Jane Maigua, Charity Ndegwa and Loise Maina are transforming Kenya’s macadamia industry by empowering women farmers with fair pay, training, and direct market access via Exotic EPZ. The trio established the company in 2017 to bridge the gap between smallholder farmers and international markets for macadamia nuts.
For decades, countless Kenyan women rose before sunrise, working tirelessly in their fields to nurture their crops with care and hope. Yet, at the end of each season, they were visited by the middleman once a month, who offered just enough to get by. Even when their macadamia harvests were full and ripe, the system was rigged against them.
This partiality continued until Jane Maigua launched her business in 2017 alongside co-founders Loise Maina and Charity Ndegwa. They launched Exotic EPZ Ltd, Kenya’s first women-owned macadamia nut export company.
The businesswoman introduced a business model that compensated women fairly, taught them to grow more nuts, and removed the exploitative middlemen. This initiative has enabled women farmers to earn more and take control of their future through agriculture. It marked the beginning of a quiet revolution.
Exotic EPZ, agribusiness with a plan
Macadamia nuts are among Kenya’s most valuable agricultural exports and are in high demand across the global food and cosmetics industries. In 2023, Kenya produced approximately 45,000 metric tons of macadamia nuts, up from just 11,000 metric tons a decade earlier. This growth is attributed to the tropical climate of Kenya, particularly in the Central, Eastern, and Rift Valley regions, which provide the ideal conditions for macadamia cultivation. For rural farmers, especially women, the crop presents a powerful opportunity as it grows on small plots, yields consistently, and fetches premium prices.
For years, the billion-shilling macadamia industry excluded the very hands that nurtured the crop. Widows, single mothers, and grandmothers who worked the land saw none of the profit, as a chain of brokers and middlemen kept them out, underpaying, undervaluing, and overlooking their contributions.
Exotic EPZ Limited was founded to break that chain. Unlike typical agribusinesses, Exotic EPZ doesn’t just buy from farmers but partners with them. More than 70% of its suppliers are women; every payment is made instantly through mobile money. This means these women no longer wait weeks or months for cash to trickle in, as they have achieved financial independence for the first time.
Exotic EPZ goes beyond just purchase and payment. The company actively trains these women to enhance their yields, manage their finances wisely, explore entrepreneurship, and operate their farms as proper businesses.
Scaling Exotic EPZ’s Impact
Exotic EPZ processes approximately 3,000 metric tonnes of macadamia nuts annually, exporting premium Kenyan produce to buyers in the United States, Europe, and China. It collaborates with over 7,000 smallholder farmers in Kenya, the majority of whom are women.
In just one year, the company disbursed $3 million directly to farmers, providing them with 1.5 to 2 times more than other buyers typically offer. In regions like Kirinyaga and Meru, women use their nut income to send all their children to school, invest in household needs, and even reinvest in expanding their farms. This consistent and dignified income is transforming lives and shifting the economic power dynamic in rural communities.
Exotic EPZ has garnered significant international support, including a $1 million grant to drive expansion, a $0.6 million trade finance loan from the Common Fund for Commodities, and ongoing financial backing from the Council on Smallholder Agricultural Finance (CSAF). Most recently, the company invested $2.2 million to expand its operations and add value through macadamia oil processing.
Through Exotic EPZ, these African female founders have built a model that places women squarely at the centre of the value chain in Kenya’s macadamia nut farming.
