The Story

Ten Senses Africa (TSA) is the world’s first fair trade certified macadamia nut exporter. They connect 30,000 smallholder farmers to high-value export markets and represent 10% of the Kenyan market.

It’s a success story that almost didn’t happen. The company experienced heavy losses in four of its first 5 years. It wasn’t until Frank Omondi took over the company in 2013 that things changed. That same year Frank graduated from the Sinapis Entrepreneur Academy and joined the Fast Track Accelerator.

“I finally made my first major breakthrough after identifying a bottleneck during the Sinapis training program.” That eureka moment sparked a multi-year sprint that led to an 87% compound annual growth rate in revenue.

 

The Impact

The backbone of Ten Senses is their loyal network of over 30,000 smallholder farmers. They supply, train, and pay these farmers fair rates immediately with mobile money technology. Farmers have seen their livelihoods improve by up to 35%.

Among Frank’s factory workers, 41% are single mothers with an average of 3 children. Many are from Kibera, Africa’s largest slum, so Frank built a church there to support their spiritual growth.