The Danish cleantech pioneer Jimco’s new strategic membership of Access2innovation has already translated into concrete business opportunities in East Africa, most notably for key food-industry players as Kenchic PLC and Capwell Industries.
During the recent business delegation to Kenya, co-organized by A2i, CEO Jimmy K. Larsen and business development manager Abir Zaaimia secured several strong leads. For Jimmy, these contacts confirm that A2i’s network, local insight, and targeted matchmaking can dramatically accelerate Jimco’s entry into new markets – maybe already this year.
New Markets: East Africa and Beyond
From its headquarters in Rudkøbing, Jimco exports to 35 countries and employs about 25 people in Denmark. All solutions are developed in-house in close cooperation with customers, while manufacturing is carried out by specialized subcontractors based on detailed drawings from Jimco’s engineers. Historically, the USA has been a major market, but current challenges in global trade mean that many customers have less capacity to invest in new equipment. This reinforces the strategic importance of new regions such as East Africa, Saudi Arabia, and, in the longer term, India, where the need for documented food safety and longer shelf life is only growing.
In East Africa, Jimmy sees strong demand for technologies that combine effective, chemical-free cleaning with solid documentation and certification. Labor may be cheaper than in Europe, and local cleaning firms are easy to hire, but Jimco adds something different: the ability to prove that cleaning is truly effective and consistent, day after day.
The leads with Kenchic, Capwell and the many fruit and vegetable exporters struggling with dirty containers are therefore not just individual projects but strategic entry points into the region. As Jimmy puts it, Jimco may have its headquarters on a small Danish island, but with A2i as a partner, the company’s playground is the whole world – now very much including East Africa’s fast-growing food sector.
High-Potential Leads: Kenchic and Capwell
After the delegation, Managing Director Jim Tozer of Kenchic PLC, a leading poultry producer in East and Central Africa, has visited Denmark. Jimmy K. Larsen invited him for a dinner, which quickly turned into a concrete dialogue about how Jimco’s surface-disinfection solutions could support Kenchic’s factories. Afterwards, Jimco submitted an offer for installations at Kenchic’s facilities in Kenya and Zambia. The original plan was to implement the technology in 2027. But Kenchic has signaled that the timeline might be moved forward – a change Jimmy finds entirely realistic.
Another key outcome for Jimco is the dialogue with Capwell Industries, a prominent Kenyan milling company that produces fortified, high-nutrition flours to address protein and fiber deficiencies in East Africa. Capwell struggles with aflatoxins in its mills, especially after weekends when the mills stand still and contamination can build up. Jimco’s technology can thoroughly disinfect the milling equipment, so Capwell no longer needs to discard the first batch every Monday morning. Here, Jimco brings substantial experience from similar aflatoxin-related projects in Chile and Uruguay, strengthening both the business case and trust in the solution.
Dirty Containers – A Hidden Threat to Exporters
A striking example of the concrete challenges Jimco can address in East Africa concerns the hygiene of refrigerated containers used for fruit and vegetable exports.
Many exporters are paid based on how much of the cargo arrives fresh, but the containers they receive are often far from clean when they are loaded. Jimco has tested such containers and found that, in particular, the cooling coils are heavily contaminated. They spread microorganisms throughout the entire container during the four to five weeks of transport. No one else but Jimco offers a solution to disinfect these coils, which makes the problem both persistent and costly for exporters.
Here, Jimco’s technology can make a critical difference. Using UV-C light and ozone, the company can disinfect the entire container, including the cooling elements, ensuring that fruits and vegetables are not spoiled by mold and fungi during the long journey. By eliminating these hidden contamination sources, exporters can significantly reduce losses, extend shelf life and improve the quality of goods upon arrival – directly strengthening their business.
“This is one of the largest immediate market opportunities in East Africa, where export-oriented producers are under pressure to deliver consistent quality to distant buyers,” tells Jimmy.
From US Conference to Kenyan Market Entry
Behind these concrete leads lies a carefully built bridge between Danish technology and African market needs. The story began – surprisingly – at a food safety conference in the United States, where Jimmy presented Jimco’s low-tech surface-disinfection solutions for listeria control in egg production, cooling tunnels for bread, and spiral freezers. At the conference he met Dr. Hannah Mugure Kamano, a Kenyan food safety expert, who immediately urged Jimco to bring its technology to Kenya. Shortly afterwards, Jimco received an invitation from the Confederation of Danish Industry (DI) to join a delegation to Kenya, co-organized by A2i. This became the springboard for the company’s current East African journey.
During the three official delegation days, Dr. Hannah accompanied the group and joined visits to potential customers, while A2i’s local agribusiness expert John Magnay worked in the background to identify some of the most relevant food producers for Jimco. When the delegation ended, Jimmy and Abir stayed on for two extra days, during which Hannah had arranged five to six meetings with potential clients at their hotel. Even though Magnay could not attend in person, his preparation ensured that the meetings were with serious and well-positioned companies.
“The combination of Hannah’s local expertise and A2i’s strategic support has been crucial to “opening the right doors in record time,” Jimmy sums up.
Jimco’s Technology and Global Ambitions
Only after understanding these specific use cases does the broader picture of Jimco’s technology fully unfold. Jimco has, for more than 30 years, specialized in UV-C and ozone-based solutions for air purification and surface disinfection. The systems use two wavelengths of ultraviolet light to convert oxygen (O₂) into ozone (O₃) without harmful by-products, effectively “cold-burning” organic microorganisms and removing biofilm so thoroughly that even the back of a door handle or the inside of a keyhole is left free of microorganisms. Mobile robots and fixed installations are designed to treat all the air in a room, often by leveraging the customer’s existing air conditioning to distribute the disinfecting effect.
Data and documentation are built into every solution. Processes are logged and stored in the cloud, enabling managers and boards to verify that cleaning and disinfection procedures have been followed across multiple factories and countries. This level of traceability is essential when serving large international chains such as McDonald’s, where Jimco’s systems have, for example, enabled a restaurant in Næstved to operate for ten years without cleaning its ventilation ducts. Jimco’s technology can reduce viruses, bacteria, odors, grease, oils, and CO₂ emissions by up to 99.99 percent, and the company has received the EU Environmental Award for its innovative and eco-friendly design.
