Talash Huijbers is making a fortune as one of the biggest garbage collectors in Nairobi County through her company, Inspectipro.
The 27-year-old Kenyan has not only found treasure in the midst of waste but also minted millions from her garbage collection business.
According to a report by Dutch News, the entrepreneur runs four manufacturing farms across the country. The company collects organic waste and transforms it into valuable products such as protein, oil and fertiliser using insects.
Owing to her business acumen, the company churns out Ksh278,000 worth of products per day from a one-acre farm. This translates to Ksh1.9 million weekly, Ksh7.7 million monthly and Ksh93 million annually.
She noted that her company produces feed for nine million chickens using 120,000 metric tonnes of waste. Her plant also generates enough fertiliser for 13,000 acres.
Origin
Having pursued a Degree in Agriculture at the HAS University of Applied Sciences, Netherlands, she initially sought a career in fish farming.
She, however, ditched the idea due to inadequate production of feed for the fish. She was further discouraged by the fact that raw materials including protein were quite expensive.
“Why grow protein at the end of the chain when there’s a bigger gap in the middle? In 2018, Kenya lacked the raw materials to produce the feed it needed. By making raw materials more available, you can grow more animals and farmers can be more productive," she stated.
Huijbers stumbled upon the idea of manufacturing useful products from waste by observing the untapped value that the Black Soldier Fly had. Building on this, she came up with the idea to collect trash from different industrial food producers. Through the insects' digestion process, the waste would then be turned into high-value protein and a good fertiliser.
In the end, having undergone this transformative process, the insects themselves become a source of protein replacing soy in animal feed - hence becoming cost-effective.
Hujbers founded the company in 2017 and sought to capitalise on the vast agricultural market.
Meeting with Uhuru
In 2019, Huijbers made headlines after receiving a call from former President Uhuru Kenyatta's handlers, notifying her that the then head of state would visit her farm.
Reports indicated that Uhuru sought to see first-hand the innovation that could impact Kenya's food security. The former president reportedly spent five hours at her farm, marveled at the 240-acre farm in Red Hill.
Over the years, Huijbers has received more than Ksh278 million (2 million dollars) from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
The entrepreneur was invited to speak at AgriVision 2023 conference slated to take place in the Netherlands from June 26, 2023, to June 28, 2023.
