Collins Pondi
Kenyan biotechnologist Collins Pondi is turning yesterday’s leftovers into tomorrow’s resources and rewriting the business case for waste along the way. After studying microbiology and seeing how mountains of spoiled produce choked Kilifi’s markets, he founded Pomilly East Africa in 2019 with a simple premise: food waste should feed the soil, not landfills. Today Pomilly’s plant processes up to 80 tonnes of refuse a day, extracting nutrient-rich organic fertiliser that boosts smallholder yields, spinning cellulose fibres into biodegradable fabrics, and distilling compounds for animal-health products. By closing the loop, Pondi has cut methane emissions, sparked a local supplier network that now supports more than 500 collectors, and won a spot on Business Daily’s 2022 Top 40 Under 40 Men list.
Pondi’s next act is even more ambitious. Pilot trials are under way to harness heat from controlled waste incineration to power the plant and nearby schools, a step toward his vision of an integrated bio-refinery hub serving the wider coast. He also mentors university innovators on circular-economy ventures and lobbies county officials for policies that reward companies for every kilo of trash diverted. For Pondi, waste isn’t a problem to bury, it’s Kenya’s untapped engine for greener growth.