Kakuzi to undertake Sh100m expansion next year, says MD

@Alicewangechi

Shareholders of Kakuzi foods processing firm have backed plans by the company to diversify and expand its production.

The shareholders, who visited the company on a tour of its operations in Murang’a county, affirmed their support for a sustainability-anchored agricultural portfolio diversification agenda fronted by the firm.

Managing director Chris Flowers said the company will invest Sh100 million next year to implement the agenda that will focus on key issues such as integrating agricultural technology and water stewardship.

The plan will also see the company measure and reduce carbon emissions, reduce waste, and introduce new commercial produce such as blueberries while expanding its livestock range.

“Market diversification for Kakuzi is a key part of our strategy not only for export but also for the growing domestic and regional markets,” Flowers said.

He said exporting a combination of avocados, macadamia and blueberries as well as a strong domestic value-addition range will give the company an opportunity to minimise shareholder risks and maximise returns.

The company exports its products to Europe, China, India, the Middle East, America and Japan.

Flowers highlighted the challenges the company has been facing, especially due to the closure of the Red Sea shipping routes and climate change.

“The complexity we face today is greater than it was during the Covid-19 pandemic.  We are now dealing with new significant problems which again are beyond our control such as complex global logistics and climate change that is making agriculture far less predictable.”

Board chairperson Nicholas Ng’ang’a said the firm had grown beyond a farm enterprise and is now an integrated international agribusiness player.

In its growth journey and as part of a deliberate effort to deepen its investor relations, Ng’anng’a said the firm will continue to engage its shareholders through familiarisation tours and other progressive engagements.

“Our shareholders are our primary stakeholders and we’re happy that they can come to visit us today and understand how their investment is operating. We’re particularly proud to showcase our climate-smart agriculture, which speaks to the sustainability of their investment portfolio,” Ng’ang’a said.

The company’s shareholders grew to 1,395 by end of last year, up from 1,362 in 2022, and comprise 1,154 local individual investors who hold over eight million shares and 97 local institutional investors with more than 5.5 million shares, among others.

The company that is a listed Kenyan superfoods producer on the Nairobi Securities Exchange and the London Stock Exchange is headquartered in Murang’a while its tea estate is situated in Nandi Hills, Nandi county.