Nathan Loyd Ndungu bringing change in the Fresh Export Industry
His name is all too familiar, especially in the fresh export industry. You’ve probably heard of his name on blogs and news outlets. His name is Nathan Loyd Ndungu, a Fresh export produce CEO at Avoveg, and one of the brightest minds in the Export sector. Fresh export produce is a risky business, due to the huge risk that perishable goods come with, but Mr. Nathan Loyd Ndungu took the challenge head-on, and established a brand (Avoveg Health LTD) that has done nothing but break odds. But little is known about the businessman’s personal values and the determination that he took to break even.
I organized an interview with the Business mogul, on a chilly Saturday morning. Why Saturday? I could barely reach him on the phone, on weekdays. He finally reached out on a Friday evening, apologizing for his busy schedule, and we resorted to have the interview on the following day, Saturday. I was indeed eager to meet this bright mind, whose reputation definitely exceeds him.
I had done my research the entire week on Nathan Loyd Ndungu, and acquired as much background information about him. An interesting video on YouTube of him on an interview with KTN News Business Today portrayed Mr. Nathan Loyd Ndungu as an expert who has a vast understanding of the avocado industry. He was well-versed with all the nitty gritties in the industry, and spoke with eloquence and a calm demeanor.
On this chilly Saturday, I arrived at the Avoveg Packing House, in Embakasi. I found Nathan Loyd Ndungu interacting with his employees, as he exploded with a big hearty laughter. You could tell that he really had a connection with his employees and cared for their well-being. His secretary escorted me to his office, where I waited for him.
He eventually was ready for the interview and we commenced at 9:30a.m. He was quite excited for the interview, it was written all over his face.
Who is Nathan Loyd Ndungu?
Nathan Loyd is the CEO, and Chairman of Avoveg.
Tell me about Avoveg
Avoveg we are International exporters, we export fresh produce, mainly avocados.
Why did you start Avoveg?
As our vision statement states, which is to export and fulfill a sustainable fulfillment of avocado and fresh produce, it is the passion ; my dad did it back in the day and now I’ve now taken it to another level, over and above what he was able to do.
What products do you export?
Our flagship product is avocados, then from there, we do sugar snaps, snoopies, French beans and also mangoes.
Which countries are you mainly exporting to?
Currently we are exporting to Spain, Netherlands, France, Russia, and also Jordan; as we continue to strategically place our name and brand.
What makes Avoveg stand out?
What makes us different, at Avoveg is one of our core values being family, therefore how we take care of our farmers, is very important to us. In fact, we do have a Hospitality team fully dedicated to take care of our farmers. Some of our farmers, just need something to eat, and at Avoveg, we do provide, breakfast, lunch, and dinner for our farmers. Therefore family, is what differentiates us from our competitors.
What is your vision?
Our vision for this year, is to be the leading exporter of avocados. As we speak right now, being that we are on the first quarter of the year, we have already surpassed last year’s total sales.
What is the long-term goal for Avoveg?
At Avoveg, we want show and break barriers, and we’re actually doing it steadily, month by month and week by week. Currently as we speak, we are the only company from Kenya, exporting fresh produce, to Jordan. We therefore continue to strive to expand our business to even more countries.
We had an off-camera interaction with Mr. Nathan Loyd Ndungu, learning about his passion for family and the wellness of a community as a whole. He took us on a tour of the Avoveg facility, portraying his no-business side, as he shared light moments with his employees.
We later joined the employees and farmers for lunch, while they shared their experiences working at Avoveg. They spoke about their CEO, in so much admiration and respect; and this is reflected on how they work hard for the company, that is changing lives. I now fully understood why Avoveg registered success in such a short period of time; the company has fully invested to meet the needs of their workforce.
As I left the facility with my team, it dawned to me, that Avoveg is not just a company but a community, out here to bring change, in the Kenya export industry.