Image presenting the company Akuino

Akuino

Dairy processing within the reach of farmers and local food producers

  • Healthy Eating
  • Province of Namur, Province of Walloon Brabant
  • Startup
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Akuino

Healthy Eating
Startup

Project description

For local, autonomous and resilient milk processing, AKUINO has designed a continuous, hygienic, economical and adaptable pasteurizer, allowing local producers and processors to:

  • Add value to each litre of milk on site, without depending on large groups and difficult transport in the regions. This can multiply the added value by 3 to 5.

  • Create valuable products (yoghurt, curd, pasteurised milk, etc.). 🥛

  • Reduce waste and improve food safety.

  • Obtain 3 litres treated per minute, recovering 3/4 of the energy (electricity consumption divided by 4).

  • To boost the local economy by creating new technical and craft jobs.

  • Keep in good working order: no computer needed, standard components widely available

With the AKUINO pasteurizer, the producer/processor keeps control of his or her income and future! 🌱

🎥 See in action: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AUBr25tjgSU , https://www.youtube.com/shorts/0sIaZJVtriw

We are now going to transform ourselves into an approved social enterprise cooperative company (SC-ES).

Searched profile

I'm looking for motivated colleagues who share my deep passion for the dairy world, both here and elsewhere. 🐄🥛

  • Impact Funding & Scholarships : Co-write regional grants and equity loan applications.

  • Business Development : Manage the marketing of the StarterPro pasteurizer in the North (SFSC: Short food supply chain) and in the South.

  • Partnership Management : Coordinate the relationship with technical training centers and customers.

    In addition, there is energy, a desire for excellence and a personal commitment already anchored in the rural world.

As soon as we agree, we will put together the application for a seed grant/springboard (e.g. Social Economy in Wallonia / SPW) to finance your fixed start-up remuneration. In addition, there will be a commission on equipment sales and a progressive allocation of shares (vesting) to the capital.

Do you share the same desire to move the lines in the sustainable food sector? So, write to me and let's get to know each other! 😊

Why this project?

  • Proven innovation, ready to deploy ✅

  • Development initiated in 2019: multiple prototypes and validations in the field.

  • Marketing launched in 2024 : already thousands of liters sold every month on the markets of Brussels! 🚀

  • This project has international potential and is a long-term one. Its initiator has been involved in it for 5 years and has solved a large number of questions. We must now "transform the trial" and ensure that the impact is made here and abroad. With the profitability necessary for sustainability.

  • The revenue model (sales of machinery, parts and services, sales of manufacturing licenses and services common to local locations) is simple.

  • The StarterPro pasteurizer (new model, 3 times cheaper) is manufactured in Gembloux but it can be assembled in the purchasing countries (local maintenance in developing countries)

  • The feeling of self-actualization is also clearly measured:

    📌 The number of producers and processors empowered.

    📌 Volumes of milk processed locally.

    📌 The new technical jobs created (manufacturing, installation, maintenance).

    📌 The ability to deploy technology globally through a knowledge transfer and decentralized manufacturing model.

Commitments to a sustainable world

  • SDG 1 – No Poverty
    By transforming raw milk into a finished product that is easy to store and consume, the AKUINO project strengthens food security while increasing incomes, even for the most disadvantaged.
    More than a pasteurization system, AKUINO equips mini-dairies to meet the needs of the population. Among the solutions proposed, Wagashi cheese (Benin) stands out: simple to produce and store.

  • SDG 2 – Zero Hunger
    By making small dairy projects profitable, AKUINO supports livestock farming combined with intensive agriculture. The agro-ecological/agro-forestry farm model, which is both diversified and integrated, promotes both productivity and resilience.

  • SDG 3 – Good Health and Wellbeing ✨
    Pasteurization preserves the nutritional qualities of milk, maximizing its health benefits for consumers — a significant improvement over milk powder.

  • SDG 5 – Gender Equality
    In many countries, dairy processing is a predominantly female activity. By making this activity more profitable, AKUINO contributes to strengthening the economic and social position of women.

  • SDG 6 – Clean Water and Sanitation
    The pasteurization of water, although less extensive than its sterilization, can be carried out by the AKUINO pasteurizer with little energy and without chemicals. This is a useful service that mini-dairies can offer to local people.

  • SDG 7 – Affordable and Clean Energy ⚡
    Thanks to a heat recovery system (the incoming milk is heated by the milk that comes out), the AKUINO pasteurizer divides energy consumption by a factor of four: only 2 kWh per 100 liters processed, or about 6 solar panels needed during production.

  • SDG 8 – Decent Work and Economic Growth
    By democratizing access to dairy processing professions (via training in hygiene standards), AKUINO creates attractive and better-paid jobs. In addition, the project strengthens national skills in the mechanization of food processing, stimulating a high value-added sector.

  • SDG 9 – Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure
    The AKUINO project encourages the autonomy of the partner countries: the final assembly of the pasteurizers, followed by the gradual manufacture of the components, is localized. The AKUINO network promotes the sharing of innovations between countries, to progress together in the mastery of food processes.

  • SDG 10 – Reduced Inequalities
    By promoting local autonomy for dairy processing and the manufacture of the necessary equipment, AKUINO fights against inequalities and builds sustainable solidarity.

  • SDG 11 – Sustainable Cities and Communities 🌱
    Producers are in rural areas, consumers mainly in cities. By keeping the added value close to the producers, AKUINO strengthens the economic resilience of the countryside while ensuring urban food security (decentralized production limits risks).

  • SDG 12 – Responsible Consumption and Production
    Local processing avoids wasting raw milk, which is too quickly perishable to be consumed as is. AKUINO is also committed to the reuse of bottles and the recycling of packaging, via efficient recovery and cleaning systems.

  • SDG 13 – Climate Action
    Ruminants (cattle, sheep, goats) produce methane. To limit their impact, it is essential to raise them in optimal conditions and to limit their numbers to the need for agricultural inputs. Agro-ecological farms capture carbon while maintaining a virtuous cycle for nitrogen and other nutrients.

  • SDG 17 – Partnerships for the Goals
    By leading an international network of local dairy processing players, AKUINO promotes major social and ecological advances. Through technology transfer, the project also promotes national autonomy and the dissemination of know-how in food mechanization.

About the founder

Akuino - Meet My Job

Christophe Dupriez

Cofounder

A computer scientist all my life, an entrepreneur since 1984, an electronics technician by interest, a plumber by necessity (!), I wanted to listen to and support those who feed us: dairy producers and processors. 🐄Since 2019, I have sought to offer them a simple and effective tool to be able to make quality in quantity (or quantity of quality?) in the most necessary products for our families. Today, it is Senegal and Benin that offer themselves as gateways to the developing world... 🌍

Person who inspires him: Gandhi, Jancovicci
Dreamed superpower: Giving self-confidence
Passion: Creating machines
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