Machines from China assist grinding business

NAIROBI－It is early in the morning and Kenyan Cliff Nyongesa is getting ready to open his maize milling shop in Nairobi's Kawangware suburb, a low-income residential district.

There is already a long queue of customers waiting with bags of maize outside his small shop. The 42-year-old father of three charges his customers 10 Kenyan shillings ($0.09) to grind two kilograms of maize into flour.

Nyongesa told Xinhua News Agency on July 10 that his business is doing well thanks to the modern maize milling machine he bought from China in 2019. "It is well designed and suited for heavy use," Nyongesa said.

He bought the machine from savings he accumulated when he was working for a local engineering firm. Nyongesa said the Chinese machinery is well adapted to Kenyan conditions.

Since maize is the staple crop for the east African nation, demand for his services is steady throughout the year.

"Most of my customers prefer to buy the maize grains and grind it as compared to buying maize flour from supermarkets," Nyongesa said.

Ludrick Opiyo began his peanut roasting business in 2019. The 35-year-old entrepreneur was introduced to the new venture after attending a trade exhibition in Nairobi that showcased Chinese machinery. While visiting one of the booths, a peanut roasting machine captured his attention due to its sleek appearance.

"I had never seen such a machine that could roast peanuts and also grind them into a paste before," said Opiyo. He bought a machine thanks to a loan.

With the medium-sized machine, Opiyo opened a shop in the Kibera neighborhood, about 7 kilometers southwest of Nairobi's central business district.

The business owner purchases raw peanuts from the cereal market and then converts them to peanut butter for selling. The business has been brisk due to huge demand for peanut butter, which is high in protein.

"I am able to make a good profit because the machine is very durable and it can be easily fixed by local technicians," said Opiyo.

Edmond Karanja operates an ice-making business in the sprawling Gikomba fish market a few kilometers from downtown Nairobi. The 31-year-old former teacher discovered a niche market supplying ice to fishmongers through a mutual friend.

"My friend told me that he was unable to get good quality fish from the market due to the lack of cold storage facilities in Gikomba," Karanja said. After making a few inquiries, he discovered that there was a viable business opportunity available and established an ice supply enterprise in the market.

Karanja said that he received startup capital from friends and relatives to import a commercial-grade ice-making machine from China. The machine has enabled him to become the supplier of ice used to preserve fish in one of Kenya's largest open air markets.

"Previously, my clients had to travel more than 4 km in order to find where they could buy ice blocks to safeguard their fish stocks from rotting," he added.