HOUSE OF SEEDS LIMITED UGANDA.
Founder: Anneke Elisabeth Anja
Start date: Sept 2018
Location: Makindye Kizungu road Kampala
Website: http://www.house-of-seeds.com
Business Focus: Seed producer, dealer, processor and importer dealing in horticultural crops and supply of fertilizers
Located in Makindye Kizungu road Kampala, House of Seeds is an Agricultural company registered as a seed producer, dealer, processor and importer, dealing in horticultural crops and supply of fertilizers. The Agri-business has branches in Mbarara, Kabale, Fort Portal, Kigezi, Mt. Elgon region, and West Nile which make up the customer base. The company also has outlets in Mbale and Fort portal districts. The company is a female-led company with both Directors being women and currently employing 15 full-time employees, six of whom are women.
Vegetables including dry tolerant Onion, BW-resistant tomatoes, and herbs are some of the products of House of Seeds. The agri-SME works with solar power irrigation systems to extend further services to the Agri-SMEs, in addition to sourcing bio-fertilizers from other suppliers. It (House of Seeds) also provides free training to farmers and dealers as trainers of trainers.
Like many SMEs, House of Seed faces a number of challenges that include: theft during the harvesting time, in addition to pests and diseases that infest the seeds. This is coupled with a lack of knowledge on the best growing practices. One of the biggest challenges was a fraudulent case recorded in 2020 which led to costs of sales being higher than the turnover. Other challenges are high taxes which make it difficult to compete with informal and poor-quality sellers, climate change effects, and, lack of access to financial support.
Some of the strategies that the company has put in place to address challenges include constructing a software for relating with dealers, tracking stock, tracking marketers’ activities, as well as financial activities around all their sellers; holding feedback discussions with the team to share current issues and providing or source for solutions; and, recruitment of university students who are passionate about the business to collect data or research innovation strategies and provide information necessary for business growth, among others.
Currently, the House of Seeds team hopes that with the WAII investment, they can set up a packing facility to buy stock in bulk and packing, reduce transport costs, and also invest in a soil sampling laboratory to help with biological product development and also boost their working capital.
In order to achieve the one million euros revenue target, House of Seeds has set its strategies around diversification and product development.
