Seed oils startup improves production processes through an upscaling program

Alexis Juma is the founder and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Kakia Oils, a Kenyan-based Seed oils marketing and manufacturing startup. According to her, the main goal of Kakia Oils is to drive market expansion for seed oils to sustain livelihoods

Being a startup, Kakia Oils lacked the prerequisite capacity to fulfill the standard threshold production and business quality and trade competitively. “It reached a point where the business was at a standstill because we did not understand how to scale it up. For example, the products were not competitive enough in the market because of quality concerns, and the business needed funding for growth, but we did not know how to pursue fundraising effectively.  

Most Kenyan entrepreneurs who establish businesses do not have sufficient knowledge of the industries they intend to specialize in or adequate business management skills to scale up (Kasi Insights, 2021). These entrepreneurs set up enterprises and try to wing them by learning and unlearning along the business. However, this method has caused many small enterprises to struggle with capacity challenges, and some face the risk of dying pre-mutually.
How can entrepreneurs boost the capacities of their businesses to grow into developed enterprises?  

Alexis Juma joined Invest in Africa’s program on upscaling manufacturing small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in natural products clusters. “The program was necessary for me to unlock the growth of my business by implementing standard operating procedures (SOPs) and executing an effective fundraising strategy,” said Alexis. 
The Initiative, which Invest in Africa (IIA) implemented in partnership with GIZ Business Scouts for Development Program, involved five technical support modules for the SMEs: access to finance, market access, transparency and traceability, good manufacturing practices, and new product development. 

“The ‘good manufacturing practices’ module had an immediate impact because we prioritized product enhancement as an urgent imperative to scale up the business.” Alexis points out. According to her, Kakia Oils has outlined the production process and documented it properly in line with the professional guidance, lessons, and recommendations. “The professional personnel who engaged us on the ‘good manufacturing practices’ module ensured that we understood and acknowledged what we needed to change in our production process to enhance the quality of the products,” she added. 
Under the access to finance module, the entrepreneurs developed professional finance pitch decks for their businesses by implementing the defined requirement to ensure compliance with the standard funding criteria. Alexis says that the pitch deck development process enabled her to bridge the formalization gaps for her business, including updating the record books and acquiring the requisite business documents. She adds, “I am certain my business can trade competitively and is eligible for the available business opportunities, including funding opportunities, due to the improved product quality and the demonstration of standard operating procedures, thanks to the IIA’s upscaling initiative.” 
Kakia Oils is one of the 40 enterprises from Kenya and Uganda that enrolled in the program aiming to upscale manufacturing SMEs in natural products. The program was implemented by Invest in Africa (IIA) in partnership with GIZ Business Scouts for Development.