Mary Wanjiku joined e-Poultry in early 2022 with 200 layers in a single house in Gatundu, Kiambu. Her egg records were in a paper notebook, her vaccination schedule was from memory, and her break-even calculation was a guess.
The Turning Point
After six months of digital record-keeping, Mary noticed her FCR was consistently 0.3 above the breed benchmark. A review with her assigned extension officer revealed she was underfeeding in the grower phase — saving money on feed but losing it in slower weight gain and lower egg output.
Adjusting the feeding program and tracking the change in real time on the e-Poultry dashboard, she saw a measurable improvement within 8 weeks.
Accessing Finance
With 18 months of clean production records in the platform, Mary applied for a farm loan in September 2023. The credit assessment was completed in 48 hours. With the KES 120,000 disbursed, she expanded to a second house — 500 more layers.
The Cooperative Advantage
In 2024, Mary joined the Gatundu Poultry Cooperative — a group of 14 farmers on e-Poultry. As a unit, they negotiated feed prices 8% lower than the individual market rate and secured a contract with a Nairobi supermarket chain for 300 trays/week.
Today
Mary now manages 5,000+ layers across three houses, employs two permanent farm workers, and mentors new members of her cooperative through the platform.
"I didn't need more land or more money to start. I needed better data." — Mary Wanjiku