A simple observation that the right conditions make all the difference, and a conviction that technology could help every farmer get there.
Back in my campus days, we had chickens at home and they just weren't laying eggs the way they should. I started digging into why, and uncovered part of the reason: the environment they were living in was working against them. The wrong temperatures, humidity levels were off, ammonia building up from waste. Simple conditions, but they made all the difference.
So we built something. A smart monitoring and control system that could maintain the right conditions automatically and alert you when the coop needed cleaning. It worked really well, actually.
But we never got it to a single farmer beyond home.
Instead, we got jobs as Researchers. But it's not how you think, we still got to work at the intersection of agriculture and technology. Most importantly, we got to spend real time with smallholder farmers across Kenya and actually listen to them.
Those conversations stuck with me. The same challenges kept coming up, just in different voices, guesswork around inputs, markets they couldn't reach, harvests going to waste before they could be sold, financing that was simply out of reach. These were resourceful, hardworking people who feed the nation, yet they don't have the right tools in their corner.
That's what reignited everything for me.
So we started Kilimo Bunifu with a simple goal: use technology to build practical solutions that actually reach farmers and make a difference.
~ Victor Kimaru, Executive Director
Kilimo Bunifu is a non-profit Agricultural Technology organization building innovative systems that help smallholder farmers increase productivity, access markets, and strengthen agrifood value chains in Africa.
To design, deploy, and scale tech-driven solutions that empower smallholder farmers, strengthen value chains, and build resilient agrifood systems across Africa.
An Africa where technology, data, and innovation transform smallholder farming into a resilient, profitable, and climate-smart enterprise.
We develop practical, scalable, and affordable agritech systems tailored to smallholder contexts.
We equip farmers, students, and innovators with the skills to develop, adopt, and scale technology-driven agricultural solutions.
We collaborate with research institutions, industry, governments, and impact organizations to accelerate technology adoption and scale impact.
Whether you're a researcher, funder, government body, or innovator, there's a role for you in building Africa's agritech future.