Kentegra Biotechnology Holdings LLC

Region and country of operations: Africa, Kenya
Jurisdiction of registration: USA
Business sector: Agriculture

Date of agreement (month/year): 10/2022
Finnfund’s financing: USD 5,000,000
Share of Finnfund’s financing: 33%
Instrument: Equity
Size of project/financing: USD 15,000,000
Environmental and social category: B+

Project description

Kentegra Biotechnology produces Pale Refined Extract from the pyrethrum flower sourced from smallholders in Kenya. The extract is used as a 100% natural ingredient in manufacturing insecticides, pesticides, and other agricultural and household formulations.

Finnfund is investing USD 5 million in equity to support building a new processing facility in Kenya to expand the production capacity.

Main development impact

The project greatly impacts smallholder farmer livelihood as growing pyrethrum provides farmers with a steady income of over four times more than from alternative crops, as well as timely payments throughout the year.

The end product provides a healthier and environmentally friendly alternative to current synthetic versions of active ingredients in pesticides, creating an unusually attractive market opportunity as there is a global movement away from synthetic pesticides.

Kentegra is a 2X classified project and is considered a climate change adaptation project at the company and society/system levels due to introducing more climate-smart farming practices.

Last modified: March 2023