Every mango left to rot tells a story of a promise lost. For Faith Mumo, those losses were never just statistics but the reality of growing up on her family’s farm in Makueni, where abundant harvests often ended in waste and low returns.
The experience shaped an interest in rethinking agricultural systems to create value from the losses.
Alongside a childhood love of fish, curiosity led her to pursue a Bachelor of Science in Aquaculture and Fisheries, which later informed her work in smart ponds that allow water reuse, whose quality and that of fish is monitored by sensors.
These experiences bore Iviani Farm, a social enterprise focused on mango value addition, climate-smart aquaculture and improved market access for smallholder farmers. Her mission is to tackle post-harvest losses, low farmer incomes and climate vulnerability, particularly in Kenya’s arid and semi-arid lands.
"Every time I see a farmer earn more, a young person get a job, or a woman step into leadership, I am reminded that this work is bigger than me."
“With technologies such as steam drying, renewable energy, circular aquaculture and mobile processing, these areas can become thriving food production and processing hubs that create jobs and feed the world,” she says.
Her resilience, she notes, is drawn from the tangible impact she witnesses within the communities she serves.
“Every time I see a farmer earn more, a young person get a job, or a woman step into leadership, I am reminded that this work is bigger than me.”
The enterprise has supported more than 10,000 farmers across Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania through mango value addition, market access and training, while more than 1,000 farmers have adopted its climate-smart fish ponds.
More than 30,000 people have also trained through its agribusiness programmes.
Iviani’s crunchy dried mango, banana, and pixie crisps find their market in Europe, Canada, and the US, as well as the Kenyan supermarkets.
In a season, the farm processes up to 150 metric tonnes of raw mango into these sought-after munchies.
Mumo maintains that Iviani Farm is an example of how transformation can emerge from rural communities often overlooked in mainstream development narratives.
Operating entirely off-grid by converting agricultural waste into steam and three-phase electricity, the enterprise has generated employment for women and young people while advancing a circular, climate-smart system.
Her work has earned widespread recognition, including the 2026 Seedling the Future Global Food System Challenge, the 2025 Global DISH Competition, the MEDA LEGEND Matching Grant Award, the 2024 President’s Plug Mtaani National Business Competition and the East African Community Best Product Award.