Thomas Steenbech Bomhoff, Vice President at Novozymes/Courtesy
NAIROBI, Kenya Jun 26 – Global biotechnology company, Novozymes has opened a regional office in Nairobi. The investment will expand the presence in East Africa and allow the company to meet customer and consumer needs.
Denmark based Novozymes is a global market leader in biological solutions, producing industrial enzymes and microorganisms for a broad range of industries. At present, the key business areas for Novozymes in the region are detergents, brewing and baking.
“We believe in a world with more biology. Novozymes has been present in Africa for many years, yet vast opportunities remain to reach more customers and consumers with sustainable biological solutions. We are excited to invest in Kenya and Africa and can’t wait to further strengthen existing relationships and build new ones to make it happen,” says Thomas Steenbech Bomhoff, Vice President at Novozymes.
More efficient hand wash
Novozymes has developed enzyme technology that allows detergent producers to develop better and affordable detergents for millions of hand wash consumers in Africa.
With a more effective detergent, they can manage to clean clothes better, and remove common stubborn stains from mud, grass, vegetable and cooking oil.
“This is a solution that has a great impact on everyday life. By using detergents with enzymes, African consumers save water and time,” says Regina Njeri Karani, General Manager for Novozymes in Kenya.
Beer from local crops
Novozymes also works with breweries across sub-Saharan Africa to help them save time, energy and water in the production of beer. Thanks to enzymes, breweries can use local raw material such as sorghum and cassava instead of expensive imports to produce delicious, local brews. It also gives new viable incomes to African farmers to the benefit of local communities.
For bakeries, Novozymes has developed a solution that makes bread stay fresh longer and that will have a considerable impact on food waste. The product is currently being tested on the flat bread market in Egypt.
High prices of imported sugar are another concern among African bakers. Novozymes now provides an enzyme that allows them to optimize costs by reducing the amount of added sugar in bread.
In addition to the opening of the new office, Novozymes Kenya is working with Starehe Boys Centre where it will upgrade the school’s biology laboratory, investing in the building and investing in new equipment. The project is part of its Teach for Tomorrow, a component of the EDUCATE Programme that has a target to teach 1 million people about the potential of biology by 2020.
