INNOVATIONS SERIES: Business Profiles of the SMEs showcased in the first 7 sessions

In November 2020, the Pan-African Farmers’ Organization (PAFO) and COLEACP launched the Innovations Series on innovations and successes of African farmer-led businesses and small and medium enterprises (SMEs).

SMEs, despite the numerous challenges they face, have unprecedented opportunities to supply local, regional and export markets. Moreover, innovation is a driving force in transforming food systems, promoting sustainable agriculture and leveraging investment.

In this context, PAFO and COLEACP hold a two-hour session, every two months, to share best practices from entrepreneurs, farmers and agripreneurs, with a focus on innovations in production methods, markets development, digital solutions, technologies and circular economy. They also feature views on the supporting policy, research, finance and investment environment.

Hundreds of participants from more than 100 countries worldwide gathered during the first seven Innovations Sessions and discovered the impact of inspiring entrepreneurs on the following topics:

• Increased market opportunities through added-value and branded products (Session n°1),
• Grow local: Conquering local markets (Session n°2),
• African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA): opportunities for SMEs and businesses in the agri-food sector (Session n°3),
• Sustainable food systems: the key role of SMEs and businesses (Session n°4),
• Food and Nutrition Security: the contribution of SMEs and businesses (Session n°5),
• Promoting sustainable agriculture and agroecological practices: the key role of MSMEs and farmers organisations (Session n°6),
• Innovations in the African agroprocessing sector: the key role of SMEs and businesses (Session n°7).

The recordings of all Innovations Sessions are available to view on PAFO’s and COLEACP’s YouTube channels.

Business profiles have been developed to present each successful business model and development. Meet (again) the featured African entrepreneurs, many of them members of COLEACP, and (re-) discover their inspiring stories below!

This business support is provided through the Fit For Market programme, implemented by COLEACP within the Framework of Development Cooperation between the Organisation of African, Caribbean and Pacific States (OACPS) and the European Union, and co-funded by the French Development Agency (AFD).

Halatou Dem, Director General, Les Céréales de TATAM SARL, Mali

Les Céréales de TATAM SARL adds value to traditionally grown grains in Mali by processing local cereals (such as millet flour, fonio, monicourou, diouka, etc.) with high nutritional content. It brings this delicious traditional food to the urban population.

The company commits to achieving innovation through nutrition and promoting women’s employment and privileges women in the recruitment process.

Find out more about this company here.

Alex Mutua Muli, Co-founder & CEO, Goshen Farm Exporters Limited, Kenya

Goshen Farm Exporters Limited is family-owned company which produces and exports fruit crisps from dried Kenyan mangoes, pineapples, leafy vegetables etc. without additives or added sugar.

The company integrates technology into its business model to enhance the development of the supply chains by using the digital platform DigiFarm to connect fruit and vegetable sellers and buyers. It also actively works on developing climate-smart farming solutions and a green factory where all waste will be recycled.

Find out more about this company here.

Alice Riouall, Founder & CEO, Mango So, Burkina Faso

Mango So processes fresh mangoes and coconuts into organic and Fairtrade dried mango and coconut chips, which are mainly exported to international markets. Mango-So constantly anticipates and develops products adapted to specific markets, such as mango jam and mango sirop for the local market.

The company participates in community life by improving its workers’ children’s health and education, promoting gender equality by enabling both young and adult women to become economically independent, and combating women’s exclusion and early and forced marriages, among others.

Find out more about this company here.

Eric Muthomi, Founder & CEO, Stawi Foods and Fruits Ltd., Kenya

Stawi Foods is a food company which processes seven nutritious locally grown crops: banana, amaranth, maize, finger millet, red sorghum, soy and wheat. Its product range includes pre-cooked, nutritious porridge flour made from ancient grains blended with bananas.

The company aims at generating prosperity in Kenya for all stakeholders in the food industry supply chain. Stawi Foods supports its local supplier farmers to access the market and produce food sustainably, while providing access to affordable nutritious food to low-income Kenyan families.

Find out more about this company here.

Komi Agbokou, Co-founder & President, ChocoTogo, Togo

ChocoTogo is a cooperative that promotes sustainable organic cocoa production, including by preserving old cocoa varieties, and to add value to Togolese (small) cocoa production by transforming cocoa into organic, fair trade, artisanal and local products, such as chocolate bars with various flavours, cocoa beans and chocolate paste.

Since its creation in 2014, the company has developed a new market in Togo, creating supply and demand for processed cocoa bean products.

Find out more about this company here.

Catherine Krobo Edusei, Founder & CEO, Eden Tree Limited, Ghana

Eden Tree Limited applies an integrated business model, as it produces, packages and markets high-end fresh vegetables, fruit, herbs and spices, as well as convenience foods in order to promotes healthy eating habits. Eden Tree acts as a bridge between farmers and consumers by connecting farmers to markets. It also incorporates innovation and environmental protection in its business model.

