We bring you UK orders, and get you ready to fill them
Afriqex buys your ingredients and supplies them to UK businesses that want to know where their materials come from. We arrange the shipping and clear customs. If you are not set up to export yet, we help you get there. You are paid in Kenyan shillings.
Why producers supply through Afriqex
A route to UK buyers
We put your ingredients in front of UK makers and brands who want to know where their materials come from. You do not need trade shows, cold calls or a sales team.
We handle the hard part
You prepare the goods and the required supplier documentation. Afriqex coordinates the cross-border process from collection through UK delivery, including customs, duty and import VAT.
Your price is your price
You set it in Kenyan shillings, with volume breaks if you offer them. What you quote is what you are paid. There are no listing fees, no commission and nothing taken off.
Paid in Kenyan shillings
Payment reaches your Kenyan account in shillings. No invoicing a company overseas, no chasing payment across borders, and no exchange-rate risk for you to carry.
Who buys your ingredients
Afriqex sells to businesses that formulate with natural ingredients and need to know where theirs came from.
Skincare & cosmetics
Manufacturers and own-brand skincare businesses formulating with oils, butters and botanical extracts.
Soap makers
From small-batch artisan producers to businesses making at commercial volume.
Aromatherapy & fragrance
Aromatherapy brands and natural fragrance houses, where the chemistry of a specific oil matters.
Ingredient wholesalers
Distributors supplying formulators across the UK who need documented, traceable material.
How it works
1Apply
Create an account and fill in your business details. We need your legal name, registration, KRA PIN and who we will be dealing with. We check it and come back to you.
2List your ingredients
Add each product with its botanical name, origin, pack sizes and price, and upload its documents. We check them before anything goes live.
3Receive a purchase order
When a UK buyer orders, Afriqex places a purchase order with you. You confirm it, or you tell us you cannot supply it. A failed harvest is an ordinary thing to say.
4Ship and get paid
We arrange collection and take it from there. Once the order is complete you are paid in Kenyan shillings, straight to your account.
What you get paid
This is only an example. You set your own prices.
Delivery and any buyer-side charges are handled separately and do not come out of your price.
What we ask of you
A registered business
A legally registered Kenyan business with a KRA PIN, able to invoice Afriqex and export through an agent.
Documentation
A current Safety Data Sheet and product specification. Batches should be supported by appropriate quality documentation, including a Certificate of Analysis. Essential oils also require GC-MS analysis, with updated or batch-specific testing requested where appropriate.
Consistency
Material that matches what you listed, batch to batch. Buyers are formulating with it, and a change they did not expect is a serious problem for them.
Traceability
Where it was grown and which batch it came from. It is what we sell on your behalf, and it is why a buyer chooses origin material at all.
Not export ready yet?
That is not a reason to stay away. Many good producers have never exported. The requirements are real, but they are a known list and we will work through it with you.
Tell us what you make. We will tell you which Kenyan licence applies to it, what documents a UK buyer expects to see, and how to get them. If you need to supply through a licensed exporter while your own licence is arranged, we will set that up.
We refund your AFA licence fee. If you pay the Agriculture and Food Authority for your first export licence, we refund what it cost you, up to Ksh 17,630, once we have paid you for your first order.
Our help costs you nothing.
What we’re currently sourcing
These are the materials we are actively onboarding producers for right now.
Essential oils
Leleshwa, geranium, frankincense (Boswellia neglecta), tagetes, opoponax, sweet myrrh, Lippia kituiensis and pink pepper.
Cold-pressed seed oils
Baobab and moringa, plus ximenia and yangu. These are high-value oils where the origin and the pressing matter.
Botanical extracts
CO2 and solvent extracts, absolutes, resinoids and oleoresins.
Something else?
Produce another Kenyan essential oil or natural ingredient? We would still like to hear from you. Tell us what you make.
Common questions
Does it cost anything to join?
No. There is no joining fee, no listing fee and no supplier commission. What you quote for your goods is what you are paid.
Who sets my price?
You do, in Kenyan shillings, for each product. You can also offer a better rate on larger quantities. You can change your price whenever you like.
Who pays for shipping and customs?
Afriqex arranges collection and freight and acts as the importer into the UK, handling customs clearance, duty and import VAT. None of it is deducted from your price.
Do I need export experience?
No. You need to be a registered Kenyan business able to invoice Afriqex, prepare your goods properly and provide the documents that go with them. If you do not hold a Kenyan export licence yet, we will tell you which one applies to your product and how to get it, and you can supply through a licensed exporter while that is arranged. The cross-border side is ours.
Who pays for my export licence?
You pay the Agriculture and Food Authority when you apply, because the licence is issued in your name and stays yours. Afriqex then refunds what you paid for your first licence, up to Ksh 17,630, once we have paid you for your first order. It is sent separately from your order payment, so keep your receipt. This covers the AFA licence only, and the first one only, not renewals.
Which documents do I need?
A current Safety Data Sheet and product specification, with a Certificate of Analysis supporting your batches. Essential oils also require GC-MS analysis, and updated or batch-specific testing may be requested where appropriate.
What if I cannot fulfil an order?
Tell us from your dashboard and pick a reason. A failed harvest, or a batch that did not pass your own checks, are ordinary things to say. We deal with the customer. It is much better to tell us than to ship material you are not sure about.
What is the minimum quantity?
You decide. Each of your products carries its own minimum order quantity, so you never receive an order smaller than is worth packing.
Can I keep selling to my own customers?
Yes. Supplying Afriqex is not exclusive. Nothing in the Supplier Agreement stops you selling to anyone else, in Kenya or abroad.
Questions before you apply?
Ready to supply?
Applying takes a few minutes. You can read the Supplier Agreement before you start. It is the contract between you and Afriqex, and it says the same things this page does.