Avenews and Kenya Fresh Produce Consortium target 10 million livelihoods in bid to plug $2bn agri-financing gap

• By financing receivables within hours instead of months, a new alliance between Avenews Kenya and fresh produce consortium aims to reduce the 40% post-harvest loss rate, ensuring that premium Kenyan produce reaches export markets before spoilage.
• The reliance on trade data over physical collateral lowers the barrier for entry for youth and women-led SMEs, who are often locked out of mainstream bank lending.
• Immediate payment cycles reduce the dependency on informal shylocks and predatory lending rates, stabilizing the cost of capital for farmers and aggregators.

In the push to revolutionize how agricultural trade is financed in East Africa, Avenews Kenya, a data-driven agri-fintech, has entered into a strategic partnership with the Fresh Produce Consortium of Kenya (FPCK).

The alliance seeks to dismantle a structural constraint that has long plagued the region’s horticultural sector. One of the target pain points is chronic delay in supplier payments, which often stretches to 90 days.

The partnership introduces an embedded invoice discounting solution, “Agri-Supplier Financing”, designed to convert verified receivables into instant working capital.

This financial intervention comes at a critical juncture for the Kenyan economy, where the agriculture sector remains the backbone of GDP but suffers from a severe liquidity mismatch that threatens the country’s export competitiveness.

A “just-in-time” solution for a perishable reality

Unlike traditional lending models that rely heavily on physical collateral and lengthy credit assessments, the Avenews-FPCK model aligns capital disbursement with the velocity of actual trade.

For fresh produce suppliers, distributors, and aggregators, the ability to restock immediately after delivery, rather than waiting for the buyer’s settlement cycle to conclude, is existential.

“At Avenews, we understand that the fresh produce value chain operates as a just-in-time, perishable business where every hour counts,” Jonathan Tselon, CEO of Avenews, said during the launch event at the Crowne Plaza JKIA, in a statement posted on Monday.

“Access to immediate, flexible capital is not a luxury; it is what keeps the entire value chain alive. This is why we continue to innovate smart financing solutions for agribusinesses that move at the speed of trade, not the convenience of traditional financial systems.”

The fragility of the current system is underscored by industry data highlighting massive post-harvest losses. According to recent remarks by Kenya’s Prime Cabinet Secretary, Musalia Mudavadi, farmers in key producing counties such as Meru and Kirinyaga lose up to 40 per cent of their premium fruits and vegetables due to poor storage, inadequate transport, and the inability to move goods quickly when cash is tied up in receivables.

Furthermore, logistical bottlenecks at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA), where exporters face daily losses estimated in the millions due to limited cold chain infrastructure, exacerbate the need for rapid inventory turnover.

Structural reform and the 10 million livelihoods target

The consortium represents a wide swath of the industry, including exporters, packhouses, and logistics providers. By embedding financing directly into the supply chain, the partners aim to reduce the sector’s heavy reliance on informal, high-cost credit, which often eats into already thin margins.

Okisegere Ojepat, CEO of the Fresh Produce Consortium of Kenya, noted that the partnership is as much about inclusion as it is about efficiency. He noted that delayed financing not only disrupts shipments but also erects insurmountable barriers for youth and women entrepreneurs looking to enter the formal value chain.

“In a sector defined by perishability and tight timelines, delays in financing can disrupt shipments, strain supply relationships, and result in product loss,” Ojepat said.

“One of the biggest barriers to entry is access to timely, tailored financing. Through our partnership with Avenews, we are opening the door for more entrepreneurs. Our industry already supports over three million people directly and indirectly, and with these solutions in place, we are looking at scaling that impact to over 10 million livelihoods across the country.”

This ambition aligns with Avenews’ broader strategy in Kenya. The fintech firm has been aggressively deploying capital across various sub-sectors. The company recently committed to disbursing KSh. 2.5 billion to the agricultural sector in 2025, following similar trade-finance deals with the Kenya Meat Commission for the livestock value chain and with Enochem for agro-input distributors.

Avenews Kenya in shift toward embedded finance

Nancy Kinyanjui, Managing Director of Avenews, framed the initiative within the larger global trend of “embedded finance”, where banking services are integrated directly into non-financial platforms or supply chains.

“This partnership reflects a broader shift toward embedded financing models, where capital is structured around real economic activity and trade flows, not traditional lending timelines,” Kinyanjui explained.

“At Avenews, we are working one value chain at a time to fix long-standing structural gaps in agribusiness, unlocking capital through practical, time-based financial solutions that support, rather than slow, the movement of goods.”

The launch event, a dinner workshop, drew over 100 members of the Fresh Produce Consortium. The attendance reflects the growing appetite for alternative lending solutions.

Traditional commercial banks have historically been cautious in this space, leaving an estimated $2 billion financing gap for Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in Kenya’s agri-sector.

By utilizing operational data, such as invoices and purchase orders, as dynamic collateral, Avenews is attempting to underwrite risk that traditional balance sheets cannot capture.

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