Savannah Honey Unveils Africa’s First Bee Venom Marketplace in Bold Industry Shift
By Peace Muthoka
NAIROBI, Kenya, Feb 18, 2026 — Savannah Honey has officially launched Africa’s first Bee Venom Marketplace, positioning Kenya at the center of a fast-growing global industry valued at USD 370 million annually.
The historic launch, held at the company’s headquarters in Utawala, was presided over by Cabinet Secretary for Cooperatives and MSMEs Wycliffe Oparanya, who described the initiative as a turning point for Kenya’s enterprise economy.
The marketplace seeks to coordinate production, preservation, processing and marketing of bee venom, a high-value extract used in pharmaceuticals, cosmetics and alternative medicine. Industry experts say Africa has long underperformed in this segment due to fragmented production systems and lack of structured markets.
“This initiative demonstrates the direction Kenya must take as we build an economy driven by innovation, value addition and enterprise growth,” Oparanya said.
He noted that the launch goes beyond bee products. Instead, it represents a deliberate move to create jobs, expand markets and position micro, small and medium enterprises to compete globally.
Under the government’s Bottom-Up Economic Transformation Agenda, MSMEs remain central to job creation, particularly for youth and women. Oparanya said the Ministry is strengthening policies, regulatory reforms, financing access and market linkages to enable enterprises to scale up from micro to regional players.
At the heart of the new marketplace is a simple but powerful idea: honey may be popular, but venom holds greater value.
Savannah Honey CEO Mr. Paul Kyalo Mutua said most farmers focus on honey because it is familiar. However, honey generates high volumes but comparatively low returns. Bee venom, on the other hand, produces small quantities yet commands premium prices.
“Bee venom is currently valued at 370 million US dollars globally, but African farmers have not maximized it due to lack of standardization and coordinated markets,” Mutua said.
The new marketplace aims to solve that problem by offering farmers structured training, technical support, quality control and a guaranteed market.
According to Mutua, one hive can produce about 0.5 grams of venom per harvest. With multiple harvests annually, a farmer can produce up to 10 grams per hive per year.
Savannah Honey is currently buying venom at Sh4,000 per gram, translating to Sh4 million per kilogram.
A farmer with 20 hives can therefore earn about Sh800,000 annually from venom alone.
“That is income many small-scale farmers never imagined possible from beekeeping,” Mutua said.
Beyond venom, Savannah Honey provides markets for honey, bee pollen, propolis, royal jelly and beeswax. However, the company now wants farmers to diversify and tap into the most profitable products within the hive.
To accelerate adoption, the company has organized 40 county-level bee venom seminars across the country. Field officers will also conduct ward-level sensitization campaigns to educate farmers on modern beekeeping techniques and venom extraction methods.
Farmers will receive training, modern Langstroth hives, technical support and structured market access.
Oparanya commended Savannah Honey for creating an end-to-end ecosystem that integrates production, value addition and marketing.
“I am informed that Savannah Honey is the first enterprise in Africa to operationalize a dedicated bee venom production, processing and marketing center,” he said. “This is the kind of innovation that will transform our agricultural value chains.”
Kenya currently produces about 8 metric tonnes of honey against a demand of approximately 47 million metric tonnes, forcing imports to fill the gap. The CS said this deficit signals untapped opportunity not only in honey but across the entire bee products value chain.
Globally, demand for bee extracts continues to grow. Market projections indicate the bee extract market could reach approximately USD 570.56 million by 2034, up from about USD 438 million in 2026.
Oparanya urged Kenyan enterprises to position themselves strategically in emerging global markets.
“With the right investments in value addition, quality assurance and market access, our MSMEs can participate effectively in this global value chain,” he said.
The Ministry is also prioritizing digital transformation to expand market reach. Through digital platforms and partnerships, small-scale producers will access e-commerce systems, digital payments and productivity tools that link them to buyers locally and internationally.
Access to affordable credit remains a major hurdle for many entrepreneurs. Oparanya said the government is working with financial institutions, cooperatives and development partners to expand financing tailored to MSMEs, especially youth- and women-led enterprises.
Strengthened cooperative models and innovative credit solutions, he added, will enable more farmers to acquire modern hives and scale production.Beekeeping also offers climate-smart benefits.
About 80 percent of Kenya’s land mass is semi-arid and unsuitable for large-scale crop farming. Beekeeping requires minimal land and inputs, making it an attractive economic activity in arid and semi-arid regions.
“Beekeeping is not only an economic activity but also a climate action intervention,” Oparanya said. “Bees support pollination and biodiversity while providing income opportunities.”
Farmers in dairy, coffee, sugarcane and avocado sectors can integrate beekeeping without acquiring additional land, increasing incomes while improving crop yields through pollination.
Mutua emphasized that bee products remain less vulnerable to market fluctuations compared to many agricultural commodities, offering farmers greater income stability.
As the event concluded, both government and private sector leaders called for stronger partnerships to scale up production and value addition.
“Together, government, private sector and farmers must work as one team to unlock the full potential of Kenya’s MSME sector,” Oparanya said. “When our enterprises grow, our economy grows.”
The launch of Africa’s first Bee Venom Marketplace marks a strategic shift in Kenya’s agricultural narrative — from exporting raw materials to exporting refined, high-value products.
For Savannah Honey and thousands of farmers watching closely, the future of beekeeping in Africa may no longer be defined by honey alone.
