Brand portal / Voice
05 — Voice & tone

How Kuza sounds.

A field officer who has just come back from a village visit and is telling you what they saw — clear, specific, hopeful but not naïve. Read this once. Refer back when you're writing anything that goes out under the Kuza name.

Owner
Manish · Brand team
Last updated
25 May 2026
Used by
Comms, partnerships, fundraising, program leads, agencies
Read time
≈ 8 minutes
01Voice attributes02Tone spectrum03Do & don't04Vocabulary05Mechanics06Core messaging
01Voice attributes

Four words. Hold all four at once.

If a sentence misses one of these, it isn't on-brand yet. The strongest test: imagine the most respected field officer you've ever worked with reading the line out loud — does it sound like them?

Grounded

Real numbers, real names, real places. Bangladesh, Busia, Kilifi — we say where. We don't float in abstractions.

Direct

Short sentences. One idea per sentence. We trust the reader. No throat-clearing.

Warm

We write about people, not 'beneficiaries.' Names where we have consent; roles where we don't.

Quietly confident

We let the work speak. We don't oversell. If something didn't work, we say so.

02Tone spectrum

Voice stays constant. Tone shifts with the room.

Same Kuza in every channel — but a donor report needs different muscles than an Instagram caption. Here's where to dial.

ContextTone shift
Donor report · grant applicationMore structured, evidence-forward, conservative claims. Full program names. Boilerplate at the foot.
LinkedIn post · newsletterObservational, story-led. One insight per post. Plain language. Numbers earn their place.
Instagram captionPersonal, present-tense. Lead with a person or a moment. Sentence one is a face, not a frame.
Field team · internalPractical, fast. Abbreviations OK. Focus on what's next, not what just happened.
Press · mediaQuotable, specific numbers, no jargon. Attribute properly. Stay quotable in 12 words or under.
Crisis · sensitiveSlow down. Name what happened, what we know, what we're doing. No marketing language.
03Do & don't

The five swaps that matter most.

If you only remember one section, remember this one. Almost every Kuza-voice mistake we've ever made is a version of these.

// Don't
Kuza leverages innovative digital solutions to empower beneficiaries across multiple geographies.
// Do
Through REDI, Kuza has trained 6,000 Agripreneurs who now support 1.2 million farmers across nine countries.
Why — Names the program, gives the number, ties it to a real outcome. No filler verbs.
// Don't
Our agripreneurship program has demonstrated significant impact in the Year 2 cohort.
// Do
Independent studies show 94% of the farmers we work with increased their yields and 97% raised their incomes.
Why — 'Significant impact' is a claim. The %s are a fact. Always prefer the fact.
// Don't
We harness AI-powered insights to drive transformational outcomes.
// Do
We turn 2,800+ voice recordings from farmers and Agripreneurs into things our team can act on this week.
Why — 'Transformational' is a brochure word. 'Things our team can act on this week' is a working description.
// Don't
Beneficiaries reported high satisfaction with program delivery.
// Do
Mary, a maize farmer in Busia, told us the price alerts changed when she sells. Sixty other farmers told us the same thing.
Why — One name, one quote, one number. That's a Kuza sentence.
// Don't
We are pleased to announce…
// Do
Here's what we shipped this month.
Why — 'Pleased to announce' is throat-clearing. Open on the news, not the announcement of the news.
04Vocabulary

The words we own, and the words we leave to others.

Kuza terms of art — capitalize them, spell them the right way, every time.

+ Words we use
  • Agripreneur(s)Capital A, always. Never 'agriprenuer.' Trusted community entrepreneurs who each support ~200 neighboring smallholder farmers.
  • REDIRural Entrepreneur Development Incubator (singular). Spell out on first use.
  • OneNetworkOne word, capital O and N. Always described as 'digital tools paired with a grassroots human network.'
  • Smallholder farmersThe people Agripreneurs serve. Accepted everywhere. Prefer naming the crop in story copy.
  • Bundled servicesWhen listing all four: climate-smart advice, quality inputs, microloans, market access.
  • VoicesOur 2,800+ recordings. A brand asset.
  • Built, shipped, trained, learnedActive verbs that show work.
  • Learn • Connect • GrowBullet separators only, never hyphens or commas.
− Words we avoid
  • BeneficiariesUse: farmers, youth Agripreneurs, students
  • StakeholdersName them: partners, donors, county officials, team
  • Leverage · harness · empower · unlockFiller verbs — replace with the real action
  • Solutions · ecosystems · synergiesDescribe the actual thing
  • Innovative · cutting-edge · world-classShow it; don't claim it
  • Game-changing · revolutionaryNo.
  • 'We are pleased / delighted / excited'Say what happened
  • 'Transforming'Used on the website — fine for donor copy, retire from social
05Mechanics

The small calls, settled.

Pin this. So no one has to ask twice.

,
Oxford comma
Yes, always. inputs, advice, and credit
↔
Sentence length
Average under 20 words. Vary, but lean short.
№
Numbers
Spell out one–nine. Numerals for 10+ and always for data: 6,000 Agripreneurs, 1.2M farmers.
$
Currency
KSh 12,000 for shillings. $120 for dollars. Show both for donor copy.
📅
Dates
26 June 2026 long form. Avoid US-style 6/26/2026.
“
Quote attribution
First name + role + county where consent allows. Otherwise anonymized role.
H
Headlines
Sentence case. Not Title Case. Not ALL CAPS.
⊙
Emoji
None in donor or press copy. Sparingly in social. Never strung together.
06Core messaging

Pre-approved copy. Use as-is.

If you need to describe Kuza in a hurry, lift from here. These versions have been signed off. Each "Copy" button puts the text on your clipboard.

The mantraHero
Learn • Connect • Grow
Tagline — one line
Re-engineering rural food systems across Africa and South Asia.
Elevator pitch — one sentence
Kuza is a Kenyan social enterprise whose OneNetwork platform — digital tools paired with a grassroots human network — supports 1.2 million farmers across nine countries through 6,000 Agripreneurs trained by our REDI program.
Official boilerplateFor press
Kuza Biashara is a Kenyan social enterprise re-engineering rural food systems across Africa and South Asia. Through the REDI (Rural Entrepreneur Development Incubator) program, Kuza trains rural youth to become Agripreneurs — trusted community entrepreneurs who each support around 200 neighboring smallholder farmers with climate-smart advice, quality inputs, microloans, and market access. To date, 6,000 Agripreneurs support 1.2 million farmers across nine countries. Independent studies show 94% of farmers have increased yields, 97% have raised incomes, and over 155,000 new jobs have been created — positively impacting 6.2 million lives. A three-time B Lab Best for the World – Customers honoree, Kuza has been spotlighted by the World Economic Forum, the World Bank, and UN agencies. Learn • Connect • Grow. kuza.one

Always have a proof point in reach.

6,000
Agripreneurs trained
1.2M
Smallholder farmers reached
9
Countries · Africa & South Asia
94%
Of farmers increased yields
97%
Raised their incomes
155K+
New jobs created
6.2M
Lives positively impacted
3×
B Lab Best for the World — Customers
100M
Farmers by 2030 — our goal