Karakuta Fresh Produce Ltd, a Kenyan exporter of avocados and fresh organic herbs, said Thursday it intends to list by introduction on the Nairobi Securities Exchange, pending approval from the NSE and the Capital Markets Authority.
Founder and CEO Grace Ngungi said the listing would let more investors, including smallholder avocado farmers, take part in and benefit from the agricultural value chain.
“Karakuta has spent eight years building what most companies in this sector only aspire to: a packhouse with one of Kenya’s few high precision grading lines, and export channels into Europe, the Gulf, Asia and now China,” Ngungi said in a statement. “Listing on the NSE is the natural next step. It gives us the governance and transparency that public markets demand, and it positions Karakuta to draw on deeper capital as we scale production and expand into new markets.”
Ngungi said the listing gives investors an entry point into a business that already has infrastructure and market access in place, at the start of its time as a public company.
Company says listing will strengthen governance and capital access
Synesis Capital Director of Advisory Services Makopa Mwasaria said the listing, once approved, would raise Karakuta’s profile in the market and give shareholders a platform for price discovery and trading of their shares. He said it would also let the company access capital markets more efficiently as its funding needs change over time.
A listing typically requires a company to meet reporting and disclosure standards set by the CMA and the NSE, along with board and audit requirements that apply to public companies.
Company background
Karakuta was established in 2018 in the Karakuta area of Kiambu County. It sources Hass and Fuerte avocados from more than 3,000 farmers in Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania.
Njoki Karanja, a farmer who supplies the company, said in a statement provided by Karakuta that she previously had no consistent buyer for her fruit. “Before Karakuta, we never knew who would buy our fruit or at what price each season,” Karanja said. “Now we have a reliable buyer who pays a fair, consistent price, and their team has worked with us on pruning, spacing and pest management, which has made a real difference to our yields.”
The company operates a packhouse in Nairobi with a stated capacity of 250 containers, which it describes as one of 52 operational packhouses in the country. The facility includes a grading and packing line the company describes as high precision.
Karakuta said it has created 1,163 jobs since 2018 across its farmer network, packhouse and export operations, and expects further job creation as it scales production and adds export markets after the listing.
The company also exports basil, oregano, thyme, tarragon, mint, rosemary, sage, coriander, lovage and chives. Ngungi said the company is working to increase fruit supply to meet demand for avocados, and currently supplies customers in the European Union, the UAE, Malaysia and India, with plans to enter the Chinese market.
The transaction advisory team for the listing includes Synesis Capital as lead transaction advisor, MWC Legal as legal advisor and Baker Tilly as reporting accountant. 8 Ball Media is handling public relations for the listing.
About Karakuta Fresh Produce
Karakuta Fresh Produce Ltd exports avocados and fresh organic herbs from Kenya. The company is based in the Karakuta area of Juja, Kiambu County, and was established in 2018. It operates a packhouse in Nairobi with a stated capacity of 250 containers, which includes a grading and packing line the company describes as high precision. The company says the facility is one of 52 operational packhouses in Kenya.
Karakuta sources fruit from a network of more than 3,000 farmers in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda. The company says it follows sustainable agricultural practices and food safety standards, and works to support women farmers within its supplier network. It has also invested in traceability systems and communication tools that let it track produce and share information with customers in real time.
Other agribusinesses on the NSE
If approved, Karakuta would join a small group of agricultural companies already trading on the exchange. The NSE’s agricultural segment has historically included Kakuzi Plc, Sasini Plc, Eaagads Limited, Williamson Tea Kenya Plc, Kapchorua Tea Company Plc and Limuru Tea Plc, along with the more recently listed Africa Mega Agricorp Plc.
Kakuzi exports avocados, tea, macadamia and pineapples, and also runs a livestock operation. The company has expanded its avocado business over the past decade, including a first shipment to India in 2024 and an earlier first shipment to China in 2022. Kakuzi reported pre tax profit of 1.4 billion shillings for its avocado division in the 2023 financial year, up from 800 million shillings a year earlier, according to the company.
Sasini exports tea and coffee and has also looked at expanding into markets including India and China. Williamson Tea, Kapchorua Tea and Limuru Tea grow and export tea, while Eaagads grows and sells coffee. Africa Mega Agricorp, listed more recently than the other companies, processes and distributes fruit and vegetable products, including canned and packaged goods, for domestic and regional markets.
Agricultural counters on the NSE have historically traded with lower volumes than sectors such as banking and telecommunications, a pattern analysts have attributed to the smaller number of shares many of these companies have issued.
Karakuta’s listing application remains subject to review by the NSE and the CMA. Neither regulator has yet announced a decision.
