El proyecto

Arvin Gurjar worked for a large fresh produce exporter in Kenya for over 12 years but realized that smallholder farmers did not have the knowledge to produce. With this challenge, Arvin and his long-time friend, Nayna Mehta, started Vine Fresh in 2015 to export fresh produce including avocados and passion fruit by serving as the link between the farmer and various overseas markets. Vine Fresh differentiates itself by providing critical support, training and education such as borehole and irrigation access for their smallholder farmers. With 3 employees and supporting farmers in one region, Vine Fresh has now grown to 10 total staff and supporting farmers in two key agricultural regions in Kenya with almost KES 2M in sales

Arvin and Nayna have ambitious plans to progress beyond selling fresh produce to adding value that would extend the shelf life of their products and reduce food waste. In addition, Arvin and Nayna want to provide additional support to their farmers by providing key agricultural inputs and services such as fertilizer and mechanized equipment to increase the farmers’ yield. With your loan, Arvin and Nayna can hire more than 35 staff and expand to 2 markets across Europe.