Project Tag: impact

  • First mile investment in arabica Uganda

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    𝗨𝗴𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗮 𝗶𝘀 𝗮 𝗰𝗼𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗲 𝗽𝗼𝘄𝗲𝗿𝗵𝗼𝘂𝘀𝗲: it is the 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗹𝗱’𝘀 𝗳𝗶𝗳𝘁𝗵-𝗹𝗮𝗿𝗴𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗰𝗼𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗲 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗱𝘂𝗰𝗲𝗿 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗔𝗳𝗿𝗶𝗰𝗮’𝘀 𝗹𝗮𝗿𝗴𝗲𝘀𝘁, 𝗮𝗰𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵𝗹𝘆 𝟰% 𝗼𝗳 𝗴𝗹𝗼𝗯𝗮𝗹 𝗼𝘂𝘁𝗽𝘂𝘁. While best known for Robusta coffee, Arabica contributes more than 20% of the total coffee export value. 𝗘𝘂𝗿𝗼𝗽𝗲 𝗮𝗹𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗮𝗯𝘀𝗼𝗿𝗯𝘀 𝟲𝟬% 𝗼𝗳 𝗨𝗴𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗮’𝘀 𝗰𝗼𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗲 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁𝘀.

    Our assessment 𝘀𝗵𝗼𝘄𝘀 𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗻𝗶𝗳𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝘃𝗮𝗹𝘂𝗲 𝗹𝗼𝘀𝘀𝗲𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 “𝗳𝗶𝗿𝘀𝘁 𝗺𝗶𝗹𝗲” — the stage covering postharvest activities such as transport, processing, and storage.

    The numbers: 𝟭𝟰% 𝗼𝗳 𝗔𝗿𝗮𝗯𝗶𝗰𝗮 𝗰𝗼𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗲 𝘃𝗼𝗹𝘂𝗺𝗲 (~$𝟰𝟭𝗠) is lost in the first mile. An additional $𝟮𝟲𝗠 𝗶𝗻 𝗺𝗶𝘀𝘀𝗲𝗱 𝘃𝗮𝗹𝘂𝗲 comes from coffee that is not fully processed or is sold at a discount due to quality issues. Combined, this equals ~$𝟲𝟳𝗠 𝗶𝗻 𝗮𝗻𝗻𝘂𝗮𝗹 𝗹𝗼𝘀𝘀𝗲𝘀, with around two-thirds impacting farming households directly.

    Value erosion occurs across transport, processing & storage:

    𝗧𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘀𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁
    Weak rural road infrastructure causes longer transit times and processing delays, while poor transport conditions further compromise quality. Challenges in transport can also incentivize bulk harvesting rather than the staggered picking of mature fruit.

    𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴
    Delays in pulping, due to lack of equipment, along with drying on bare ground or tarpaulins, and weather-related drying delays or shocks, can significantly reduce quality.

    𝗦𝘁𝗼𝗿𝗮𝗴𝗲
    In-house storage exposes coffee to humidity reabsorption, pests, spillage, & theft risks.

    Existing first-mile challenges are likely to intensify under changing climate conditions:
    • Heavy rainfall can quickly make rural roads impassable, delays in processing, and slow drying of the coffee.
    • Peak temperatures can cause cracking and quality deterioration.
    • Inadequate storage infrastructure leaves coffee exposed to increasingly variable shifting weather conditions.

    The good news: the business case for intervention is real. Targeted investments in drying and storage infrastructure (totaling ~$17 million) could recover $8.3 million in value annually, with a two-year break-even.

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  • $10bn investment opportunity in dairy in Nigeria

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    Dairy Coalition Workshop – Lagos, September 2025


    Hosted by Arla, Danone, and FrieslandCampina

    In early September 2025, Arla, Danone, and FrieslandCampina convened a high-level workshop in Lagos, facilitated by sùúrù, to address one of Nigeria’s most pressing challenges: how to localize milk production to strengthen food security, improve nutrition, boost rural livelihoods, and grow the economy.

    Why It Matters

    • 75% of Nigerians are food insecure and nearly 1 in 3 children under five are stunted, pointing to severe protein deficiency.
    • Nigerians consume only 6–10 litres of milk per person per year, far below the 90–180 litres recommended for a healthy and sustainable diet.
    • Nigeria produces ~500k MT of milk annually, but imports more than half of its total dairy needs.

    The Opportunity

    If Nigeria’s dairy sector met both nutrition and sustainability targets, the market could expand 25-fold, representing a potential $10 billion investment opportunity. Achieving this requires annual production growth of 8% for the next 50 years.

