Kenya is one of the top exporters of fresh flowers in the world, with a majority of them going to the European Union (EU). Kenya’s flowers are also popular in the US, China, Japan and Russia.
In Naivasha, the farms are concentrated around Lake Naivasha. Naivasha is popular with flower farms because of the availability of water from the fresh water lake, its proximity to Nairobi and the ready availability of skilled labour.
Naivasha is also the home of Karuturi Flowers. In its heyday, the company was producing over 330 million flowers at its Naivasha farm for export. It was also employing thousands and even sponsored a football team (Sher Karuturi). The good days were cut short by among others, the failed repayment of a loan from Stanbic Bank. The company has since been embroiled in a 4 year battle with the bank over the intended sale of its assets over the loan.