By George Munene
A marketer by profession, Brian Masila, Mbuzi Yangu’s founder has created a fast-moving goat market that leverages online platforms to help farmers find a ready market for their animals as well as delivering quality stock and information to farmers looking to get into the business of goat rearing.
Mbuzi Yangu deals in Galla, Boars and their crosses as well as Dorper sheep, these are the breeds Masilla has found to be most in demand. For farmers to be on-boarded and able to sell through Mbuzi Yangu, they need to meet the platform’s quality standards. These include properly kept records and their animals have to be pure breeds, vaccinated and well managed. There are no limits to the number of goats a farmer must have with some delivering as much as 600 heads while others who are just starting out as little as 10 goats.
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By meshing his experiential marketing background and having kept goats for home consumption since 2009 at Makindu along Mombasa road, Mbuzi Yangu came into being in July 2020: “The Covid-19 restrictions had made it difficult for myself and other farmers to dispose of agri-products through traditional channels such as markets which had been forcibly closed. I posted some pictures of our herd online and had overwhelming inquiries from guys looking to buy them. For what had been a side-hustle, this very much opened my eyes to the exceptional demand that exists for Galla goats, Masilla says.
Goats multiply exponentially with little input, the only major hindrance to keeping them being land availability. This is especially the case with Gallas which are known for being prolific double kindlers (birthing twins); from a stead of about 30, his herd now numbers close to 400 goats.
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For a good month, Mbuzi Yangu sells 400-600 goats and sheep. A holding area at Athi River helps to collect them from farmers across the country, cash on delivery. From here they are dispatched to various buyers across the country as orders come in. For Gallas, young does that are about to be served sell for Sh6,000 and bucks Sh8000. Boer bucks fetch Sh60,000 to 40,000 depending on size while Galla, Boer buck crosses are sold for Sh 18,000.
Mbuzi Yangu: 0705700506