We publish verified daily commodity prices across nine Kenyan markets — built so the farmer in Eldoret, the trader in Wakulima, and the contractor in Kisii each see the same number the institutional analyst sees, at the same time.
Across East Africa, prices vary significantly by location, season, quality, transport cost, storage availability, and demand. Farmers often sell without knowing the best available market price; traders rely on informal networks; builders and consumers lack a simple way to know whether they're paying fair.
CommodityHub East Africa exists to close that gap — by giving every participant the same access to reliable prices, verified counterparties, logistics options, and (in time) structured trading tools.
A farmer in Nakuru does not know the maize price in Eldoret. A builder in Kisii does not know whether cement is cheaper in Nairobi. Information lives in WhatsApp groups, broker phones, and depot ledgers — never in one place.
Large traders and middlemen aggregate prices across markets. Small farmers and small retailers do not. The result is depressed farm-gate prices and inflated retail margins — a tax on the participants least equipped to absorb it.
Maize at 13.5% moisture is not maize at 18%. Cement at 32.5N is not cement at 42.5N. Without standard grades and canonical units, the cheapest quoted price is often the most expensive in practice.
RATIN, KNBS, NCPB, and county reports publish authoritative data — but slowly, in PDFs, in formats designed for analysts. Nothing today bundles food and construction commodities into a single mobile-first product for the people who actually trade them.
We deliberately stay outside the regulated-exchange perimeter until scale, partnerships, and capital justify applying. Until then we are what East Africa needs first: a credible market information platform.
Daily prices across 19 active commodities (41 in the regional reference set, monthly cadence) and 9 Kenyan towns. Confidence-scored, source-attributed, and accessible on every channel small traders actually use.
Verified buyers and sellers post offers and requests. Reputation-weighted, peer-to-peer, with the platform acting as introducer only — not as a counterparty.
Digital purchase orders, escrow via licensed payment partners, quality inspection, warehouse-receipt referrals, and structured dispute resolution.
Either apply directly for a Capital Markets Authority commodity-exchange licence, or partner with a licensed exchange and provide the front-end discovery layer.
Above the threshold at which app-first distribution becomes viable for everyday traders.
Cereals, pulses, horticulture, sugar, edible oils, and key building materials, before regional flows.
Supervised by the WRSC, creating the institutional rails for structured trade and warehouse-receipt finance.
I grew up watching farmers in Kisii sell maize at prices set by whoever showed up at the gate, while the same bag sold for thirty percent more two towns over. The information was always there, somewhere — in a WhatsApp group, in a depot ledger, on a broker's phone — but it was never on a screen the farmer could open. That gap is the entire reason this platform exists.
CommodityHub East Africa is not a commodity exchange. Not yet. The Capital Markets (Commodity Markets) Regulations are clear about what an exchange is and what capital, licensing, and infrastructure it requires. We will get there — eventually — by earning the scale and the partnerships that justify the application. Until then we are what East Africa actually needs first: a market information platform that is trustworthy on day one, on every channel the user already uses.
The plan is to start small and credible in Nakuru, prove the data quality, expand to nine launch markets, and to do all of that before asking the user for a shilling. Free remains free. Paid tiers exist for the people whose margins move on it.
If any of this resonates — as a user, an early monitor, an institutional data partner, or an investor — write to me at samuel@commodityhub.co.ke.
The Capital Markets Act and the Capital Markets (Commodity Markets) Regulations define a commodity exchange as one licensed by the Capital Markets Authority for spot commodity trading, including clearing, settlement, or transfer services.
CommodityHub East Africa is not licensed under those regulations and does not hold itself out as a commodity exchange. Phase 1 (price intelligence) and Phase 2 (verified marketplace) operate as a market information and digital marketplace platform. Phase 2 transactions are peer-to-peer; we act as introducer and information provider, not counterparty.
Phase 3 trade-facilitation services will be delivered through licensed third parties — a payment service provider, an inspection company, and a recognised dispute-resolution forum — so the platform does not need an exchange or clearing licence to operate them.
When Phase 4 (regulated exchange) becomes appropriate — based on scale, capital, and regulator feedback — we will either apply directly for a commodity exchange licence under the Capital Markets (Commodity Markets) Regulations, or partner with an existing licensed exchange while providing the front-end information, marketplace, and discovery layer.
We are registered with the Office of the Data Protection Commissioner under the Data Protection Act, 2019. For specific legal queries: legal@commodityhub.co.ke.