Agriculture and agro-related activities employ about 75% of Kenya’s population. An estimated 1.48 million smallholder farmers need financial services and technical assistance. These farmers lack collateral or business assets, and are denied financial services by the country’s many Microfinance Institutions (MFIs), which have limited rural reach and serve only 17.9% of the population.

Juhudi Kilimo LLC is a newly established for-profit enterprise with a strong social mission. It supports economic activity across agribusiness value chains by providing asset financing to smallholder farmers and small and medium rural enterprises.  Juhudi started as an initiative within K-Rep Development Agency, an NGO that performs research and product development for the microfinance sector. The initiative provided financing to over 7,000 smallholder farmers, 46% of them women. Since its inception in 2004, it has developed a well-functioning operating model and a network of staff and branch offices throughout Kenya.

Juhudi now intends to become a viable commercial institution that provides asset financing throughout the Kenyan agribusiness value chain. By channeling funds for business development services and financing income-generating assets, Juhudi helps to build and sustain wealth-creating rural enterprises (such as agricultural processing plants) that deliver income-generating activities, jobs, greater market access, and new services to rural communities.