FCI4Africa Supports Kenya’s Milling Industry in Advancing Sustainability with Expanded Digital Tool

Building on the success of the Kenya Millers Fortification Index (KMFI), the FCI4Africa initiative enables millers to integrate sustainability and efficiency into performance benchmarking.

Kenya’s milling sector sits at the heart of national food systems, transforming staple grains into essential food products consumed by millions. Rising energy costs, resource constraints, and evolving Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) expectations are reshaping operational and market realities, and industry leaders are taking note.  

In this context, TechnoServe, in collaboration with the Cereal Millers Association (CMA), McGill University, and Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology, has launched a digital pilot under FCI4Africa to track and incentivize sustainable operations in Kenya’s grain-milling sector.

The initiative expands the Kenya Millers Fortification Index (KMFI) beyond nutritional quality, embedding environmental and operational performance benchmarking across the sector.

Launched in 2022, the KMFI is a publicly accessible digital platform that allows brands to assess, report, and compare their performance in fortifying foods with essential micronutrients. By bringing transparency to fortification efforts, the KMFI incentivizes companies to prioritize nutrition in their operations, improving the health of families across Kenya.

Sustainability as a Driver of Competitiveness

The new initiative looks to drive a similar impact across sustainability dimensions.

“Embedding sustainability into industrial operations is no longer optional—it is a strategic imperative. We have already begun integrating renewable energy solutions such as solar power and biomass boilers, and we see value in strengthening how we measure and communicate these efforts.” Mr. James Nyutu, Group Managing Director- Unga Group PLC

Under FCI4Africa, the sustainability pilot tests the application of environmentally aligned indicators — covering energy efficiency, water use, production processes, and equipment modernization — directly with participating millers under the KMFI platform. The initiative is designed to provide millers with sustainability scorecards and actionable insights—including identification of cost-saving and efficiency improvement opportunities, and recommendations on energy use, water management, production efficiency, and resource optimization.

 “Across the industry, there is growing recognition that sustainability is a pathway to efficiency and resilience” Davine Minayo, Agribusiness and Sustainability Lead- Spice World Ltd

Developed in partnership with McGill University’s Desautels School of Management to harmonize key indicators for assessing environmental and operational performance, the Sustainability Assessment Framework is being used in the development of a localized scorecard. Co-designed with CMA to support efforts towards industry co-ownership, the scorecard is positioned to support broader adoption across the sector.

“We are strongly committed to improving the efficiency and sustainability of our operations. As ESG expectations continue to evolve, we see value in structured tools that help us better understand our environmental performance and identify areas for continuous improvement.” Evans Killi, CEO- Buffalo Millers

The pilot roll-out among CMA member millers has already generated strong interest and engagement from industry stakeholders, reflecting growing recognition of sustainability as a key driver of competitiveness.

“Sustainability is becoming an increasingly important part of how we think about operational performance and competitiveness. We are integrating environmental considerations into our systems as part of our broader journey toward improved efficiency and ISO 9001 certification.” Suad Abubaker, Director- Pembe Millers Ltd

The initiative also aims to strengthen millers’ preparedness for evolving ESG and sustainability reporting requirements, including those linked to access to finance. Through the programme, TechnoServe plans to provide millers with technical assistance focused on performance improvement across participating mills.

Through FCI4Africa, integrating sustainability into established industry systems such as KMFI marks a significant step toward strengthening Kenya’s food systems, and demonstrating how collaboration, data, and digital tools can support a more efficient, resilient, and future-ready milling sector.

“The sustainability pilot builds on the KMFI foundation and represents an important step in embedding environmental performance into industry benchmarking systems in Kenya’s milling sector.” Allan Otieno, Strategy Executive- Unga Group PLC

Kenya’s milling sector is better positioned than ever to meet both national nutrition goals and global sustainability expectations, and this pilot offers a replicable model for how industry benchmarking can evolve to reflect the full scope of what responsible performance means today.

“We are committed to improving operational efficiency while aligning with evolving sustainability and ESG expectations. Structured tools like this pilot help us establish a baseline and identify practical opportunities for improvement.” Osman Adan, QA Coordinator- Pembe Millers Ltd

About the Initiative
The Sustainability Assessment Pilot is part of the EU-funded FCI4Africa (Food Convergence Innovation for Africa) project, implemented by TechnoServe in partnership with CMA, McGill University, and JKUAT. It builds on the Kenya Millers Fortification Index (KMFI), a digital benchmarking platform supporting fortification compliance and performance tracking in Kenya’s milling sector.

Notes to editors