Anytime Sheila Mapenzi talks about nutrition, she does not begin with business plans or profit margins. She begins with children arriving at school hungry.
In Kilifi County, where many families struggle to put regular meals on the table, she saw pupils turning up for lessons on empty stomachs, unable to concentrate and often lacking the motivation to stay in class.
It was a problem she encountered repeatedly and one she believed could be tackled, at least in part, through something as simple as a nutritious bowl of porridge.
That belief became the foundation of Phina Ventures, a Malindi-based food processing company producing fortified composite porridge flour under the Nourish brand.
Today, the business supplies households and retailers, but it is perhaps best known for providing nutritious porridge flour to schools through the county’s school feeding programme.
The journey, however, began long before the company secured institutional contracts.
For Mapenzi, the inspiration was also deeply personal. Her mother’s battle with a severe stomach ulcer heightened her awareness of the connection between food and health, reinforcing her desire to produce food products that could improve people’s wellbeing “I wanted to contribute to better nutrition and better learning outcomes,” she says.
Unlike many entrepreneurs who venture into unfamiliar territory, Mapenzi had academic training in food science and nutrition. That technical knowledge gave her confidence that she could build a viable business around a genuine need.
Yet knowing how to make a product and knowing how to grow a business are often two very different things.
One of her earliest hurdles was convincing schools and institutions to embrace fortified porridge.
As a young company, Phina Ventures had to prove both the quality of its products and the value of investing in nutrition. That meant spending countless hours engaging county officials, educators and other stakeholders. “It takes time to build trust,” she says. “People need to understand why nutrition matters and why these products are worth investing in.”
Another challenge lay closer to the heart of most small businesses: money.
Food manufacturing is capital-intensive. Raw materials must be purchased long before products are sold. Staff must be paid regardless of sales cycles, and machinery requires regular maintenance.
According to Mapenzi, securing working capital proved one of the most difficult aspects of building the company.
The challenge was compounded by the nature of her biggest market. School feeding programmes generate significant orders, but demand fluctuates with the academic calendar. Revenue rises when schools reopen and falls during the holidays.
Traditional lending models often struggle to accommodate that reality.
What Mapenzi needed was financing that recognised the rhythms of her business rather than treating fluctuating income as a warning sign.
Support eventually came through Grassroots Business Fund (GBF), under the Mastercard Foundation, provided a working capital facility to keep production running during quieter months, alongside training in financial management, record-keeping and operational systems that helped professionalise the business.
That support proved invaluable when severe flooding hit parts of Malindi in 2024, forcing Phina Ventures to suspend operations. “There was a point when I genuinely feared we might not recover,” Mapenzi recalls.
She sought financing from different sources and rebuilt the business step by step. “It taught me that resilience is about adapting. Difficult situations will always come. What matters is how you respond.”
Today, Phina Ventures is planning to expand into Mtwapa, Mombasa and Kaloleni while investing in new equipment to increase production.
The company has also developed a contract farming model with local sorghum growers, beginning with 20 farmers and aiming to recruit more. The arrangement provides farmers with a reliable market while strengthening the company’s supply chain.
Mapenzi is passionate about supporting local farmers, creating jobs and making nutritious food more accessible to families. In coastal communities, a guaranteed market for agricultural produce can significantly improve household incomes.
Her journey also reflects the challenges many women face in manufacturing. Access to affordable finance remains limited, with lenders often requiring collateral that many women entrepreneurs struggle to provide.
She has also had to overcome stereotypes. “There have been times when people assumed I wasn’t the decision-maker,” she says.