are a total of 534 groups, of which 240 are women only,
270 mixed, and 24 men only, for a total ratio of 75% women
and 25% men. The core business of Shalem Investments is
being the intermediary between farmers and markets and
growing the farmers’ production.
Addressing Challenges Faced by
Female Suppliers
One of the biggest problems is the low literacy rate among
farmers, particularly female farmers, as girls from older
generations tended to marry at an early age while boys
went to school. Some female farmers cannot write their
signature when opening bank accounts. It is very difficult
for them to understand Shalem Investments’ motivation to
help them and provide them with a market. Another issue
is the lack of business mentality. When Shalem began, a lot
of the farmers did not have a bank account, know how to
organize their activities, or approach farming as a business.
The lack of financial means to invest has been a significant
problem. The main challenge is farmers’ capacity to engage
in productive business and Shalem’s difficulty accessing
affordable working funds.
Partnership With 2SCALE – Changes as a Result
of Support Received
2SCALE has transformed the way Shalem Investments
does business by helping define its business model and
supporting the company with business and financial
planning. Prior to 2SCALE, without a sound business
model and the ability to forecast, the company was unsure
that its activities would lead to results. Now, the future
can be defined to a certain extent. For example, in 2013
the company was affected by a government tax imposed
on beer containing sorghum. As a result, there was a large
decrease in sales and the market for sorghum, a key market
for Shalem, nearly collapsed. 2SCALE helped identify and
define new uses and markets for sorghum so that the
company relies less on the beer industry.
Other Challenges and Perspectives
“We have a huge challenge when it comes to financing our
business. In the past we borrowed money from regular
banks, which is expensive. In recent years we received
loans from a social lender, but unfortunately their interest
rates are quite high as well, almost similar to what the
commercial banks charge,” says Kinoti. “At this moment we
are not able to secure big loans, because we can’t meet the
collateral demands. We hope 2SCALE can connect us with
investors.” The company is also interested in international
markets and hopes that 2SCALE can help expand its
23
Ruth Kinoti (right)
with a sorghum
producer – Sorghum
Partnership, Kenya
horizon on the international markets and open a factory to
process food by 2020.
Acila – Sorghum Partnership, Uganda
Acila is located in the Teso region, eastern Uganda, and was
established in 1998. The company trades in agro-inputs,
such as seeds and pesticides, and sells cereal grains. Acila is
one of the top three suppliers of sorghum to Nile Breweries,
Uganda’s largest brewery.
2SCALE’s Support in Diversifying
Activity – Acquisition of Processing Plant
2SCALE’s support came at a time when the company
was facing many challenges. First, the company needed a
machine to process the grains. A locally produced machine
was used, but it had a limited capacity of only 15 tons per
day, and the quality was too low. Ruth Okiror asked the
2SCALE team to recommend her to WFP to get a loan. To
back up the recommendation, 2SCALE trained the farmers
on market linkages, value addition, and farming practices,
all requirements of WFP. Out of 747 applicants