LIONESS WEEKENDER COVER STORY

Apiculture Venture Limited, a Kenyan social enterprise positively changing lives and food resilience through bee-keeping

Pauline Otila is a seasoned professional apiculturist and the founder of impact-driven social enterprise, Apiculture Venture Limited in Kenya. The business was founded in 2018, and today employs 19 full-time and 7 part-time people. She brings her strong working knowledge and over 18 years of experience in business operations in the modern beekeeping industry. She dared to venture into this male-dominated industry after 13 years of employment adopting the moniker, 'the Queen Bee'. She is passionate about enterprising in beekeeping and honey production. Through her business, Pauline extends her ambition as a socio-economic empowerment driver, particularly in the poverty stricken ASALs with high potential of honey production. Through her ‘Modern Beekeeping for Improved Livelihoods’ initiative, she aims at boosting household food resilience by reducing number of food insecure Kenyans.

Lioness Weekender spoke to the inspirational Pauline Otila about her high impact business, her ambitions for the future, and what drives her to positively create opportunities that make a difference in people’s lives in the country.

What does your company do?

Apiculture Venture Limited (AVL) is an SDG oriented social enterprise committed to reducing poverty and food security in Kenya. We find pride in providing logistical, operational, marketing, and financial management assistance to ensure more efficient and equitable options for the smallholder rural bee farmer with whom we diligently work to produce and process honey and other beehive products. Our main activities comprise manufacture and supply of high-quality modern beehives and beekeeping accessories for distribution in rural farming communities; providing apiary set-up and site management services, providing intensive modern beekeeping training and service extension to groups of both subsistence and commercial farmers; pollination services to help farmers boost their yields, buying the honey produced by farmers at fair market prices; and harvesting, extraction, processing, packaging and distributing the natural beehive products.

At our factory premises in Nairobi, we process and filter raw honey and wax. Under the ‘GOLDEN BEEHIVE PRODUCTS’ brand we package and market pure organic honey and other value-added hive products. These include among edibles; honey chocolates, creamed honey, medicinal honey, flavored honey, pollen and propolis. Non edibles include raw beeswax block, hand and body jelly, lip balms, wax-strips, wax-sheets, and candles.

What inspired you to start your company?

The fact that change is possible, I wanted to start a beekeeping company in a fully male dominated industry, I always wanted to create a change to the small holder farmers practicing beekeeping and producing honey yet they earn very little and If we looked back at what's been achieved in the face of incredible odds poor equipment, low payment for their produce, it's this background that made me want to start a company that would work with such farmers and help them earn a decent wage, have proper beekeeping equipment, have ready market and access training on modern beekeeping. It has been amazing how many lives we have transformed through modern beekeeping.

Through the Modern Beekeeping for Improved Livelihood initiative, we intervene by training and creating awareness on modern beekeeping, providing modern beehive, beekeeping and honey processing equipment, technical support through mentorship and extension services, and providing a ready market for the hive products through a buy back model. To date we have directly supported over 1800 households, 65 % of whom are women.

Why should anyone use your service or product?

What makes us stand out is that we are a one-stop beekeeping solution company:

High quality products and services
Collaboration with farmers
Collaboration with industry players
Direct support to the farmer
Unique value added products
Robust marketing and digital presence
Customer oriented solutions

Tell us a little about your team

We are 19 Full time employees and 7 part time employees with 2 Directors - Pauline Otila (Founder and Managing Director).
Operations Manager - (In charge of training and field operations)
Accountant
HR and Administration assistant
Sales and marketing officer
Workshop and production
Outsourced Professional Services- (Legal and IT)

Share a little about your entrepreneurial journey. And do you come from an entrepreneurial background?

Ever since I was little, I have been creating businesses or thinking up ideas for ones. My mother owned a small tailoring business in Nairobi and over the weekend or during school holidays I would always accompany her to her work pace. I learnt from her how she handled her customers and her staff too, she was gentle but firm.
I owned a business in my early 20's as a side hustle I used to sell the Anka-Kitenge fabrics to my friends and later in 2016 I started a tailoring shop CUT & TRIM with the first sewing machine I was given by my mother, it's still operational to date, currently with 3 employees. In 2018 I started Apiculture Venture Limited.

What are your future plans and aspirations for your company?

To be largest commercial beekeeping equipment and honey producer in East and central Africa. A fully modernized and equipped hive products factory.

What gives you the most satisfaction being an entrepreneur?

Making change and empowering people especially women and youth. I'm a big believer in the power of ONE - that one person, one action, one step at a time can have a ripple effect that can make a difference in the village community or society.

What's the biggest piece of advice you can give to other women looking to start-up?

Learn what you do best and start with a purpose! And never stop learning!

When hiring, hire people who believe in the vision and mission of your company, empower others with your creation, it is from these that they learn.

To leare more about the work of Pauline Otila and her business, Apiculture Venture Limited, send an email to: pauline@apicultureventure.co.ke or visit the company’s website and social media platforms:

Website: http://apicultureventure.co.ke/

Facebook: https://web.facebook.com/APIVENT

Twitter: https://twitter.com/apivent

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/apiventure2018/

News & Accolades:

1. Feature in the Kenyan Standard News Paper
https://www.standardmedia.co.ke/sso/content=eyJpdiI6IkxyS1hTMmZsQnI0S1B5QkRVYVArNlE9PSIsInZhbHVlIjoiUGY0RHgwL1UzSWhIZDlHNWdPajRsNW5UOTl6T3NuRENCOEtySG5
2. Feature after getting shortlisted for the 2022 USADF-Stanbic $50,000 Grant
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KPph487k-vA
3. Achievement 2022: Winning the 2022 USADF-Stanbic $50,000 Grant to support
4. Feature on the African Management Institute
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uzMn12y-9Co
5. Feature 2 on the African Management Institute
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zrlDKROqGx0
6. Feature on Kenya Climate Innovation Center
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rXfYWHIYWEU