Business development services  ·  Nairobi, Kenya

Domestic and export market access, suitable finance and private sector investment.

Real Synergy Africa (RSA) is a business development services (BDS) firm working across Sub-Saharan Africa. We implement programs and interventions that empower farmer cooperatives, enterprises, women, youth and refugees to sustainably access formal markets (domestic and export), suitable financing and private sector investment in infrastructure, services and innovations.

We do this through market research, inclusive business models, enterprise development, trade facilitation, investor-readiness training and linkages, and financial products development.

Who we work with
Farmer cooperatives and aggregators Agri-MSMEs and processors Women, youth and refugee enterprises Implementing partners and programs Donors and foundations Financial institutions
Services

How can we support you?

Six services, delivered as standalone assignments or combined into a full program.

01

Market research

Market and landscape studies and value chain mapping that establish where demand sits, what buyers will pay for, and which systemic constraints are holding the chain back. Evidence for program design, sourcing strategy and investment decisions.

02

Inclusive business models

Commercially viable sourcing and supply structures that integrate farmer cooperatives and aggregators, women, youth and refugee enterprises into your supply chain, so inclusion strengthens supply reliability rather than operating alongside the core business.

03

Enterprise development

Training curricula, Training-of-Trainers and customized technical assistance for MSMEs and cooperatives, covering business strategy, operations, food safety, marketing, distribution and governance. Delivered firm by firm or as sector-wide cohort training.

04

Domestic and export trade facilitation

Structured buyer-supplier linkages for formal retail, regional and export markets, covering aggregation, packaging, traceability, standards compliance, cold chain and off-taker contracting, so suppliers meet buyer specifications and retain recurring orders.

05

Investor-readiness training and linkages

Preparing enterprises to be credit and investment ready, then linking them to banks, microfinance institutions, SACCOs, grant facilities and investors, and providing the required business development services until disbursement.

06

Financial products development

Agricultural finance structured around enterprise cash flow cycles: asset and equipment finance, concessionary lending arrangements, agency financial services, and SACCO management information systems.

The services are designed to deliver the outcomes that matter to your business or program:

Market access and trade

  • Smallholder farmers and MSMEs integrated into formal supply chains as reliable suppliers
  • Commercially viable buyer-supplier relationships that are sustained beyond program support
  • Markets that grow locally and across borders
  • Improved farmer incomes through structured off-take arrangements

Enterprise growth and competitiveness

  • Increased MSME revenues and competitiveness
  • Market readiness strengthened through food safety, standards compliance, traceability and packaging
  • Reduced post-harvest losses and improved value chain efficiency
  • Wider consumer access to safe, nutritious and affordable food through base-of-the-pyramid and modern trade channels

Finance and investment

  • Credit and private capital reaching enterprises previously considered unbankable
  • Private sector investment crowded into processing, cold chain and distribution infrastructure
  • Financial institutions serving agricultural enterprises on commercially sustainable terms

Inclusion and sustainability

  • Women-owned and women-led enterprises growing, supported by gender-responsive business practices
  • Youth, refugees and persons with disabilities trading within formal markets
  • Stronger farmer cooperatives and produce aggregators, more resilient supply chains
  • Local advisory and training capacity embedded so services continue after programs close
Results

Results delivered

Delivered across market systems development programs funded by BMGF, EKN, USDA, USAID and FCDO/AGRA.

15+ yearsworking across Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania and Ethiopia
5major market systems development programs
USD 156Min MSME sales
107,000+smallholder farmers reached
USD 7.66M+in private sector investment
USD 4.1Min new credit financing, over 70% to women-owned businesses
Our work

Selected projects

Projects implemented by Rose Gatongi-Karuri as the Program Manager/Strategic and Technical Lead, and delivered for clients, implementing partners and funders across the East African region.

2025 — 2026
Kenya & Tanzania

Linking smallholder-sourced horticultural suppliers to formal retail and export off-takers

TechnoServe Kenya  ·  FCDO / AGRA
  • Designed and piloted inclusive sourcing models between smallholder-linked suppliers and high-value retail and export off-takers, exceeding trade targets by 23% within four months and catalyzing 334 MT in recurring cross-border orders.
  • Delivered customized technical assistance in aggregation and packaging, traceability, KS 1758 compliance, access to finance, cold chain and off-taker contracting.
  • Facilitated a USD 25,000 cold storage grant and supported suppliers and off-takers to access credit and cold-chain investment.
  • Convened a Stakeholders' Learning Forum with senior decision makers from the private and public sectors to validate insights from the horticultural trade pilot and secure commitments on the actionable opportunities and partnerships identified.
  • Convened a regional roundtable of over 100 public and private sector stakeholders from five countries on market access, finance, logistics and policy reform.
Nov 2024 — Mar 2025
Kenya

Food systems strengthening in Kenya's food-insecure regions

TechnoServe Kenya  ·  USAID  ·  Feed the Future Kenya Food Systems Activity
  • Established County Government partnerships through joint work plans and developed a private sector partner database.
Mar — Apr 2025
Ethiopia

Large-scale food fortification with millers and processors

TechnoServe  ·  Millers for Nutrition, Ethiopia
  • Led strategic planning and rollout of the food fortification program.
  • Engaged millers and food processors and coordinated B2B and multi-stakeholder forums to build industry commitment to fortification.
2021 — 2024
Kenya

Scaling food processors and integrating smallholder farmers into their supply chains

