SACE and 11 SMEs “export” to Kenya the Italian dairy industry

On the occasion of Kenya National Day at the Expo, and a visit by Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta, SACE, Rota Guido (leader of a group of 11 Italian SMEs), the Kerio Valley Development Authority, and Moi Univeristy of Eldoret are announcing the signing of a memorandum of understanding to develop a € 25 million agricultural project in Kenya.

Signed in the presence of President Kenyatta and Roberto Maroni, President of Lombardy region, the agreement calls for the design, installation and turnkey supply of a farm with innovative technologies and energy self-sufficiency designed for a daily output of 30,000 liters of milk, 1.2 tons of meat, 1 megawatts of power from biomasses, and over 1.5 megawatts of power from solar panels. The order includes the supply of all the machinery and all the activities necessary for the farm to function: machinery for working the soil, the irrigation and cultivation systems, delivery of the farm animals, feed production equipment, refrigeration and storage facilities, machinery for packaging the finished products, installation of the solar panels, and the equipment necessary to produce power from biomasses. The agreement also calls for the transfer of know-how and a consulting and training service to Moi University, which has the country's most advanced agriculture department.

In addition to Rota Guido, a Piacenza-based SMEs specialized in the design and construction of livestock facilities and biogas plants, ten other Italian SMEs will participate in the project: Casella Macchine Agricole (Emilia), SIVAM (Lodi), Faresin Industries and REDA (Vicenza), TEM Group (Brescia), IPI (Umbria) Mancini (Marches), Zanotti (Mantua), Prandi Group (Rome), and Cappello Alluminio (Sicily). Each company is specialized in a segment or a process for the facility.

The project is the result of a study on the potential of the Italian dairy industry in the African market conducted as part of the Frontier Markets program of SACE, which is acting as advisor for the project. SACE might also guarantee the loan for the project issued by BPER in favor of Moi University.

Through the Frontier Markets program (dedicated, in this first edition, to Sub-Saharan Africa), SACE is providing the know-how gained in almost 40 years of activity in the emerging countries and a broad range of services tailored for SMEs: training seminars provided by SACE economists and specialists; advisory services to identify the markets and industries with the greatest potential and business opportunities, the organization of business-matching encounters, assessment of the underlying profiles of risk (credit, political, regulatory, environmental), and financial-insurance solutions to support individual commercial and investment initiatives, as well as assistance in loco through its offices in Johannesburg and Nairobi.