Wilfred Kamami
Wilfred Kamami
Executive director,
Wilmar Agro Ltd, Kenya
An Agronomist, Mr. Kamami has wide experience in the horticulture (floriculture) sub sector. He has been a flower farms manager, and presently is the CEO and the chair of Wilmar Agro. It started in October 1995, when Mr. Kamami exported the first flowers from his own nursery to Europe. For a small Kenyan grower like Kamami, export was a big adventure that took a lot of courage. A year later the company was reorganised and began to take steps towards adopting an ‘out-grower system’: twenty other growers agreed to bring their flowers to Wilmar Agro Ltd, where the flowers were controlled, graded, bunched and exported to the flower auctions in the Netherlands.Some of the flower auctions he has majored in are the Aalsmeer and Flora Holland Auctions.
While this cooperative concept was new in Kenya, it has become a huge success. Currently, the company works with 4000 small holders (farmers) subcontracted for this market, ensuring quality and consistency. Each individual grower sells his flowers to Wilmar Agro and receives payment within seven days. Wilfred is a strong believer in combining an assured market with inclusive decision making, as the best way of enabling businesses to answer to shareholders, environment and development alike. In just 15 years, the farmers have more than doubled the price they get for flowers and have gained food security and continuity of cash flows, and Wilfred is satisfied to have gained a stable supply chain.
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