11 SMEs IN KENYA

Eleven SMEs export to Kenya a “turnkey” farm equipped with cutting-edge technology and completely energy independent. It will produce up to nearly 30 thousand litres of milk; 1.2 tonnes of meat; 1 megawatt of energy from biomass, and over 1.5 megawatt of solar energy per day.

The project is the result of a study on the potential of Africa's dairy industry conducted as part of SACE's Frontier Markets programme.

Besides the lead company Rota Guido, based in Piacenza and specialising in the design and construction of livestock farms and biogas plants, the following firms participate in the project: Casella Macchine Agricole, based in Emilia; Sivam, based in Lodi; Faresin Industries and Reda, based in Vicenza; Tdm Group, based in Brescia, Ipi, based in Umbria; Mancini, based in the Marche; Zanotti, based in Mantua; Prandi Group, based in Rome; and Cappello Alluminio, based in Sicily. Each one specialises in a segment or process of the supply chain.

The order concerns the supply of all equipment and the performance of all activities necessary for the farm to operate; from ploughing equipment to irrigation and cultivation systems, the delivery of farm animals, animal feed, cooling and storage systems, equipment for packaging finished goods, the installation of solar panels, and the supply of biomass energy plants.

In addition, the agreement with the Kenyan counterparty involves also knowledge transfer and a consulting and training service at Moi University, the country's most advanced animal husbandry centre.

With its advisory services, SACE provides the know-how developed in nearly 40 years of experience in emerging countries, as well as a broad range of services tailored for SMEs: training workshops taught by SACE's economists and specialists; consulting services to identify the markets and sectors with the greatest potential and real business opportunities; business matching; counterparty risk assessment and identification of financial-insurance solutions for individual commercial or investment transactions; in-country support through SACE's international network.