Kenya - Business creation project

Describe your project or startup in a few words

Suncool offers solar-powered cold storage as a Service. Customers can lease or rent space on a pay-as-you-store model. This makes cold storage accessible and affordable to farmers, fishers, & market traders without making huge CapEx investments.

01.01 Describe your project in more detail

Suncool will invest in cold storage assets and operate cold storage as a service business model. We have partnered with Ecozen Solutions, India (https://www.ecozensolutions.com/ecofrost) which is the market leader in solar-powered cold storage. We will buy portable cold storage units of different sizes and lease/rent them to farmers, farmers' producer organizations, aggregators, exporters, and other institutions dealing with temperature-sensitive produce. The cold room units are containerized and portable allowing us to move them from one site to another. The cold room units are off-grid which allows us to deploy the solution at the first mile and off-grid regions where there is no reliable electricity to operate conventional cold storage solutions.

01.02 What is the main problem you are trying to solve?

Post-harvest food loss - up to 40% of temperature-sensitive food produced is wasted in Kenya and Sub-Saharan Africa. With a solar-powered cold storage solution, we can solve food loss problems at the farmgate and market level.

01.03 Tell us the major benefits and/or advantages of using the product/service that your project intends to provide (at least 3).

1. It is solar-powered with minimal Operation cost. 2. The use of renewable energy has benefits to the climate. 3. It is off-grid which enables us to deploy the solutions in off-grid areas with no reliable electricity.

01.04 Please describe who exactly your project is aimed at serving. Who are the targeted beneficiaries?

The beneficiaries of the projects are all dealers in temperature-sensitive produce. we will provide cold storage to smallholder farmers, smallholder fishers, farmers groups, aggregators, exporters, distributors, off-grid resorts, & market traders. This will help minimize post-harvest food loss at farmgate, market, or point of consumption.

01.05 When did you start working on your project?

2024-01-01

01.06 How many other partners are associated with your business venture?

2

01.07 Among the other partners, how many are female?

0

01.08 Please describe the profile of each of the other partners (skills, experience, etc.)

1. Francis Wainaiana - https://www.linkedin.com/in/francis-wainaina-57575421/ He has extensive experience working in the energy sector for over 10 years. He has worked with GOGLA, PWC, and Practical Action, and he is currently the Offgrid lead for the Empower East and Central Africa energy access program with USAID 2. David Njugi - https://www.linkedin.com/in/david-njugi-709a8924/ Former East Africa regional representative at GOGLA, he is currently working with World Resource Institute (WRI) as the program specialist for the Productive Use Of Renewable Energy (PURE)

01.09 If you have a website, a social media page (Facebook, Instagram, Linkedin…), or app, please provide the link here:

https://suncool.co.ke/

01.10 Which industry best describes your project?

a) Energy (equipment, services, sustainable energy and fuel)

02.01.01 My project contributes to the No poverty goal

7 - Strongly Agree

02.01.02 No poverty - Justification

By minimizing postharvest food loss, we will improve the incomes of smallholder farmers. Agriculture employs 40% of Kenya's population and over 70% of the rural population. By increasing the incomes of the rural population, we will be targeting to improve the livelihood of up to 40% of the Kenyan population.

02.02.01 My project contributes to the Zero hunger goal

7 - Strongly Agree

02.02.02 Zero hunger - Justification

In a world where people are dying from hunger, one-third of all food produced is wasted every year. In Sub-Saharan Africa, post-harvest food losses are estimated to be worth US$ 4 billion per year. This is enough food to feed at least 48 million people. (FAO) Access to cold storage will minimize postharvest food loss and lead us toward food security.

02.03.01 My project contributes to the Good health and well-being goal

7 - Strongly Agree

02.03.02 Good health and well-being - Justification

A population that is food insecure may be at an increased risk for a variety of negative health outcomes and health disparities. Improving food security improves good health and well-being of the population.

02.04.01 My project contributes to the Quality education goal

5

02.04.02 Quality education - Justification

Increased rural population incomes as a result of minimized postharvest food loss mean families have money to take children to school.

02.05.01 My project contributes to the Gender equality goal

5

02.05.02 Gender equality - Justification

Most of the smallholder farmers and fresh produce traders are women. Access to affordable cold storage will increase their incomes as a result of reduced wastage at farms and market.

02.06.01 My project contributes to the Clean water and sanitation goal

1 - Strongly Disagree

02.06.02 Clean water and sanitation - Justification

Not Applicable

02.07.01 My project contributes to the Affordable and clean energy goal

7 - Strongly Agree

02.07.02 Affordable and clean energy - Justification

Our cold rooms are solar-powered with thermal technology that provides up to 30 hours of backup. Solar power is affordable and sustainable, especially in Kenya and Sub Saharan Africa.

