Africa Prize alumna and CEO of Tree_Sea.mals, Tracy Kimathi, discusses how she pivoted her business following the eight month period of business training she received during the Africa Prize programme in 2020.
Can you briefly describe your innovation and tell us what inspired you to create it?
Our innovation is a solar-powered cold room which aims to reduce post-slaughter meat loss across East Africa’s Livestock Value chain. This is done by installing 5kWp/20ft solar chillers within urban commercial meat markets that charge a Pay-As-You-Store daily fee in exchange for overnight preservation services.
The team’s inspiration to create BARIDI was based on the continent’s notable need to embrace Productive Energy Use as a means to economic empowerment.
What were the main lessons you learnt through the Africa Prize training and alumni programme?
When I first joined the Africa Prize programme, my focus was more on solar mini-grids and its influence on the more basic social services of electrification such as phone charging and lighting. However, after going through the APEI training, I came to realise the fundamental importance of ensuring financially viable business models that generate wealth to both us as developers and also to our solar consumers. The concept of Productive Energy Use was refined during our time as part of the 2019 Africa Prize cohort.
Before the Africa Prize, the project focused more on the social side of the innovation, whereas now after the programme, the project reflects a more economic point of view.
What stage are you at now and do you have any immediate plans for your innovation?
Currently, we are set to launch three solar chiller units within the next 24 months. The first unit is to be set up at Nairobi’s largest commercial meat market, Burma. The unit will ensure preservation of over 292,000kgs of meat annually benefiting over 30 meat vendors who would have otherwise lost a quarter of their stock to rot. The solar stand-alone unit has been designed to save energy rated at 18,224kWh/year from the grid and generate enough monthly revenue to sustain our local business and the operational costs of the unit.
What impact has your innovation had so far in your country or abroad?
The innovation has impacted local job creation, and to date Project Baridi has provided over 36 formal and informal jobs at Tree_Sea.mals as well as at the company’s five implementing partners.
The Baridi solar-powered cold room is also assembled in Kenya by Kenyans. We ensure assembly of components like lithium-ion batteries, sustainable refrigerants, mono-crystalline panels, amongst other quality specs that ensure the unit to be of international standards. Additionally, we are developing an Asset Management Platform named WINGU that integrates the technology into a smart remote monitoring hub.
Each Baridi unit has the potential to enable a yearly economic benefit of €5250 for a vendor renting 1m3 of cold space, a great impact.
What one tip for success would you give to your fellow innovators?
Don’t be afraid to pivot your business if you see a more economically viable application of your vision.