When Ira Ambani walked through the gates of Kenya Industrial Research Development Institute (KIRDI) Western Region Centre in Kisumu in early 2021, her goal was to find a lasting solution to managing the huge fish waste from her Nile Perch processing plant on the shores of Lake Turkana.
For many years, Ambani struggled to dispose of tonnes of waste from the plant including Nile Perch skin every day, posing a big challenge to her plans to expand the business.
After going through reviews and online content about the work done by KIRDI, Ira took the journey to Kisumu to share her struggles with the researchers in a bid to resolve the waste problem.
“I learned about KIRDI online when I was doing some research on what to do with the huge Nile perch skin waste at our plant in Turkana. That is when I discovered they had done some extensive work on fish leather,” she said.
Upon arrival, she was received by a team of experts who had done extensive research and work on leather at the institution since the year 2013.
The Sh600 million leather tannery at the center which at the time was underutilized opened her eyes to the world of leather after realizing from research done by KIRDI that the tonnes of Nile Perch skin she was burying every day in Turkana was a gold mine.
“The tour of the leather tannery and the insights I got from the KIRDI researchers was an eye opener and just like that, Ambani Fish Leather was born,” she said.
She then embarked on the journey of ferrying the Nile Perch Skin from her fish processing plant in Turkana to KIRDI Kisumu for processing and since then, she has never looked back.
“From every fish we process at the factory about 7% is skin which we struggled to bury or sell at a throwaway price but coming to KIRDI enabled me to turn this into gold,” she said.
By using the state-of-the-art equipment at the facility with guidance from KIRDI leather experts, Ambani can produce and add value to different types of fish leather, a move that has earned her space in the local and international leather market.
In an interview with KNA at the center, Ambani said she has managed to secure markets in Morocco, Europe, and America where she exports the products.
She said a kilogram of Nile Perch fish leather goes at Sh1,700 which has enabled her to scale up the production as she eyes more markets in Europe and Asia.
“This is very beautiful leather. Nile Perch Skin produces the second strongest leather in the world. That is why our products continue to generate a lot of interest across the globe,” she said.
Her vision, she said, is to diversify the production to create more products as she eyes the production of apparel and leather for the automobile industry.
This, she said, could not have been possible were it not for the support received from KIRDI calling on other budding entrepreneurs to take advantage of the opportunities available at the research institution to fulfill their dreams.
“This equipment is very expensive. If I had to go alone definitely, I would not have made it. I want to thank the government and KIRDI for the incubation services and common user manufacturing facilities which have enabled me to take off,” she said.
Arafat Abdulkadir, another beneficiary of the business incubation services at KIRDI Kisumu said the leather tannery has enabled him to fulfill his childhood dream of manufacturing shoes.
“When I arrived here, I was warmly welcomed and given training and space to run my business. Were it not for this facility, I would still be struggling outside there,” he said.
Abdulkadir who runs Kilimanjaro Traders Company, specializes in the production of shoes, bags, and belts and has also ventured into sports where he produces balls and other accessories.
KIRDI Director General Dr. Calvin Onyango said the institute has invested in state-of-the-art facilities at its centers in Nairobi, Kisumu, Eldoret, Kisii, Migori, Bungoma, Garissa, and Malindi where startups and Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) are trained and incubated for one year.
Photos by Chris Mahandara
The institute, he said, has employed research scientists who support budding entrepreneurs at the incubation centers and outside the facilities when they finally set up on their own.
Through the initiative, the MSMEs are trained and nurtured to create products that have a market reach and can compete effectively on a global scale, he added.
Using the Common Manufacturing Facility (CMF) concept, KIRDI provides space, facilities, machines, and overheads for MSMEs to process and package their products at a subsidized fee, Dr Onyango said.
The program, which targets food technology, chemical engineering, leather processing technology, engineering development, textile technology, ceramics and building materials technology, roots, and tubers processing technology, and testing technology has opened up doors for many entrepreneurs who would otherwise have not managed to start on their own.
“Most of the startups collapse due to lack of capital required to purchase equipment. The equipment is very expensive which is why as an institution we have come up with this incubation programme to support the MSMEs,” he said adding that the programme has registered tremendous success and that the number of locally made products on supermarket shelves has increased tenfold.
“The impact is huge. If you go to the supermarkets today, you will see quite many products manufactured with the support of KIRDI,” he said.
He added that the institute continues to receive applications from budding entrepreneurs with a total of 1,500 going through the programme every year.
KIRDI Board Chairman Eng. Peter Mositet said the initiative was a long-term solution to the challenges facing MSMEs across the country.
Enhancing access to state-of-the-art machinery to startups was key in unlocking the potential of young entrepreneurs who graduate from local universities with skills but could not venture into manufacturing, he said.
Eng. Mositet noted that the country is endowed with many resources through which budding entrepreneurs could engage in value addition and create numerous job opportunities.
“Our goal is to train industrialists who upon leaving the institute can create cottage industries and create jobs. You don’t have to borrow money to start, just come to KIRDI and utilize the facilities we have as you grow,” he said.
Mositet decried the poor uptake of the opportunities in KIRDI adding that the majority of Kenyans were not aware of the services.
He asked political leaders to spread the message in their respective constituencies and ensure as many youths as possible take advantage of the opportunities to earn a living.