The company is strongly committed to corporate social responsibility and contributes to various Ghanaian nonprofit organisations.

Find out more about this company here.

Bertille Guèdègbé Marcos, Founder & CEO, Les Fruits Tillou SARL & Les Jus Tillou SA, Benin

Les Fruits Tillou & Les Jus Tillou are family businesses which produce and process pineapple. LES FRUITS TILLOU SARL produces organic and conventional fresh pineapples, as well as dried pineapples, for international markets. LES JUS TILLOU SA. produces industrial organic pineapple juice for international markets and artisanal pineapple juice which is sold on the local market and in the sub-region.
The successful development of both companies has contributed to creating employment, empowering women, and developing the area surrounding the processing units with the construction of schools and wells among others.

Find out more about this company here.

Affiong Williams, Founder & CEO, Reelfruit, Nigeria

Reelfruit creates new value chains by processing fresh fruit in value-added convenient produces, like snacks, and by building its own network for distribution. The processed mangoes, pineapples, coconuts, bananas and plantains are distributed in local and export markets, including through Amazon.

The company trains its salaries, especially rural women, to grow high quality, export grade mangoes. Moreover, with its empowering women’s programme “Female Farmers To High-Value Mango Farming”, ReelFruit has contributed to a 300% increase in farmers’ incomes.

Find out more about this company here.

Dan Jakana, Founder & CEO, Jakana Foods Ltd, Uganda

Jakana Foods Ltd is a food processor and packaging technology specialist producing organic certified and natural non-organic dried fruit, natural fruit juice, pulp and concentrate, as well as condiments. The processed fruit are Uganda grown pineapple, mango, papaya, jackfruit, banana etc.

The company has created a community premium fund with its buyers to give back to the communities in which its farmers live. The communities which surround the factory and farm benefit from training, agro-processing education, and new product development opportunities for all entrepreneurs interested in value addition.

Find out more about this company here.

Michael Annan-Forson, Founder & CEO, Melach Coconut Processing Farm, Ghana

Melach Coconut Processing Farm is a coconut processing company which produces, among others, Ecocert Fairtrade-certified extra virgin cold pressed coconut oil, fresh coconut water, coconut porridge and organic coconut butter. The products are traded under the product brand name “Ropheka” for the health & beauty sector, as well as the food and hospitality sectors.

The company sources coconut from local farmers (mostly women, many in a vulnerable situation) providing a variety of services to them. It also raises health awareness in local schools of the farming community, and supports orphanages and widows.

Find out more about this company here.

Moussa Silvain Diakité, Founder & CEO, Service Commercial Silvain International SARL, Mali

Service Commercial Silvain International SARL (SCS International) is a company packing and exporting fresh mangoes which is internationally recognised for its exported fruit, as it fully meets the requirements and quality standards to access high value markets. SCS International is also involved in the agrifood business import of fruit, vegetables and meat to Mali.

The company maintains long-lasting and trusting relationships with its partners along the value chain: it supports its producers, trains its staff, has long-term contracts with its suppliers, regularly exchanges with its clients, as well as technical and financial partners, and actively participates in Mali’s mango interprofessional association.

Nnaemeka Ikegwuonu, Founder & Executive Director, ColdHubs Limited, Nigeria

ColdHubs Limited produces solar-powered walk-in cold storage rooms for 24/7 cold storage of perishable foods, extending the shelf life of fruit and vegetables from two to 21 days. This breakthrough innovation enables the local community and smallholder farmers to store food in the cold room by paying a daily flat fee of about US$0.50 for each 20kg (44lbs) crate of food.

The company aims at contributing to achieve food security by preserving perishable products, as well as to uplift and empower local Nigerian communities, especially women though hiring mainly women to manage the operations and collection of revenue at ColdHubs stations.

Find out more about this company here.

Lovin Kobusingye, Co-founder & CEO, KATI FARMS (Uganda) LTD, Uganda

KATI FARMS (Uganda) LTD is the first agrofish-processing enterprise producing fish sausages in Uganda. The company’s flagship product is the fish sausage made of locally-sourced tilapia. Other processed fish and healthy products include, among others, fish samosas, frozen and chilled fish fillets, fish powder, surimi, crude fish oil, fish meal.

The company aims at adding value to local aquaculture products in order to make farming profitable and attractive for the present and the future generations. It is also dedicated to helping local entrepreneurs build and grow successful fish businesses, many of them being women.

Find out more about this company here.

Pierre Damien Mbatezimana, Founder & Managing Director, SHEKINA Enterprise, Rwanda

SHEKINA Enterprise is a food processing company which produces dried cassava leaves with a shelf life of two years and instant mixtures of all ingredients used to cook cassava leaves with fish or beef flavour. It also produces flour from cassava and other crops, such as maize, millet, peanut, roasted soybeans, etc.

