When Grace Ngungi began her journey into avocado farming, she stepped into a traditionally male-dominated sector and riddled with challenges, smallholder fragmentation, export inconsistencies, and quality concerns. Today, she stands at the helm of Karakuta Fresh Produce, a company that’s not just farming fruit but cultivating a model of empowerment, sustainability, and economic transformation.
On May 16, 2025, Karakuta commissioned a 7,500-tonne capacity packhouse in Nairobi, marking a major milestone for the Kenyan avocado industry. The facility is designed to grade and pack avocados from Karakuta’s 180-acre farm and a network of over 1,500 smallholder farmers in Kiambu, Nyeri, Kirinyaga, and Meru counties.
“I wanted to build a model farm that worked hand-in-hand with smallholders, ensuring consistency and quality while creating real opportunities for farmers,” said Grace during the launch.
Equity Group Managing Director and CEO Dr James Mwangi (2nd left) cut the ribbon to signify the commissioning of the packing machine. Looking on are (l-r) Director at Horticultural Crops Directorate Dr Christine Chesaro, Karakuta Chairman Mtalaki Mwashimba and Karakuta CEO Grace Ngungi.
🍃 Reimagining Agriculture for Impact
The story of Karakuta is more than just increased volumes and exports, it’s about restructuring how agriculture works for communities. By providing a reliable infrastructure for sorting, packing, and exporting, Karakuta is removing one of the biggest barriers for smallholder farmers: market access.
In Kenya, 70% of avocados are grown by small-scale farmers, many of whom lack access to proper inputs, markets, and storage. Karakuta’s model addresses these bottlenecks by working with local aggregators, building trust, and reinvesting in farmer education.
“The aggregators have built an infrastructure through social capital for trust,” Grace explained. “This ensures farmers can access inputs and support to meet international market standards.”
Equity Group Managing Director and CEO Dr James Mwangi (3rd left) on a tour of the packing plant led by the Karakuta CEO Grace Ngungi (2nd left).
🌍 Sustainability Meets Scale
While the packhouse was built with Israeli technology and access to European markets via Spain, Karakuta’s heart lies in local solutions. Its ecosystem fosters community-led sustainability, a key value for The Eco Advocate.
Dr. Christine Chesaro of the Horticultural Crops Directorate highlighted how quality consistency, often a pain point in export farming, is tackled through the packhouse. Automated grading ensures compliance with global maximum residue levels (MRLs), encouraging safe, environmentally responsible farming practices.
Furthermore, Karakuta is pushing for climate-smart farming by encouraging synchronised planting, organic input use, and water-efficient techniques, though more documentation is needed to understand the full environmental footprint.
👩🏽🌾 Women Leading Africa’s Agricultural Future
Grace’s story is also one of female resilience and leadership. Her rise in the agricultural sector provides a blueprint for women-led transformation.
“Grace is a serious investor,” said Equity Bank CEO Dr. James Mwangi at the launch. “She’s an example to other women that they too are bankable, scalable, and key to our agricultural future.”
Backed by Equity Group’s Africa Recovery and Resilience Plan, Karakuta received funding to acquire one of just 52 advanced packing machines in Kenya. The company’s output has soared from 8 export containers in its first year to a projected 60 containers in 2025.
Equity Group Managing Director and CEO Dr James Mwangi (left) receives first-off the packing line box of avocados from Karakuta Fresh Produce CEO Grace Ngungi (centre) and Karakuta Administrator Virginiah Njogu (right).
🌾 A Blueprint for Green Growth
As Kenya moves toward industrialising its agricultural sector, value addition is no longer optional; it’s essential. Karakuta’s facility doesn’t just prepare fruit for export; it represents a shift toward inclusive agri-industrialisation, with communities at the centre.
Dr. Mwangi noted that Equity has increased its agricultural loan portfolio from 3% in 2018 to 16% in 2025, driven by success stories like Karakuta. Their vision is to reach 30% in agriculture, with 15% dedicated to manufacturing and logistics.
“With machinery like this, we’re not just producing, we’re transforming livelihoods,” he added.
💡 What We Can Learn
Karakuta’s approach offers lessons that go beyond Kenya:
- Empower smallholder farmers through collective models
- Invest in infrastructure that closes the gap between farm and market
- Support women agripreneurs to lead from the front
- Balance export ambitions with sustainability safeguards
The real triumph of Karakuta lies in its blend of vision, community, and strategic partnerships. It’s a story of how bold ideas, backed by the right ecosystem, can help Africa feed itself and the world without compromising people or the planet.
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How inspiring!
Thank you 🙏