The Jovial manufacturer making moves in Cassava and mushroom Business

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The jovial and Jolly lass Lavender Odeny is a Co-founder of Renman Africa, an agri-manufacturing company in Malindi Kenya that is processing raw cassava into flour. At a very young age, the agripreneur enthusiast is passionate about making an impact through agricultural innovations. And, yes indeed she is breaking cultural barriers, stereotypes against agriculture for young people and may soon be making global waves. When she began, she would never have imagined the world opening up to her to this level as many even wondered why she pursued agriculture at the university.


As an entrepreneur, she has gone over the low moments of being in a Financial Crisis with pending expenses owning just a vision and idea. She knows too well how draining that can be and how easy it is for anyone to give up at this point, but she never gave up, she kept the faith, and today, she lives to tell the story.


Today, she is a proud alumna and beneficiary of various entrepreneurship programs including The Tony Elumelu Foundation Program 2021, Academy for Women Entrepreneurs Kenya 2019, Young African Leaders Initiative 2018, Africa Basque Challenge, and Governor’s start-up Challenge by Youth Empowerment program initiative.


Lavender did not start her journey wanting to be an entrepreneur, she too like every graduate was aiming for the corner office. And when her hope to secure a job was reduced with her influential uncle’s death, she went through a very treacherous path as she looked for a job. Eventually, she was forced to look into entrepreneurship. A journey that gave her the ultimate adventure and has never looked back.
“I was disappointed obviously but realized my future was now determined by my own actions.” She needed to survive in Nairobi, licking her wounds was not an option.
As fate would have it, she met her now business partner through the Africa Basque Challenge program in Dec 2018. Together, they purposed to start a cassava value addition business, then known as Africa to Manufacture (ATM).


The duo became intentional and embarked on applying for different empowerment programs. This is what helped the pair to refine better the cassava business. Much as it was fine, the business did not quite earn any income, so to cater to her needs she began to sell spices. In Dec 2019, she took a casual job at a jewelry export company for four months. She would do this again in the year 2020 when COVID 19 came knocking, she went to selling airtime.

Through this time, her entrepreneurship spirit kept on. Though flat on the floor, she never stopped seeking, searching. In this seeking, she would open her world to even greater opportunities together with her partner. Finally, United States African Development Foundation grant funding (USADF) came to her. She won a grant of $25000 that hugely steered the growth of Renman Africa. This was now her third funding that was preceded by $1000 from the Academy for Women Entrepreneurs program and €3000. from the Africa Basque Challenge program.
The funding was so instrumental, Operations of Renman Africa operations began, they were able to register, secure space at the Kenya Industrial estate, Malindi, benchmarking, and getting farmers' contracts.

She was now on her journey to live the life of her dreams to ensure food security in Kenya, providing a low-cost source of healthy foods while creating a market for marginalized cassava farmers in Kenya improving their livelihoods.


“That's my pride and that's my reason for existence,” she says.
Starting Renman Africa is the greatest of her achievement among her many achievements. She notes what it takes to start a business that eventually becomes successful, she notes how much it takes to overcome our own procrastination and perfection tendencies.
“It takes courage to start a business from an idea and transform the idea into a product. And that's my achievement creating cassava flour and people buying it.”.
Besides Renman Africa, she started a new business venture in May 2021, MashLav Foods Company. She does Mushroom production, processing, and selling. Located in the Coastal region, they sell fresh, dried, and powdered Mushrooms. Their aim is to appreciate agriculture, its contribution to the economy, and diversify the food basket.
“There is a whole lot of opportunities to be explored in the agriculture sector.” She says.
Her greatest piece of advice to entrepreneurs is;

“Never stop building meaningful relationships. Be intentional with your relationship. It's through my network that I have been connected to funding opportunities, customers, and training resources. Shout out to all my mentors! Never underestimate the value of your social capital. Surround yourself with people who would mention your name in the arena of opportunities. One thing to note though, it takes time, effort, and money to build and maintain a network. Be deliberate in connecting with the right and resourceful people in your circle”.
Cheers to impact! Sending Love to all entrepreneurs!
You can reach me through

Email at: lavenderodeny@gmail.com 

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