Success of the 2nd Farm’Innov Connection event, part of the 2024 French Week in Kenya!

The 2nd Farm’Innov Connection was held on 13 November 2024 and brought together more than 120 people in Nairobi. An event organised as part of the 2nd edition of the French Week in Kenya.  We focused on supply chain issues in Kenya. Testimonials and concrete solutions were presented, to improve supply chain through innovative solutions in the food sector, in this true spirit of collaboration between France and Kenyan industry actors, that is the strength of the Farm’Innov project.

In Kenya, the supply chain landscape has seen a remarkable transformation over the years, unlocking new opportunities for businesses in various industries. From traditionally relying on manual processes to embracing modern technologies, the evolution of the supply chain in Kenya has paved the way for improved efficiency, cost-effectiveness, and enhanced customer satisfaction.

Led by Adèle Guérin – Farm’Innov Project Officer based in Nairobi, this Farm’Innov Connection session featured Laure Paugam from French Chamber of Commerce in Kenya who organised the 2024 French Week, Guillaume Polge, who introduced Farm’Innov’s start with support from Agence Française de Développement in Eastern Africa, the French Embassy, the Kenyan government, and Valorial, the French agrifood innovation cluster.

• Olive Etsula from Tenderzville Portal highlighted gaps in Kenya’s supply chain, emphasizing value addition to reduce food waste.
• Tom Akeno from Agricultural Finance Corporation spoke on green financing for sustainable agriculture, renewable energy, and circular economy projects.
• Maïwenn Le Pierrès Bullier from Prince de Bretagne – Cerafel highlighted the importance of production aggregation to enhance farmers’ bargaining power.
• Bernard Kibaru of Naivas Supermarket shared insights on maintaining quality and safety standards across the retail value chain.
• Finally, Florence Kariuki from Equity Group Foundation International emphasized the need to move from discussion to action. With ample data on the challenges, she called for proactive, collaborative solutions to create an enabling environment for agribusiness stakeholders.

It was also an opportunity to present the Farm’Innov programme to Kenya’s agricultural and agri-food sectors, and to highlight the partnerships developed over the past year between French organizations (Valorial, French Development Agency, French Embassy, French Chamber of Commerce in Kenya) and local organizations (Kenyan Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development, Agriculture Sector Network (Asnet), Equity Group Fondation). Farm’Innov project aims to foster knowledge exchange and private sector support for Kenyan companies and institutional players. This powerful partnership between Kenya and France shows promising potential for a resilient, sustainable agri-food sector, boosting growth, increased market access, transforming supply chains with innovative solutions, and fostering mutual development.

Finally, we were able to present 1st step’s results of the Farm’innov acceleration programme: 33 Kenyan companies applied, representing all the country’s food sectors!

A big thank you to our speakers! Our sincere appreciation goes also to our esteemed institutional partners: the French Embassy in Kenya, AFD, ASNET, Equity Group Foundation, Ministry of Agriculture ans Livestock Developement of Kenya, French Chamber of Commerce in Kenya.

The next Farm’innov Connection will be held in January 2025. The topic will be announced shortly, stay tuned, and we look forward to seeing you there!