In East Africa, a quiet revolution is taking place — led by insects. Dudu Masters, a Kenyan-based startup, is turning organic insect waste into sustainable farming solutions for smallholder farmers across the continent. Leading this movement is Jannifer Muthike, a trained entomologist turned “agripreneur,” who is using her knowledge of insects — specifically the black soldier fly and red worms — to address some of Africa’s most pressing agricultural challenges.
To help her grow her company, Muthike joined the Master of Business Creation (MBC) Global program, which she says has been transformational. “Coming from a scientific background, I found myself a bit unsteady when I first faced the business world,” she said. “The MBC program helped me with pricing, marketing, and even customer relationship management software.”
Muthike’s journey into entomology was serendipitous. “Life had me studying insects,” she said, recounting how she was placed in the entomology program by Kenya’s university placement system. Initially disappointed, she tried transferring to civil engineering or architecture — her original passions — but the system wouldn’t allow it.
“I was stuck in the entomology class for the first two years against my wish,” she said. “But then I started learning more about what insects can do, how they help people and communities, and I fell in love with it.”
As a farmer’s daughter, Muthike saw firsthand the hardships small-scale farmers endure. That experience planted the ambition to create something that could support farmers.
That “something” took shape after she discovered the black soldier fly in university. After graduation, Muthike started farming the flies in her grandmother’s home — an experiment that would eventually evolve into Dudu Masters.
Today, Dudu Masters has grown far beyond that small room. The company now operates five decentralized production units across East Africa, including a newly launched facility in Uganda.
Dudu Masters raises black soldier flies and red worms that feed on organic waste, converting it into two vital products: organic fertilizer and protein-rich animal feed. “It aligns perfectly with Africa’s needs — affordable farm inputs and waste recycling,” Muthike said.
What sets Dudu Masters apart is its integration of technology. “We’ve developed an insect management system that controls climate, automates feeding, and provides virtual assistant training for other insect farms,” she said. “It’s a one-stop digital platform for insect farming.”
In addition to producing fertilizer, the company also partners with agro-processing companies and poultry farmers to manage their organic waste, further strengthening its circular economy model.
From humble beginnings producing 100 kilograms of fertilizer a month, Dudu Masters now generates up to 70 tons monthly — a testament to the company’s rapid growth and demand. “It’s not enough,” Muthike said.
The company recently launched a new flagship product — Kijanni Vermicompost, an organic fertilizer already gaining traction with organic farmers.
While the future is bright, challenges remain. Chief among them is government policy. “The Kenyan government subsidizes chemical fertilizers, making it hard for organic fertilizers to compete,” Muthike said. They are forced to lower prices to match the chemical fertilizer prices. Last‐mile distribution — the movement of organic fertilizer to the smallholder farmer’s doorstep — is another hurdle, which Dudu Masters mitigates through their decentralized production model and demonstration farms with complimentary services such as soil testing.
Still, Dudu Masters is pushing ahead. In the next two years, Muthike hopes to expand the company’s reach to West and Southern Africa — and maybe beyond the continent.
Her long-term vision is ambitious: “Five years down the line, we are looking forward to being the leading organic fertilizer brand across Africa.”
Learn more about Dudu Masters at dudumasters.com.
