Capwell Industries Ltd launches mobile food trolleys to boost women-led street food vending across Kenya
The Webanda pilot launch ignites Capwell’s desire to uplift women, nourish communities, and redefine street food vending in Kenya.
KENYA – Capwell Industries Ltd, the maker of Soko flour brand, has unveiled its Webanda Mobile Food Trolley pilot in Kenya, introducing a dignified and hygienic model of street food vending aimed at economically empowering women while elevating food safety and nutrition in urban and peri-urban markets.
The initiative, rooted in Capwell’s purpose to enrich lives through nutrition and its vision to provide safe, convenient, and nutritious foods, is designed to scale into thousands of mobile vibandas, combining affordable financing, training and hygiene compliance support.
Kenya’s street food sector plays a critical role in urban food security, particularly for low- and middle-income households, but has long faced scrutiny over hygiene, safety and nutrition standards.
Speaking at the launch, Rajan Shah, CEO of Capwell Industries Ltd., said the project aligns with the company’s purpose of enriching lives through nutrition while addressing persistent food safety and livelihood challenges in informal vending.
Branded Webanda, a fusion of “women” and “kibanda”, the concept is anchored on the theme Kibanda Bora, Maisha Bora, reflecting its dual focus on dignified livelihoods and safer food for consumers.
Each Webanda trolley is designed as a mobile, compliant food vending unit, fitted with a gas cylinder for clean cooking and stocked with Capwell’s staple food products alongside other essential inputs.
By addressing common constraints such as unhygienic preparation environments, lack of clean energy and inconsistent access to quality ingredients, the model seeks to raise baseline standards in a sector that feeds millions of Kenyans daily.
Beyond infrastructure, the pilot introduces an integrated empowerment ecosystem. Through a financing partnership with Rafiki Microfinance Bank, participating women vendors gain access to affordable credit, enabling them to acquire and operate the trolleys as viable micro-enterprises.
Capwell said this approach is intended to move vendors from survivalist trading toward sustainable, bankable businesses. The initiative also incorporates capacity building and regulatory alignment.
The project comes after the milling giant launched another community-based project, signing an MOU with Murang’a County Government to improve market access for maize farmers and strengthen thecounty’s grain value chain.
The agreement seeks to formalise linkages between organised farmer groups in Murang’a and Capwell, one of Kenya’s major millers, with a focus on reducing post-harvest losses and improving income stability for producers.
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