Pauline Otila is transforming Kenya’s honey industry by empowering rural women and youth through climate-smart beekeeping that boosts incomes, restores ecosystems, and adds value to African-made products.
Traditional farming is becoming increasingly unreliable in Kenya’s arid and semi-arid regions. They see little rainfall, resulting in weary soil, poor yields and unpredictable markets. Amidst all this uncertainty, one thing that remains consistently in supply is the bees. Kenya has the potential to produce 100,000 metric tons of honey annually but currently produces only about 20% of that, leaving a significant gap in production.
Pauline Otila recognised an opportunity here. She saw the potential of apiculture as a low-cost, high-impact, climate-smart solution capable of transforming rural economies, empowering women and youth, and protecting the environment. In 2018, she founded Apiculture Venture Limited to translate this insight into action.
Otila lunches her honey venture
Otila launched the Apiculture Venture with an initial capital of KES 4 million (approximately $33,000), bringing over 15 years of hands-on experience in Kenya’s honey value chain. She had observed the shortcomings of poor market access, lack of proper training, low-quality products, and, most troubling, the marginalisation of women, who performed much of the work yet received the least reward. Therefore, she developed a business model that flipped the script.
Apiculture Venture offers a variety of beekeeping solutions, such as modern beehive production techniques, equipment supply, apiary site management, pollination services, honey harvesting and processing, consultancy, and hands-on training. All products are marketed under the Golden Beehive Products brand, which features a line of premium, value-added goods like infused oils, lip balms, beeswax candles, herbal skincare, and even chocolate.
Otila empowers African entrepreneurs
One of the most beautiful aspects of Otila’s work is that it transcends mere income generation and actively contributes to healing the environment. Bees serve as natural pollinators, and their presence helps restore biodiversity, strengthens food systems, and protects ecosystems from collapse.
The businesswoman promotes economic empowerment and environmental restoration by training smallholder farmers, especially women and youth, to become professional beekeepers. The company supplies hives, offers quality control education, encourages cooperative formation, and ensures access to fair markets. They have reached over 3,400 households, created thousands of jobs, increased income in low-income regions, and restored dignity in underserved communities.
Apiculture Venture is now a multimillion-shilling enterprise with global ambitions. Even at that, Pauline Otila still envisions a new generation of African agripreneurs, particularly young women, who see agriculture not as punishment but as a path to wealth and power. She also believes that African products should be celebrated as high-quality finished goods that reflect the continent’s beauty and brilliance.
In 2022, Apiculture Venture received a $50,000 grant from the U.S. African Development Foundation (USADF) in partnership with Stanbic Bank, further validating Pauline Otila’s impact-driven approach.
