Impact

Pillars of impact

Nurturing people, forests and communities

By supporting local beekeepers, we strengthen rural economies, empower women, and provide sustainable alternatives to environmentally harmful practices.

Supporting smallholders

A stable, transparent market

A beekeeper lifting a frame of honeycomb from a hive

Upendo Honey works with over 4,000 traditional beekeepers in Western Tanzania. By providing access to export markets, pre-financing, equipment and training, we boost beekeeper revenue by 21–40% depending on local market conditions.

Justin Mahene earned $365 for 265.5 kg of honey — 36% more than the local market would have paid.
James Magesa invested in a home, a motorbike and a truck, and now employs local labourers.
Revokatus Kasase supports his children’s education, including university studies.

Empowering women

Secure work and a route to advance

A woman working with processing equipment at the Kigoma facility

We employ 160 people. Upendo Honey is the largest private-sector employer of women in Kigoma, Tanzania. Staff receive ongoing training, promotion opportunities, and support to develop side projects.

Rahma Zuberi was a street food vendor earning $14 a month. Today she earns six times more, supports her three children, and invests in her nephews’ education.
Processing team, Kigoma

Preserving the forest

Conservation inside the value chain

Miombo woodland in the Tongwe West Forest Reserve

Approximately 204,152 tonnes of CO₂ removed annually.
About 27 kg of CO₂ saved per jar compared with honey produced in developed countries.
Supports sustainable forest-based livelihoods.

Honey links economic opportunity to healthy forests, making conservation part of the value chain rather than a cost imposed on it.

Cutting down forests is a common immediate income source for low-income workers. However, without the forest’s rich ecosystem, honey cannot be made. By paying higher prices for honey, we economically incentivise preserving the forest.

Upendo Honey demonstrates that Tanzanian honey can compete internationally — with full traceability, high quality, and measurable social impact.