Life Agro Industry

LAI was founded in 2011 to produce, process and distribute milk. It is located in the Sululta region of Ethiopia where its current facility has the capacity to process 3,500 liters of milk daily. LAI purchases most of the milk it processes from 260 smallholder farmers. LAI relies on direct contact with consumers through an established daily milk route in Addis Ababa whereby consumers can be assured that milk will be available at prescribed times of the day. The company is producing a variety of dairy products based on customer demand, including butter, cream, cheese, mozzarella and ricotta. LAI also supplies grocery stores and pizza restaurants with its products, and it plans to expand its customer base to also include hotels, cafes and hospitals.

LAI realizes that increased milk consumption relies on engaging the younger population. It is a vision of the company to supply school-feeding programs targeted to orphans and vulnerable children. The plan is to sell to universities and other institutions. A promotional campaign will increase awareness of the nutritional value of milk for students of all ages.

Purpose of Grant

The purpose of the proposed grant is to manufacture and sell feed as an embedded service, utilize chilling tanks as part of the milk collection process, and to enable LAI to further specialize in cheese production. In addition, the grant will assist LAI to implement improved environmental practices.