Every year, we hear of how African has lost fortunes trying to export non-value-added, unprocessed commodities like coffee beans and raw cocoa. The story changes when these commodities get to their destinations outside the shores of Africa, where they are changed into gourmet coffee and premium chocolate. We spend more money importing these products back to Africa.
The sad news lies in the fortune of the thousands of African farmers who cultivate coffee and cocoa. These men and women are trapped in poverty while the world makes as much as $200 billion annually from these raw products. Thankfully, this challenge has given rise to solutions through African startup companies like Garden of Coffee and FairAfric that are developing amazing African products.
In Ghana, the ‘Made in Africa’ chocolate bars created from cocoa beans processed in the country has offer thousands jobs and source of revenue to the government. FairAfric exported over 300,000 chocolate bars in 2018 and raised almost €50,000 from investors on Kickstarter.
Many parts of Africa are taking advantage of this success in creating their Africa product brands. Take for instance, Ethiopia, the home of the one of the largest coffee bean producers in the world has Garden of Coffee.
In 2016, Bethlehem Alemu founded Garden of Coffee, and it creates five types of coffee brands that are legendary. Today, the company exports its coffee to many countries around the world including the USA, Germany, Sweden and Russia. In 2018, it started a tea-lovers market in China and it is expected to open more than a hundred 100 café roasteries by 2022 across China.
Africa manufactures over 70% of cocoa beans transformed into chocolate and about 11% of coffee beans. If you are a coffee or cocoa beans farmer in Africa, you have an opportunity of attracting investors of your produce if you make it in commercial quantity. While many farmers are complaining about funds, there are investors or banks that are willing to fund commercial agricultural products.
Thinking of a business that would not put you in a fierce competition in Africa, exporting agricultural products can give you an advantage. Coffee beans and cocoa are not the only products you can export out of Africa. It may surprise you that even the least farm produce that can meet the international standard can change your fortune forever.
People are making money from different aspect of agriculture. You can either be a farmer, a middle man or even an investor.
