Sanku’s multistep solution and sustainable model helps enable millers to provide flour fortified with nutrients to consumers without raising costs, improving nutrition outcomes without compromising affordability.
First, Sanku installs its patented Internet of Things (IoT)-enabled smart dosifier machines onto the flour mills that feed the communities. The fully automated dosifiers add precise and safe amounts of critical nutrients to the staple food people eat.
Sanku manufactures the key inputs that millers need to fortify, such as empty flour bags and nutrient premix, locally and in-country. Sanku owns the last mile of distribution throughout East Africa to ensure millers always have the key tools, training and support they need every day.
In addition, Sanku incentivizes millers by offsetting their nutrient premix costs with the margins from bulk manufacturing and the purchase of key inputs such as fortificants and flour bags. The cost of fortified flour costs is, therefore, neutralized. These margins sustain their operations at scale.
Finally, Sanku monitors the millers’ use of the smart dosifiers remotely via the machine’s cellular link. From there, they provide maintenance support to the mills and restock their nutrients and flour bags. The dosifier machines enable Sanku to quantitatively measure reach and impact via IoT.
Sanku in Tanzania
In 2023, Sanku launched its Nutrient Premix Factory in Tanzania—the first of its kind in Eastern Africa. This fully operational factory produces high-quality, affordable premix not just for Tanzania, but for millers across Kenya and Ethiopia as well.With enough capacity to meet the needs of over 100 million people by 2030, this factory allows Sanku to keep premix stocked locally and available in local currency, making it easier and more affordable for millers to fortify their flour. The results have been immediate, with premix sales increasing by over 200% since the launch. As it scales, this facility has the capacity to serve most of the East Africa region.
