Boosting Efficiencies to Help Improve Nutrition in Kenya
Malnutrition is the cause of nearly half of all deaths in children under five globally. In Kenya, 26 percent of children under five are stunted due to chronic malnutrition. To address these public health challenges, companies like Prosoya, a fortified flour company based in Nairobi, are focusing on helping these vulnerable populations by developing fortified products with vital nutrients. “We consider ourselves a social-impact company and our ideology is to fight poverty, unemployment and malnutrition,” said Prosoya CEO Kaburu Muguika. Prosoya makes several nutritious products including fortified Uji lala (ready to drink porridge) and flour, important sources of nutrients for children, pregnant and breastfeeding mothers, and those who suffer from malnutrition. Prosoya works with relief organizations like the World Food Programme (WFP) and school feeding programs to distribute their products in several countries including South Sudan, Ethiopia, and Somalia.
Partners in Food Solutions, TechnoServe and USAID have been working collectively with Prosoya on several projects including the development of new marketing and branding materials for their nutritious porridge, designing a factory layout for their new facility and formulating animal feed with locally available ingredients. Bühler Project Manager Nate Jonas serves as a PFS client lead for Prosoya. “I chose to get involved with PFS because I like the idea of collaborating with individuals from other companies and sharing my skills and knowledge to make processes more efficient, more sustainable and less wasteful,” said Nate.
Client leads play an important facilitatory role as project managers for active projects with a given client. They schedule meetings, facilitate calls, keep track of action items and ensure projects reach completion. Not only are they supporting the client, but client leads also help PFS program associates manage their growing client portfolios. Faith Ngila, a PFS program associate in Kenya, manages 40+ client activities at any given time across Kenya, Ethiopia and Tanzania. “Client leads literally make my job doable because it would be impossible for me to be on every meeting and track the progress on each project without their support,” she said. “Nate has gone the extra mile to gain a thorough understanding of Prosoya’s needs and even sacrificed his mornings to attend our 6:00 am bi-weekly calls. Moreover, Nate brings his experience working at Bühler and contributes to the projects he facilitates moving the project forward more efficiently.”
Prosoya recently finished their marketing and branded materials project and is now focused on finishing their new facility layout design project that will allow them to expand their production. “There is a lot of benefit to having volunteers,” said Kaburu. “I am happy they are on board helping us help those at the bottom of the pyramid.”
