Tanolope Consultancy has been awarded Starbrand Status 2025 in East Africa under the Pan-African Dairy Excellence and Impact Award category for its pioneering work in transforming Africa’s dairy sector.
The firm, which focuses on dairy business development, farmer training, and production and distribution of feeds, has been recognized as the Dairy Industry Starbrand. Tanolope Consultancy currently operates across 12 African countries and internationally in the UK, US and Australia.
Speaking to JEDCA Media, Tanolope founder Alex Gitonga attributed the award to the company’s commitment to revolutionizing dairy production in Africa.
“We thank God and all our customers for this award. We are excited and committed to improving the lives of dairy farmers. Not many companies have achieved this recognition, especially while growing organically. My main goal is to drive a dairy revolution in Africa. Currently, the continent produces only five percent of the world’s dairy products, and our target is to increase that to ten percent,” Gitonga said.
He added, “Africa is milk insufficient, yet we have 60 percent of the world’s arable land. The continent relies heavily on imported dairy products because many farmers lack the knowledge to increase milk production efficiently and at lower cost.”
Tanolope Consultancy provides consulting services for dairy farmers, including feeding solutions, breeding guidance, and farm audits. The company also manufactures cow minerals and supplies them directly to farmers. Additionally, it offers training through the Tanolope Dairy Academy and other programs, including dairy masterclasses.
According to Gitonga, the key to Africa’s dairy revolution lies in equipping farmers with practical skills and industry knowledge. He said the sector’s slow growth stems from a knowledge gap, which has discouraged banks, insurers, and other financial institutions from investing in dairy.
“There is a huge knowledge gap in the sector, and even within the Ministry of Agriculture, standards for cow bands are limited. Insurance firms and banks lack the expertise in dairy farming, which is why they avoid investing in it,” he explained.
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Gitonga also highlighted shortcomings in agricultural education, particularly in higher learning institutions, which often fail to equip students with hands-on skills necessary to run profitable dairy farms.
“The missing link is human resources. Skilled dairy farm managers and supervisors are hard to find, and this hinders the growth of the sector,” he said.
Despite these challenges, Gitonga remains optimistic about the future of dairy in Africa, emphasizing the importance of knowledge transfer through initiatives such as Tanolope Academy, which aims to train 10,000 dairy champions across the continent.
Profitability in the dairy sector, according to Gitonga, depends on understanding the fundamentals of dairy business setup and accurately calculating the cost of milk production.
“We have perfected the basic principles for developing profitable and sustainable dairy farming. Our tools, including the cow signal tool to monitor health and productivity, and the dairy farm KPI tool to measure inputs and outputs, help farmers identify inefficiencies. Without measuring inputs and outputs, you cannot manage production effectively,” Gitonga explained.
He added, “Farmers need to know the cost of producing a litre of milk and the profit margins, and then implement strategies to reduce production costs. These tools allow farmers to spot inefficiencies and improve overall production.”
