Juhudi Kilimo LLC
The Challenge
Agriculture and its related activities employ about 75% of Kenya’s population. An estimated 16 million smallholder farmers need financial services and technical assistance, yet without access to collateral or business assets, they are unable to access the country’s manymicrofinance institutions (MFIs). Most MFIs have limited rural reach and serve only 8% of the rural population.
Juhudi's Approach
Juhudi Kilimo LLC provides asset financing to smallholder farmers and rural enterprises so that they can acquire assets such as dairy cows, drip irrigation systems, and modern beekeeping equipment. Juhudi also supports the creation of rural enterprises such as milk chilling plants, coffee mills, and mango processing plants. Unlike traditionalmicrofinance, which provides primarily working capital loans to informal businesses, Juhudi Kilimo’s asset financing focuses on the predominant economic sector of rural Kenya—agriculture—by financing specific assets that increase sustainability, long-term productivity, and wealth creation.
Juhudi's Partnership with GBF
GBF has partnered with Juhudi to provide loan funding and capacity building to expand the Juhudi’s portfolio and operations. The capacity-building programs include improving the efficiency of Juhudi's operations, expanding management staff, implementing staff training, and diversifying products and services offered.
Juhudi's Performance and Impact
As of the end of 2009, Juhudi financed more than 6,000 smallholder borrowers and two rural enterprises impacting over 75,000 Kenyans. Over the next five years, Juhudi is projected to grow to 50,000 active clients and have a total impact on approximately 500,000 rural Kenyans.
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