The company developed and uses an innovative drying technology to secure the nutritive value of cassava leaves while avoiding their wastage due to their high perishability (as leaves have a high water content). This value-addition eases the commercialisation and transport of the products.

Gaëtan Etancelin, President, SYMABIO, Madagascar

The Malagasy Union for Organic Agriculture (Syndicat Malgache de l’Agriculture Biologique, SYMABIO) reunites all the stakeholders of the organic farming sector in Madagascar, among others, Chocolaterie Robert which processes Madagascar’s cocoa into bars, confectionery and pastries, as well as SAHANALA Madagascar SA which brings together four producers’ federations, including the vanilla federation.

SYMABIO defends the interests of all the actors involved in the production of organic farming products and is the privileged interlocutor for public authorities and professionals. It also takes part in the negotiations of the organic national legal framework.

David Foli Ayivor, Founder & CEO, Agromyx, Ghana

Agromyx is an agrifood processing company created in 2017 which addresses the problem of food waste by working directly with smallholder farmers, purchasing their excess produce. The company converts excess produce into freeze-dried vitamin- and mineral-rich instant cereals and fruit powders, in order to retain high nutrient levels in the resulting products. Agromyx currently works directly with 165 smallholder farmers, 112 of whom are women. From 2020 to 2021, around 27,000 tonnes of excess fresh produce were purchased from farmers at market price. The company is encouraging local farmers to transition toward organic agricultural practices and agroforestry; as well as supports building capacity and market resilience among the partner smallholder farmers through training programmes.

Find out more about this company here.

Oluwaseun Sangoleye, Founder & CEO, Baby Grubz, Nigeria

Baby Grubz is an innovative social enterprise based in Lagos which manufactures packaged infant meals and snacks made from grains, fruit and vegetables and operates in Ghana, Togo and the United Kingdom. Baby Grubz aims to change the way babies are fed in Africa, and to reduce the high rates of malnutrition and poverty in Nigeria. Its products are prepared with super food sourced locally in order to tackle the major deficiencies in baby and infant nutrition. The target consumers are low and middle-income women with children aged 6 months to 5 years. Baby Grubz also works with over 300,000 mothers to provide peer-to-peer mentoring on the benefits of nutritious foods and breastfeeding.

Find out more about this company here.

Jolenta Joseph, Founder & CEO of Sanavita, Tanzania

Sanavita adds value to crops such as orange fleshed sweet potatoes (OFSP), beans and maize to address the high rates of malnutrition in Tanzania; especially anaemia and vitamin A. Sanavita supports over 1,500 smallholder farmers producing maize, beans and OFSP tubers. In buying the produce from these farmers and converting it into nutritious food products, Sanavita offers a reliable link to ready markets. Sanavita is improving the livelihoods of rural communities and supporting women to escape poverty through engagement in agriculture. It delivers training in good farming and management practices and offer consultation on a range of issues, including: nutrition for special groups (community risk); nutrition for children under six years; malnutrition intervention; and production and quality of biofortified crops.

Find out more about this company here.

Marie Ange Mukagahima, Founder & CEO, Zima Enterprise, Rwanda

Zima Enterprise processes pumpkin and pumpkin seeds into roasted pumpkin seeds, pumpkin seed oil and flour, and pumpkin cookies. Pumpkins are rich in minerals such as magnesium, zinc, potassium and sodium; have high vitamin levels; contain antioxidants and dietary fibre; and are low in cholesterol. Moreover, pumpkins are an easy crop to grow in Rwanda and they display little seasonality. Zima Enterprise enables fives rural cooperatives of women farmers and over 50 farmers to form a ready link to the pumpkin market. The company ensures a constant supply of pumpkins for processing and packaging into value-added items by providing the farmers with high-quality seed for sowing. The relationship supports a rise in the standard of living of these farmers and provides them with skills, tools and market awareness regarding their crops.

Find out more about this company here.

Courage Hodey, Financial Manager, MAPHLIX TRUST GHANA LTD, Ghana

Maphlix Trust Ghana is a player in Ghana’s food industry, producing and selling a variety of food crops in the categories of vegetables (22 crops), grain, and roots and tubers. The company exports produce from some of the major food crops including yam, orange-fleshed sweet potato (OFSP), and fresh vegetables and fruits. They also add value to their root and tuber crops such as cassava and OFSP through processing. Maphlix Trust Ghana’s business units include agricultural production, agro-processing, and agronomy and input supply.

Find out more about this company here.