02.08.01 My project contributes to the Decent work and economic growth

7 - Strongly Agree

02.08.02 Decent work and economic growth - Justification

By minimizing post-harvest food loss, incomes of smallholder farmers is increased which represents 40% of the Kenya Population. This provides rural employment and overall sustainable development

02.09.01 My project contributes to the Industry innovation and infrastructure

7 - Strongly Agree

02.09.02 Industry innovation and infrastructure - Justification

The project aims at building a sustainable cooling infrastructure. By utilizing solar power, we can have a decentralized infrastructure that solves first-mile food loss.

02.10.01 My project contributes to the Reduced inequalities goal

6

02.10.02 Reduced inequalities - Justification

Improved smallholder farmers' incomes lead to growth in rural economies which increased the GDP of the country. Reduced rural poverty reduces the income gap between the rural and urban population.

02.11.01 My project contributes to the Sustainable cities and communities goal

6

02.11.02 Sustainable cities and communities - Justification

Improving agriculture productivity in rural communities and increasing their revenue build resilient and sustainable communities

02.12.01 My project contributes to the Responsible consumption and production goal

7 - Strongly Agree

02.12.02 Responsible consumption and production - Justification

Our projects ensure all food produces is not wasted postharvest. This gives motivation to farmers to increase productivity as what they produce will reach the market and increase their revenues. Access to cold chain promotes responsible production.

02.13.01 My project contributes to the Climate action goal

7 - Strongly Agree

02.13.02 Climate action - Justification

02.14.01 My project contributes to the Life below water goal

6

02.14.02 Life below water - Justification

The use of solar power minimizes the amount of CO2 released into the atmosphere. This minimizes ocean acidification as less CO2 is absorbed by the ocean. This helps to conserve ocean biodiversity.

02.15.01 My project contributes to the Life on land goal

6

02.15.02 Life on land - Justification

Solar cold rooms minimize the food loss and lowers the emission footprint. The use of renewable energy also eliminate the use of CO2 generating diesel genset that would accelerate climate change and biodiversity loss.

02.16.01 My project contributes to the Peace justice and strong institutions goal

1 - Strongly Disagree

02.16.02 Peace justice and strong institutions - Justification

Not Applicable

02.17.01 My project contributes to the Partnerships for the goal

6

02.17.02 Partnerships for the goal - Justification

We plan to partner with other companies in the agriculture sector to accelerate the adoption of cold chain infrastructures. We will also partner with NGOs with Food loss mitigation initiatives to support agriculture communities and promote food security sustainable development

05.01 There are a large number of customers who already use a product/service very similar to the product/service we envision creating.

1 - Strongly Disagree

05.02 The product/service we envision creating represents an entirely new type of product/service.

5

05.03 The product/service we envision creating could be described as a new technology.

7 - Strongly Agree

05.04 The product/service we envision creating is an improvement on an existing product or service.

5

05.05 The product/service we envision creating could be described as an extension of a range of products or services.

3

05.06 The product/service we envision creating responds to a demand or need that has not been satisfied by other products/services.

7 - Strongly Agree

05.07 The product/service we envision creating is a new version of an old product/service.

6

05.08 Justification

1. Decentralized cold storage infrastructure is almost nonexistent in Kenya. Most cold storage facilities are available in urban setups in supermarkets, airport, and big processors. Very few people have access to off-grid cold storage close to the point of production. 2. Cold storage is not a new concept because electric cold rooms are found in urban areas and in malls and export zones at the airport. off-grid decentralized cold rooms are a new product with a limited presence in the country 3. We will be offering a portable, solar-powered cold room with IoT capability. You can monitor performance from a mobile App from anywhere in the world. This is a new technology 4. The use of solar power is an improvement to the available electric and diesel-operated cold storage infrastructure. 5. There is a huge need for such solutions that can solve postharvest food loss Farmgate. 6. Solar cold room is a new version of existing cooling technologies.

05.09 Who are your main potential competitors and what makes you stand out from them?

1. Almar Containers - They rent out containerized electric cold room that consumes up to 400 USD of grid cost in a month. Our product is solar-powered with minimal operation cost. It is also smart and IoT-enabled with remote monitoring capability and offers predictive maintenance 2. SokoFresh - They have solar-powered units but operating a different business model. They operate an aggregation model and Pay As You Store Model. We plan to rent the cold room to entrepreneurs or organized farmers group. This guarantees revenue at the end of the month.

10.06 Are you initiating actions within your community to promote the role of female entrepreneurs?

Our project will support many female farmers and fresh produce traders.