Location: Mukono, Uganda
Founding year: 2016
Number of employees: 8 permanent staff & 6 casual workers
Website: Kayyan & Kyobijja Farm
Revenue: USD 127,000 (2023)
Investment ask: USD 500,000 (debt)
Investment needed to:
- Install a mill for producing nutrient-rich feed on the farm
- Install precision monitoring systems for poultry management
- Training of staff and local farmers on precision poultry farming
Products and services:
- Broiler chickens and processed chicken products
- Farmer trainings on agricultural best practices and poultry management
- Credit schemes for local entrepreneurs
- Delivery services
Enterprise portrait
Coming from humble beginnings, Mariam Kyobijja graduated from university in 2012. As for many Ugandan youth, especially women and those coming from rural areas, Mariam was faced with scarce economic opportunities, which pushed her to work abroad in Oman as a housemaid. Once there, she was inspired by a family’s thriving poultry setup, which brought back memories of her grandmother’s small flock that sustained their household in Uganda. This experience inspired her return to Kampala to launch her own broiler poultry venture with a vision to empower her community.
Established in 2016, Kayyan & Kyobijja Farm is a poultry farm that champions social empowerment, community collaboration, and environmental stewardship using the production of top-quality chicken products as its vehicle. The business helps to fill the growing demand for poultry meat from individual consumers and restaurants in urban and peri-urban areas. By providing a reliable supply of protein-rich, affordable poultry meat, Kayyan & Kyobijja contributes to the nutritional security of low-income households in Kampala and surrounding areas.
Today, Kayyan & Kyobijja Farm raises 5,000 broiler chickens (2025) on their 7 acre farm, a third of which is reserved for the conservation of local tree species. The farm provides employment opportunities to the local community and, drawing on her grandmother’s legacy of self-sufficiency through poultry, demonstrates to other women that agriculture can provide a viable livelihood without reliance on urban jobs or migration. As a sales approach, the farm provides processed poultry cuts on credit to single mothers and windows who resell the meat at the local Nakasero Market.
Key commercial activities
- Poultry production and processing: Kayyan & Kyobijja Farm raise broiler chickens on a 7-acre farm in Uganda’s Mukono District. Their chickens are ethically cared for, ensuring animal welfare, and are free from antibiotics and hormones. Primary processing of chickens occurs at a Halaal-certified abattoir, reinforcing quality and humane treatment of the animals.
- Credit scheme for entrepreneurs: Through an innovative credit scheme, Kayyan & Kyobijja empowers marginalized individuals, in particular single mothers and widows, by providing them with broiler chickens on credit. These entrepreneurs sell the chickens in their local markets and retain a portion of the profit. This unique sales approach supports local businesses and fosters financial independence and community development.
- Delivery service: The farm provides its own delivery service to ensure efficient and timely delivery of their products in optimal condition. The service includes packaging, logistics management and customer support.
- Farmer training services: Kayyan & Kyobijja Farm provides training to fellow farmers. Poultry experts are invited to conduct sessions on various aspects of poultry farming, including poultry management, sustainable and ethical practices, poultry processing and value addition, as well as business skills. The farm also supports local farmers by supplying them with day-old chicks and helping them establish their own poultry operations.
Plans to grow the business
Kayyan & Kyobijja Farm has the ambition to expand its poultry raising operation. The company currently operates below its maximum production capacity (2025), pointing to a substantial opportunity for growth. With healthy profit margins, scaling of production operations is straightforward and would involve additional minimal costs. Major obstacles to growth are the high cost and inconsistent supply of feed.
Kayyan & Kyobijja Farm plans to build a feed mill on their premises. This will stabilize the cost of feed, ensure a regular supply of high-quality feed, and allow them to grow their flock. It will also establish the business as a supplier of feed, thereby creating an additional revenue stream.
Agroecology impact highlights
Kayyan & Kyobijja Farm has set up a circular and efficient production model that minimizes waste. Waste and byproducts from poultry operations are re-used and turned into sellable products. During chicken rearing periods, the farm producers over 500 sacks of chicken manure every six weeks. This manure is sold to farmers in the community, generating a consistent secondary revenue stream while supporting local farming. The farm also trains farmers on composting chicken manure into a ready-to-use, nutrient-rich fertilizer. As a shining example of circularity, many of the farmers supplied with chicken manure grow the maize that Kayyan in turn purchases and sends to a local mill for processing into feed for its chickens. Moreover, by-products from chicken processing are sold to pig farmers and dog food producers, further minimizing waste.
Kayyan & Kyobijja Farm makes it a priority to provide healthy living conditions and humane treatment to its poultry flock throughout their lifecycle. When it comes to feeding, the farm provides fresh feed to its broilers every two hours. Small birds are separated from larger birds to ensure they get sufficient feed. Automatic drinkers are set up across the poultry houses to guarantee a continuous supply of fresh water. In terms of density, the farm generally remains below the full stocking capacity of its poultry houses and never exceeds it. To ensure that they can have oversight during transport and up until the point of slaughter, the farm sends chickens for slaughter at a Halaal-certified abattoir.
Kayyan & Kyobijja Farm supports the livelihoods and economic empowerment of other entrepreneurs in the local economy, in particular single mothers and widows. Providing these women with chicken products on credit makes it possible for them to run their own small retail businesses and have dignified work in the local market. Moreover, they have helped 300 farmers access markets to sell their poultry products.
Current challenges
A major challenge for Kayyan and Kyobijja Farm is the inconsistent supply of high-quality feed for raise its birds. Feed accounts for 60-70% of poultry production costs in Uganda. Price spikes, poor-quality feed (e.g. low protein content or mycotoxin contamination) and unreliable suppliers eat into profit margins and can strain business finances.
In the past, price spikes have force producers Kayyan and Kyobijja Farm to resort to cheaper feeds, which contain lower levels of amino acids and key nutrients, resulting in slower growth and weaker immune systems of their chickens. Because of supplier unpredictability and the unstable cost of feed, Kayyan does not have consistent access to high-quality, protein-rich feed.
Financing track record
Mariam Kyobijja established Kayyan and Kyobijja Farm on family-owned land with savings from her time working as a housemaid in Oman and a loan from a women’s savings group. In recognition of its impact-focused business model, the startup received USD 25,000 in grant financing from NSSF Hi-Innovator Program in 2023 to set-up a halal certified slaughterhouse and purchase a truck to transport chicken products to the market. Kayyan and Kyobijja also received USD 5,000 grant from the Tony Elumelu Foundation in 2024 to grow their brand visibility.