Gustav Dessogom Bakounda, Founder & Director, Label d’Or and Jus Délices, Togo

Label d’Or is a pioneer Togolese company supporting agricultural sectors along the entire value chain (production, processing, export). Label d’Or supports (small) producers in organising themselves into cooperatives and unions, and provides training and certification in organic farming. The company works with more than 10,000 producers in 14 organic productions.
Jus Délice is Togo’s first modern organic juice processing plant for export, as well as the largest organic pineapple juice processing plant in Togo.

Find out more about this company here.

Olayemi Aganga, Co-founder & Head of production, Maungo Craft, Bostwana

Maungo Craft is a award-winning company which upcycles indigenous fruit and vegetables that would otherwise be wasted to produce jams, sauces and syrups, and also works with cosmetic oil processors. Maungo Craft creates new value chains between communities, cosmetic processors and farmers to develop a climate change adaptive circular economy. The company started in 2017 and won 13 local, regional and international awards including the Pan African Agripreneurship Competition “Gogettaz” in 2019.

Find out more about this company here.

Gora Ndiaye, Founder & Director, Ferme-École Agroécologique de Kaydara, Senegal

The Kaydara agro-ecological farm school is located in the village of Keur Samba Dia, Senegal, and offers alternatives to the rural exodus and agroecological training for young Senegalese. Since 2007, the association has trained dozens of young farmers at the farm school and has become a reference for local institutions, NGOs and French local authorities working on co-development. It is a model based on social inclusion and its vision lies on the symbolism of the initiation tale “Kaydara” (Amadou Hampaté Bâ), where the values of knowledge take precedence over having and power.

Find out more about this company here.

Noël N’Guessan, Co-founder & Chief Technical Officer, LONO, Côte d’Ivoire

LONO is an engineering company based in Côte d’Ivoire which makes carbon and nutrient recycling accessible to farmers. Since launching in 2017, the company has developed two products under the brand name Kubeko that smallholder farmers can use to directly recycle the nutrients and organic matter back into their soils.
The company works directly with cooperatives and larger value chain organisations to integrate their sustainability strategies such as the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) for palm oil and ECOCERT for cacao and fruit production. The company is also developing larger industrial composting projects that create local bioeconomy for organic waste.

Find out more about this company here.

Euphrasie Dassoundo, Founder and General Director, Agro Express, Benin

Agro Express is a company that processes fruit, vegetables and spices into purees and concentrates. In addition to tomato puree, its flagship product, the company offers garlic and onion puree, ground ginger, peanut paste, spice mixes and marinades. By processing these local products, Agro Express contributes to reducing post-harvest losses for Beninese producers. In addition to its economic and environmental impact, the company supports the social development of local communities, by creating jobs for young people and women.

Find out more about this company here.

Elmine Kouyaté, Founder and Director, Axxiom, Côte d’Ivoire

Axxiom is an Ivorian company that offers fresh mushrooms, mainly of the oyster variety, as well as processed products such as dried mushrooms, prepared meals, energy drink and cosmetic products made from mushrooms.

The company is involved in the entire mushroom value chain, from production to waste management, as well as processing. Moreover, Axxiom works with local producers, supports and has invested in 7 mushroom farms, all run by women, having so a positive impact on the development of local and rural communities in Côte d’Ivoire.

Find out more about this company here.

Jane Maigua, Managing Director, Exotic EPZ Limited, Kenya

Exotic EPZ Limited is a renowned company specialised in macadamia nuts processing and exporting, mainly to international markets (USA, Asia and Europe). The company works closely with 7,000 macadamia nut farmers in 10 different regions of Kenya to source raw material. Exotic EPZ Limited provides them with seeds and offers training on various topics such as soil maintenance and waste management.

As an inclusive and responsible social enterprise, Exotic EPZ Limited contributes to the achievement of various Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and has been awarded for its activities and commitment.

Find out more about this company here.

Adama Mbaye, CEO, BAONANE, Senegal

BAONANE is a Senegalese agribusiness that offers a range of baobab-based products such as fruit pulp, powder, leaves, seeds and baobab oil. The company also produces hibiscus flowers – whole and processed into oil – as well as local cereals, poultry and livestock feed.

With an entirely organic agriculture production and a strong relationship with Senegalese producers, BAONANE supports fair, social and sustainable agriculture, contributing to the development of the agricultural and agri-food sector and promoting employment among rural communities, particularly among young people and women.

Find out more about this company here.

Eric Medji, Co-founder and Managing Director, OTHENTIKS, Benin

OTHENTIKS is a family business specialised in producting and marketing quality fruit juices. The juice are all natural, without colouring agents, preservatives nor artificial flavouring. They are available in more than 10 flavours including pineapple, baobab, pineapple, ginger, mango or papaya.

OTHENTIKS is committed to limit its impact on the environment, implementing a responsible waste management. The company also actively participates in its producers’ and partners’ social and economic development, and contributes financially to the development of disadvantaged populations.

Find out more about this company here.