Enviu, congratulates Denis Karema, CEO and Co-Founder of SokoFresh, on his selection as a Rainer Arnhold Fellow by the Mulago Foundation; one of the most selective fellowships in global development, accepting just 1% of applicants this cycle.
SokoFresh was incubated by Enviu in 2018 following deep research into post-harvest food loss in Kenya's horticultural value chains. It began as an internal venture build and is now a standalone social enterprise with a proven model for solar-powered, first-mile cold storage and digital market linkage; serving 12,000+ smallholder farmers across Kenya and handling over three million kilograms of produce annually.
The Mulago Foundation backs organisations with scalable solutions to the basic needs of the world's poorest people. This year's fellowship cohort was the most competitive in Mulago's history, with nominations nearly doubling year-on-year.
Denis and the SokoFresh team were selected for their evidence-based model and their strategy to scale beyond their own organisation.
The Rainer Arnhold Fellowship provides Denis with $100,000 in unrestricted funding, year-long coaching on design and strategy, and entry into a network of global development leaders that includes alumni organisations such as One Acre Fund and Digital Green.
We'd welcome the opportunity to connect you with Denis for an in-depth interview exploring his entrepreneurial approach, the challenges of building cold chain infrastructure for smallholder farmers, and what the Mulago fellowship means for scaling solutions to complex agricultural challenges across East Africa.