Kenyan eco-entrepreneur tackles food waste with sustainable solutions

KIC is a start-up based in Nairobi, Kenya and a 2024 finalist in the global Earthshot Prize competition in the Build a Waste-free World category.

As the broadcast partner for the Earthshot Prize in Africa, MultiChoice plays a key role in raising awareness and promoting understanding of eco-solutions aimed at protecting the planet, particularly in Africa, a continent disproportionately affected by climate change.

Climate-related weather events and shifting patterns have triggered major humanitarian crises, severely impacting agriculture and food security among other areas. Food loss from farm to fork is a huge challenge in many markets in Africa. With inadequate cold storage and transport systems in place, fisherfolk on the Kenyan side of Lake Victoria are losing up to half of their catch every day. This is exacerbated by the lack of centralised energy grids and limited on-demand cold storage options that make it harder to keep produce cool, particularly when transferring from port to market. Localised cold storage provision is one option, but it doesn’t address wider supply chain limitations, which will have the greatest impact on spoilage of fresh products.

Food insecurity and malnutrition remain pressing issues, affecting millions of Kenyans daily. An estimated one in three people, or 33% of the population, experiences food insecurity, largely due to significant disparities in food distribution, which contribute to high levels of waste while many go hungry.

Urban populations, particularly those in informal settlements, face limited access to fresh produce, relying on informal traders for their supply. The inadequate packaging of fruits and vegetables — such as the use of non-permeable materials — further exacerbates spoilage by trapping moisture and encouraging bacterial growth. These inefficiencies in the food system highlight the urgent need for more equitable distribution and improved handling practices to reduce waste and address food insecurity.

KIC addresses the challenge of food spoilage by providing sustainable, localised refrigeration systems that help small farmers and fishers preserve their produce. They install solar-powered cold storage units where fish are landed, ensuring the catch stays fresh, and then manage the transport to markets. This significantly reduces spoilage and food waste.

In addition to refrigeration, KIC connects farmers and fishers directly to retail markets. By brokering agreements with 1,600 retailers, they ensure timely purchase of the produce. This system provides income security for farmers and fisherfolk, as KIC agrees on a guaranteed price at collection, eliminating the dependence on middlemen and fluctuating prices based on the condition of the catch.

Extending the shelf life of the produce reduces spoilage and creates more stable incomes. By improving profits and cutting down on food waste, KIC is helping build a more sustainable future for these communities.

KIC currently works with eight fisherfolk cooperatives representing 4,500 members. As a result of their efforts, they’ve saved 25% of the catch that would have been wasted, and 3,600 fisherfolk have seen their incomes increase by more than 15%.

KIC measures its success through the reduction of food waste and post-harvest losses (PHL), as well as avoided emissions from reducing spoilage, clean energy use, and hybrid trucks. Currently managing 250,000kg of produce per week, KIC has achieved a 98% reduction in PHL for 1.5 million kilograms of food since 2022. Their efforts supply over 2,000 small businesses and 40 supermarkets, with demand growing from another 350 small businesses.

The solution has almost limitless potential in the food storage space. Keep IT Cool is launching Kenya’s largest solar-powered cold chain distribution facility for small holder farmers this year. The new facility will have a 70-tonne capacity, which is seven times their current capacity.

Their recognition by The Earthshot Prize will ensure that they can deliver on their plans to grow into East Africa and beyond, KIC is now working to expand their activities in poultry, fruit, and vegetables, with plans to expand its service to more communities and improving the livelihoods of up to 1.6 million people by 2030.

The Earthshot Prize exists to discover, spotlight and help grow innovative solutions that are working to repair and regenerate our planet. From the thousands of entries received from across the world each year, an expert advisory panel selects the tops 15 candidates who are then eligible to be one of five winners of the R23 million prize.

This year, the celebration and awards ceremony will be held in Cape Town, South Africa, in November. Taking place across five days of landmark events, Earthshot Week 2024 will spotlight groundbreaking environmental solutions and bring together world-leading innovators, investors and philanthropists to drive forward the restoration and protection of our planet.