Purity Gakuo

Purity was born and raised in an off-grid community where most people depend on fishing to earn a living. One of the major challenges affecting small-scale fishing is huge post-harvest losses due to lack of access to affordable cold-storage equipment. Approximately, 45% of their fish harvest is lost before it can be sold or safely consumed. (Most depend on ice to preserve it, which has not been reliable in the long run.)

To bridge this gap and enable small-scale fishermen to increase their income, Purity and co-founder Dennis Onkangi manufacture and distribute solar-powered freezers. A particular innovation which makes their business impressive is that they are offered on a pay-as-you-go model, which is affordable and sustainable to their target market, who have been locked out of this cold-storage solution for too long. 

So far, they have been able to reach and improve the livelihoods of over 250 small-scale fishermen in Kenya. They have also created job opportunities for over 50 women who have started new fish  businesses as a result of using their products. Their plan for the next year is to reach at least 1,000 more small-scale fishermen. They also aim to scale their business operations and set up at least 10 distribution channels in Kenya.