In global agricultural trade, the story of Africa is too often one of missed opportunity. Despite fertile lands and favorable climates, African smallholder farmers remain locked out of high-value markets due to fragmented supply chains, limited logistics, and a lack of price transparency.
Selina Wamucii, a Kenya-based agritech company, is changing that narrative.
By building a digital platform that connects African farmers and cooperatives directly to global buyers, Selina Wamucii is creating a new kind of agricultural value chain—one that is digital, inclusive, and proudly African.
It is a platform designed not just to export products, but to export power—from farmers to markets.
Name: Selina Wamucii
Founded: 2015
Headquarters: Nairobi, Kenya
Co-founders: John Oroko and Kennedy Nyabwala
Model: Farm-to-market sourcing platform
Users: Smallholder farmers, cooperatives, processors
Products: Fresh produce, spices, flowers, seafood, natural oils
Markets: Export to 60+ countries (Middle East, Europe, Asia)
Tech Focus: AI-driven pricing, mobile onboarding, traceability systems
Selina Wamucii is not a conventional exporter or aggregator. At its core, it is a technology platform that allows small-scale farmers, cooperatives, and producer organizations across Africa to access global markets without intermediaries.
Farmers are onboarded via their mobile phones, using SMS and USSD codes that don’t require smartphones or internet access. The platform matches these farmers with buyers around the world and manages everything from quality verification to logistics and payments.
By digitizing the supply chain from field to shipment, Selina Wamucii removes inefficiencies and unlocks value at both ends—delivering better prices to farmers and fresher products to buyers.
More Than Just Trade
What makes Selina Wamucii stand out is its commitment to more than just market access. The company provides:
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Real-time pricing data, enabling farmers to make informed harvesting and selling decisions
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Traceability systems for export compliance and food safety
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Integrated logistics and cold chain support
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Access to financial services through partnerships with agri-lenders and mobile banks
This full-stack approach means that a smallholder in Embu growing avocados can sell to a buyer in Dubai, meet export standards, and receive payment securely—all without leaving the village.
An African Brand with Global Reach
The name “Selina Wamucii” honors the mothers of the two founders—both small-scale farmers. The brand identity is not just a corporate construct—it is a tribute to the millions of African women who feed the continent but rarely benefit from its export value chains.
Since launching, the company has expanded its sourcing network across Kenya, Ethiopia, Tanzania, Ghana, and Madagascar, exporting everything from mangoes and chillies to cloves, hibiscus, and vanilla.
Buyers include retailers, food processors, hotels, and wholesalers in over 60 countries. And because Selina Wamucii works across multiple African countries, it offers pan-African sourcing with a single point of access—something few traditional exporters can match.
Rewriting Africa’s Trade Narrative
Selina Wamucii’s impact lies not only in its trade volume, but in its philosophy:
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African producers should control the value chain.
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Technology should work for those without smartphones.
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Trade should empower, not extract.
This is particularly relevant at a time when Africa is pushing for greater value capture within the continent. Selina Wamucii offers a real-time demonstration of what “trade from Africa, not through Africa” looks like in practice.
What the Industry Can Learn
Selina Wamucii’s model holds powerful lessons for agribusinesses, policymakers, and development partners:
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Inclusion requires infrastructure. Tech platforms must work on basic phones and support farmers where they are.
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Price transparency empowers. When farmers know the market value of their crops, they gain negotiating power.
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Fragmentation is a design problem. Coordinating logistics, quality, and finance in one platform unlocks scale.
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Exporting identity matters. Africa can lead in global trade without hiding behind foreign-facing brands.
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Scale can be cooperative. Thousands of small farmers, when connected digitally, can perform like a single large exporter.
The Road Ahead
Selina Wamucii is now building out its AI-powered market intelligence tools, expanding into more African countries, and piloting climate-smart sourcing tools to help buyers access resilient, ethical supply chains.
At the same time, the company remains focused on its core mission: empowering African farmers to access the markets they deserve—not as suppliers at the bottom of the pyramid, but as credible, competitive players on the global stage.
About the Author
Aurel Kinimbaga is a finance executive and contributor specializing in innovation, inclusive growth, and business strategy across African markets. He writes regularly on entrepreneurship, digital infrastructure, and the economic forces shaping the continent’s future.
