KENYA · GUIDE 0010 · EDITION 4.2
Courgette growing - Startup costs and working capital
Build a budget around the first deliverable
Build the courgette offer around the cook's chosen dish and delivery rhythm, allowing picking decisions to follow that use rather than simply waiting for heavier fruit.
This scope determines what you need before the first order. A national average or a supplier's bundle cannot establish your opening budget. The main cost drivers for this business are:
- planting material
- frequent harvesting
- rejected fruit
Separate setup, operating cost and working cash
| Budget line | What to establish before spending |
|---|---|
| seed | Specify the pilot quantity, purchase/hire option, delivered quote and payment date. |
| watering tools | Specify the pilot quantity, purchase/hire option, delivered quote and payment date. |
| harvesting knife | Specify the pilot quantity, purchase/hire option, delivered quote and payment date. |
| shallow crates | Specify the pilot quantity, purchase/hire option, delivered quote and payment date. |
Equipment that remains useful after the pilot belongs in a separate setup schedule. Consumables used in accepted work belong in operating cost. Refundable deposits use cash but are not automatically an expense. Do not count the same equipment purchase in full both as setup spending and again as one period's operating expense.
Include costs that are easily missed
Include the labour of frequent inspection and the lost premium value of fruit missed during picking, alongside ordinary growing costs charged to the trial plot.
Prepare the cash schedule in date order. Supplier payments can fall due before the customer pays; a positive paper margin does not fill that gap. Record transport, rejected inputs, corrections and your own working time against the actual trial rather than assuming them to be free.
Set a spending decision
Use this pilot as the smallest meaningful commitment: Track harvests from a small plot and ask a cook to assess size and texture.
Before buying, obtain comparable written quotations with the same item specification, quantity, delivery destination and relevant support terms. Keep uncertain lines marked unknown until you have evidence. If the cash requirement exceeds your available funds, reduce the trial scope, negotiate transparent payment stages or defer the purchase. Do not silently replace missing costs with zero.
Skipping a picking visit can create oversized stock that increases harvested kilograms while reducing the quantity the intended kitchen is willing to purchase that week.
Use the pricing and cash-flow chapter to test whether accepted sales can cover recurring costs after setup. This page supplies a budgeting method, not a verified opening-cost estimate.