The business at a glance
In Kenya, women make up over 75% of the agricultural workforce, particularly in smallholder farming contexts, yet earn the least from it. Most crops leave their farms raw and unprocessed, with value added far away by middlemen and distant factories - leaving women underpaid and overlooked.
Mamlo Foods is a social enterprise shifting power and profit back to rural women in agriculture through solar-powered, container-based micro-factories placed directly in farming communities. These micro-factories enable women to process peanuts into high-value products like peanut butter, increasing incomes and building community-owned agribusinesses. Products are sold both locally and beyond, with profits shared among farmers and reinvested to grow sustainable rural economies that address poverty and gender inequity.
Mamlo Foods has successfully piloted its first micro-factory, and now, with our support, they’ll refine their business strategy and expand to more communities.
Meet the project leader
Irene Etyang is a Kenyan food scientist and Rainer Arnhold Fellow passionate about rural equity and food security. Drawing on personal experience and years of work in food product development, she is focused on shifting value and opportunity back to women in agriculture and strengthening Kenya’s local food systems.
Meet our alumni
Want to see who we’ve supported in past years?
Find the full list of all founders we've worked with since our inception in pages 32–43 of our impact report.