TechnoServe Kenya  ·  USAID  ·  Alliance for Inclusive and Nutritious Food Processing
  • Delivered customized technical assistance to 55 food processors, 24 of them women-owned or led, generating USD 142M in sales, 111% above target, and USD 7.66M in private sector investment.
  • Integrated over 107,000 smallholder farmers into processor supply chains as raw material suppliers, generating USD 27.6M in farm gate sales.
  • Delivered access to finance training to 51 processing CEOs and senior managers, unlocking USD 3.6M in new debt and grant financing, 73.5% of it to women-owned or led businesses.
  • Linked MSMEs to 2,191 new distributors through B2B forums, trade fairs and market studies, and delivered sector-wide training to 793 participants from over 100 processing MSMEs.
2024
Kenya

Entrepreneurship mentorship for young business owners

KCB Foundation  ·  Business Development Services Program
  • Designed the entrepreneurship training program, led participant recruitment, and trained 31 young entrepreneurs in business strategy and operational efficiency.
2018 — 2020
Kenya

Inclusive business development services and SACCO digitization

Alternatives Africa  ·  Light for the World
  • Designed the project and developed the entrepreneurship training manual, then led implementation end to end.
  • Delivered Training-of-Trainers to 36 entrepreneurship advisors in Nairobi and Kakuma Refugee Camp to cascade training to micro-entrepreneurs, including refugees and persons with disabilities.
  • Led a SACCO digitization project, overseeing platform development and conducting the market survey that informed the SACCO's financial product design.
  • Developed the organization's three-year strategic plan and its in-house training and BDS program.
2014 — 2017
Kenya

Livestock market systems and financial inclusion in six ASAL counties

Land O'Lakes International Development  ·  USDA  ·  K-SALES
  • Delivered financial literacy training to 57,907 livestock farmers and entrepreneurs, 16% above target, and facilitated 6,882 new loans totaling USD 558,000.
  • Established partnership agreements with 11 financial institutions and led the installation of a SACCO management information system and agency financial services.
  • Rehabilitated 20 livestock markets and 45 slaughterhouses and trained 2,503 workers, increasing the value of traded meat, hides and skins by 73% over three years.
  • Delivered business development services to 52 livestock marketing cooperatives, generating USD 2.27M in revenues, and coached 961 agricultural input and service providers.
2012 — 2014
Kenya

Dairy sector baseline research and inclusive sourcing for cooperatives and processors

SNV Netherlands Development Organisation  ·  EKN  ·  Kenya Market-led Dairy Program
  • Conducted the program baseline survey and led a national survey on milk production and marketing statistics with the Kenya Dairy Board, the State Department of Livestock, the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics and Heifer International.
  • Developed inclusive business models linking smallholder farmers to value chain actors including Brookside Dairy, Kinangop Dairy, business service providers and dairy marketing cooperatives.
  • Strengthened agribusiness access to finance through the Finance for Agriculture program.
2009 — 2012
Uganda

Milk chilling enterprises and dairy business hubs linking farmers to markets and finance

TechnoServe Uganda  ·  BMGF  ·  East Africa Dairy Development
  • Established 10 new milk chilling plant businesses and supported 21 dairy cooperatives, generating USD 12.2M in revenues, and set up 31 dairy business hubs linking farmers to inputs and services.
  • Negotiated concessionary lending at 9% against a 25% commercial rate, facilitated equipment leasing, and linked cooperatives to 24 financial institutions, benefiting over 45,000 dairy farmers.
  • Trained 31 dairy cooperative boards and their staff in leadership and governance, business planning, marketing and financial management.
Impact

Contribution to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

RSA's assignments deliver commercial results for clients while advancing six of the Sustainable Development Goals, with performance tracked through client and program monitoring, evaluation and learning frameworks.

SDG 2

Zero Hunger

Strengthening food systems, food safety and the availability of nutritious, affordable food, and raising smallholder productivity and incomes through reliable off-take.

SDG 5

Gender Equality

Prioritizing women-owned and women-led enterprises in technical assistance, access to finance and leadership training, and addressing gender-based constraints across value chains.

SDG 8

Decent Work and Economic Growth

Growing MSME revenues, enterprise formalization and employment through business development services, market linkages and enterprise financing.

SDG 9

Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure

Mobilizing private sector investment in processing capacity, cold chain, equipment and digital systems that agro-processing and cooperative businesses depend on.

SDG 10

Reduced Inequalities

Integrating youth, refugees and persons with disabilities into formal markets and supply chains as suppliers and entrepreneurs, not as beneficiaries.

SDG 17

Partnerships for the Goals

Convening government, private sector, financial institutions, donors and implementing partners around shared market development objectives.

Leadership

Rose Gatongi-Karuri, Founder and Principal Consultant

Rose is a program management professional with over 15 years of experience across East Africa, spanning market systems development, enterprise development, financial inclusion, and private sector investment.

She designs and implements programs that empower farmer cooperatives, enterprises, women, youth and refugees to sustainably access formal markets (domestic and export), suitable financing and private sector investment in infrastructure, services and innovations.

RSA does this through market research, inclusive business models, enterprise development, trade facilitation, investor-readiness training and linkages, and financial products development.

Kenya Uganda Tanzania Ethiopia

Education

  • MBA, Egerton University, Kenya
  • BCom (Marketing), University of Nairobi, Kenya

Certifications

  • PMP training, Peak Point Consulting Group, PMI Authorized Training Partner
  • ILO Start and Improve Your Business (SIYB) Entrepreneurship Trainer
  • Food Systems, Wageningen University and Research
  • Project Monitoring and Evaluation, Kenya Institute of Management
Contact

How can RSA support your organization or program?

Let's grow inclusive markets together.

Market research Inclusive business models Enterprise development Domestic and export trade facilitation Investor-readiness training and linkages Financial products development