The Smart Kuku team, comprising a cadre of young and innovative minds hailing from Uganda, stands at the forefront of a transformative journey aimed at revolutionizing poultry farming practices not only in their homeland but across the African continent.
Fuelled by a collective ambition to harness the power of technology and entrepreneurship, these visionary individuals are spearheading the development and implementation of the Smart Kuku Brooder system, a cutting-edge solution designed to tackle one of the poultry industry’s most pressing challenges: high chick mortality due to inadequate temperature regulation.
“Mechanization is the future of agriculture, and as engineers, we are well placed to realize this,” says Peter Okoci Samuel, a final year Bachelor student in Electrical and Electronics Engineering at Mbarara University of Science and Technology (MUST) in Uganda.
At MUST, Peter Okoci, Maureen Nayebare, Aaron Etyang, Peter Beinamaani, and Frank Magezi Rubandamayonza met and later co-founded the Smart Kuku Brooder startup.
“Our parents conduct farming activities manually with rudimentary techniques. So, we wanted to automate some of the activities to ease their tasks”, explains Aaron, currently running as the Team Leader of the Smart Kuku Brooder startup.
“We share the same vision, that is to solve community problems with the knowledge we gain from university,” Aaron adds. Their mission is clear: To innovate the agricultural sector, leverage technology for mechanization, drive sustainability and create job opportunities.
Their journey began at Mbarara University of Science and Technology (MUST), where they emerged victorious in the prestigious Agro-Entrepreneurship Challenge, a testament to their ingenuity and commitment to driving positive change in the agricultural sector.
“We are motivated to come up with the ‘Smart Kuku Brooder system’, a device to solve one of the biggest problems facing the farmers, high chick mortality due to poor regulation of temperature,” explained Peter. Their ingenious brainchild, Smart Kuku Brooder, redefines poultry farming in local households by automatically regulating temperature to provide optimal conditions for chick rearing.
With a keen focus on leveraging their engineering expertise to address real-world problems, the team embarked on a mission to automate and optimize poultry farming processes, thereby enhancing productivity, sustainability, and profitability for farmers while simultaneously fostering job creation opportunities for young people.
Empowered by a supportive ecosystem and guided by mentorship and skills development initiatives, the Smart Kuku team has embarked on a journey of continuous learning and innovation.
Through strategic partnerships and collaborations, they are not only refining their product but also laying the groundwork for its widespread adoption and impact.
With each milestone achieved, they are inching closer to their vision of transforming poultry farming practices, improving livelihoods, and shaping the future of agriculture in Africa.
