In Kenya, countless communities rely upon small vendors called Mama Mbogas (which literally means Mama Vegetables) to bring fresh food into their neighborhoods. Mama Mbogas operate small food stands in cities and rural communities and play a vital role in distributing produce from farmers to consumers. Despite their importance, Mama Mbogas have historically faced immense challenges in running their businesses.
The typical day of a Mama Mboga will begin at 4 or 5 in the morning when they begin a journey to a regional produce market. Once there, they haggle with brokers who control inventory and often subject them to unpredictable and unfair fluxations in pricing. After purchasing their produce, they journey back home, set up their stand, and work long hours until it’s all sold out. They often do this while raising children and caring for their families at home. It’s a demanding lifestyle that frequently leaves little profit from a hard day’s work.
Today, Nairobi-based startup Twiga is helping Mama Mbogas bring predictability to their business while simultaneously improving access to fresh produce in Kenyan communities. Using mobile technology and a modern distribution system that connects Mama Mbogas directly to a reliable supply chain, Twiga brings a diverse range of fresh foods to farm stands with predictable pricing and convenient delivery. It’s all part of Twiga’s mission to make an impact in Kanya with three levels of benefits for farmers, Mama Mbogas, and consumers.
Profile
Twiga Foods
sources quality fresh and processed food from thousands of farmers and manufacturers, and deliver from their pack house to thousands of vendors, at prices fair to everyone, employing technology to fix the broken value chains that harm farmers, vendors, and consumers.
Founded: 2013
Headquarters: Nairobi, Kenya
Number of employees: 500+
But building such a complex system from scratch is not an easy task. Twiga’s team uses deep levels of design thinking, user research, and experience design to make the process seamless for all parties involved. To make it all possible, Twiga’s team uses Miro to cut through the complexity and align their teams to execute.
In Miro, Twiga’s team:
- Uses diagramming features to map out the journey of produce
- Holds workshops to brainstorm new ideas for product improvements
- Organizes and shares user research to find new ways to bring positive change to the food supply in Kenya
- Creates wireframes and mockups of UX enhancements
Start innovating today
In our newest customer video, we meet the team at Twiga, go on the ground with a Mama Mboga in Nairobi, and see firsthand how Miro helps Twiga’s team turn research into the empathy that drives their product development.
