Exotic EPZ: Empowering Women in Kenya's Macadamia Industry

May 26, 2023

Exotic EPZ is a macadamia processing and exporting business run and owned by women in Nairobi, Kenya. Since its establishment in 2007, the company has been committed to ensuring sustainable production of high-quality macadamia nuts by working with smallholder farmers and stakeholders in the value chain. Exotic EPZ sources its macadamia nuts from 12 regions in Kenya and has successfully exported them to Europe, Asia, and the USA. However, the company needs help due to incompatible processing technologies and enterprise data management systems. 

Small-scale macadamia nut farmers in Kenya face many obstacles that impede their prosperity, such as inadequate yields, low-quality nuts, inefficient husking methods, unscrupulous intermediaries, and a lack of dependable markets. However, Exotic EPZ has taken concrete measures to tackle these issues head-on and expand its outreach with a three-year grant from the USADF's Scaling for Impact (Scafi) program. This initiative's primary objective is to elevate small farmers' livelihoods, foster environmental conservation and land restoration, and generate employment opportunities. The grant was launched in September 2022, and we are confident that it will bring about positive change in the lives of these farmers. 

The project aims to improve the company's business operations by acquiring important nut processing machines and implementing an Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system. Exotic EPZ intends to increase its direct sourcing from 2000 to 3600 new smallholder farmers by creating more aggregation centers in five counties and providing farmers with five nut de-husking machines to enhance efficiency. Furthermore, the company plans to expand production and improve the quality and productivity of nuts from their farmers by educating them on good agronomy practices and giving them access to superior certified macadamia seedlings. 

Exotic EPZ has successfully established five collection centers in different counties over the past six months, making it incredibly convenient for macadamia nut farmers, including women, to deliver their produce. In addition, for those who do not have access to these centers, the company offers pickup and de-husking services. The project has been a resounding success, with 1,104 farmers participating and the company sourcing nuts worth more than US$1. 1 million 

Farmers are raving about Exotic EPZ's impressive ability to offer them up to 20% higher prices than brokers, along with swift, direct payments sent straight to their phones via the connected farmer app. Moreover, thanks to the implementation of state-of-the-art de-husking machines, which have replaced the traditional manual labor previously carried out by women and youth, the process can now be completed in 60 percent less time, freeing farmers to focus on other important farming and household duties. 

Exotic EPZ has recently upgraded its nut processing facilities with new machines for cracking and grading nuts, allowing them to increase their daily production from 10 MT to 15 MT for nut-in-shell. As a result, they can now produce 2 MT of kernel daily, which aligns with their current sorting and capacity capabilities. Additionally, the company intends to establish a propagation unit to provide its farmers with high-quality macadamia seedlings. 

To sum up, Exotic EPZ is significantly empowering women, smallholder farmers, and the environment through sustainable macadamia farming. They plan to expand their operations and increase their impact with the help of the Scafi grant, which will also contribute to the growth of the Kenyan economy.