    Pathways Forward

    The workshop identified several building blocks for progress:

    • Boosting yields through artificial insemination, genetics, and improved animal care.
    • Scaling farms by supporting smallholders, mid-sized operations, and larger commercial farms.
    • Transitioning livestock by converting part of Nigeria’s cattle herd into dual-purpose dairy animals.
    • Investing in cold chain, processing, feed systems, and farmer training.

    Next Steps

    Participants agreed on the need to:

    • Pilot investment projects that can demonstrate impact at scale.
    • Mobilize blended finance (grants, debt, equity) to unlock the $10bn opportunity.
    • Strengthen public–private partnerships to create an enabling environment for sustainable dairy.
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  • AFEX Crop Survey Nigeria and Kenya

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    AFEX, a leading Pan-African commodities player, annually tracks crop insights by surveying farmers immediately after the planting season. The data is collected from a sample of the 500,000 farmers in their own network, as well as from a control group of farmers in the wider population.

    Together with Agri-Logic, AFEX developed a pragmatic methodology that captures planting, crop switching, use of inputs, and early weather impacts. Over the years, sampling approach and forecasting and modeling has been optimized, providing sector stakeholders with insights into expected supply and market price development of commodities.

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  • AFEX Impact Report 2020-2024

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    AFEX, a leading Pan-African commodities player, has released its second impact report covering its activities over the past five years. The company which launched operations in 2014 has worked with over 500,000 farmers and executed over 1,000,000 MT in trades since inception. Following the publication of its first impact report in 2021, AFEX has doubled down on driving impact through its work in Africa’s commodities markets, positively contributing to SDGs 1,2,5,8, 12 and 13.

    The new report features an updated version of the AFEX theory of change, which was released for the first time in 2021, when the first report was published. The company’s work in Climate Action, SDG 13, has also been captured and included within the context of the ToC and the fuller report. Climate change effects have become increasingly relevant in Africa, with farmers facing record impacts on their activities. Floods, increased droughts, and fewer rainfalls have threatened farmer productivity, resulting in food insecurity. AFEX is contributing to enabling sustainable climate resilient agriculture for farmers in Africa, which helps increase Africa’s food security while achieving self- sufficiency for the continent.

    According to the report, “Rural poverty in Nigeria is more widespread in 2023 compared to baseline measurement in 2020”. Over 80% of Nigerian farmers still existed around and below the poverty line compared to 43% of Kenyan farmers existing around and below the poverty line. AFEX, which has operations across these two countries highlighted its efforts to secure livelihoods including providing farmers with certified seeds, quality fertilizer as well as extension and storage services through strategically distributed warehouses.

    Comprehensive efforts are required to create sustainable value in the commodities market particularly as challenges are being compounded by climate change effects.

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  • AFEX Five Years of Impact 2020

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    Five years into the existence of AFEX, the company has built a network of 160,000 farmers, and cumulatively facilitated over 200,000MT of commodity trades, matching orders from producers and brokers with buyers on our trading platform at fair prices.

    Leveraging data from AFEX proprietary platforms, combined with a survey of over 2,000 farmers using the impact measurement instruments promoted for the Sustainable Development Goals, there is evidence of reducing poverty and hunger significantly after 3 to 4 seasons of working with a farmer.

    The methodology developed in 2020 is now the foundation for annual impact measurement and reporting, and provides unique insights into farmer livelihoods across Nigeria.

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  • Coffee export Burundi & Rwanda

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    TWIN in partnership with Trade Mark East Africa (TMEA) implemented a two year project to strengthen export capabilities of twenty coffee cooperatives in Rwanda and Burundi with a specific focus on supporting cooperatives in: attaining certification, increasing access to Specialty Coffee markets, improving quality of the coffee produced and developing a traceability programme for coffee grown by women.

    This export capabilities study identifies actors, value addition, financial analysis, market demands and the enabling environment. We have assessed the export capability of each of twenty coffee cooperatives on a range of indicators, leading to a segmentation. Furthermore, we identified general trends in export opportunities and challenges for both origins.

    Even though Burundi has very high quality coffee according to buyers, there are still a lot of basics that need to be covered to be able to market the coffee successfully. Major challenges still exist in logistics, speed, traceability, reliability of pre-shipment samples, communication and marketing.

    Rwanda is seen as well-organised and it is a coffee of good quality, there are certain constraints put forward by the buyers with regards to the marketing of the coffee. Flavour is not as unique and other differentiation is needed to compete in the specialty segment. Cooperatives are not always able to provide reliable pre-shipment samples and have limited knowledge of the market and pricing.

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