Alice Wamboi launched her value addition startup in January 2022 upon recognizing that she was incurring losses from the sale of fresh mushrooms.
To enhance her value addition business, she enrolled in a product development course at the Kenya Industrial Research and Development Institute (KIRDI).
“Mushrooms are highly perishable, they cannot last for more than five days. Sadly, once harvested, only 45 per cent make it to the market
“Dry mushrooms can stay for long as long as they are not in contact with moisture, and that is why they are becoming a popular delicacy when prepared in soups, roasted, grilled or fried,” she said.
While still enrolled in the course, she initiated the project after securing Ksh 870,000, a grant from the Kenya Climate Innovation Centre, along with her personal savings.
Wamboi utilized these funds to purchase two solar panels, a milling machine, construct a drying chamber, and rent a facility in Kiambu town.
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By the time she established the business, she had three mushroom houses at her rural residence in Githunguri, yielding a daily harvest of at least 50 kilograms of mushrooms.
She procures additional mushrooms from the Mushroom Farmers Self-Help Group, paying Ksh 150 for a 250g pack of button mushrooms and Ksh 120 for oyster mushrooms.
Wamboi subsequently dries the mushrooms over a period of three days.
“When the produce is received from farmers, we first sort it, then weigh. Then it is sliced uniformly and spread in the two storey solar dryers
“Air is actively extracted from centrifugal fan and redirected to the mushrooms to speed up the drying,” she explained.
Following a drying period of three days, she will assess the moisture content of the mushrooms prior to grinding them into powder and preparing them for sale.
Wamboi offers 100g of dried mushrooms for Ksh 400, and 40g of mushroom powder for Ksh 200.
“Lactating mothers, toddlers and the elderly are the biggest consumers of the products as well as traders who go to blend other flours
“Mushroom has 60 per cent protein, no cholesterol and is a good source of vitamin B2 and iron,” she explained.
Wamboi has two employees and utilizes social media for marketing her products, although the majority of her sales are generated through referrals.
