Natural Ingredients East and Southern Africa

This programme covers three African countries. In each country, there is a sub-programme for specific sectors with a lot of export potential. The sectors and countries are: specialty coffee and oilseeds in Uganda; oilseeds and specialty coffee in Ethiopia; added-value tea in Kenya.

There is a growing demand in Europe for oilseeds, specialty coffees and added-value teas. The main focus in this programme is on adding value. That way the companies will make more money on their exports. Value addition can mean better packaging or more specialised products, for example herbal and health teas, or ‘purple tea’. It can also mean better marketing and storytelling, so that the products will sell for more money.

In this programme, we are helping businesses export more of these products to Europe and also in the region. We supported Ugandan specialty coffeee exporters during three trade fairs in Kenya, Sweden and Tanzania to get into contact with international roasters, retailers and importers. In the oilseeds, we had successful trade missions to the Netherlands with very high hit rates.

Project details

The goal of the programme in East and South Africa is to help the participating companies to increase their total export turnover by €14.5 million. The programme began in 2012 and ends in 2016; only the sub-programme for Ethiopian coffee will continue until 2018.

One of the main issues in these sectors is compliance with regulations and quality requirements in Europe. The companies and business support organisations also lack good information on European market opportunities. Another area of attention is corporate social responsibility. We are working with the participants in all of these areas.

A majority of the participants in this programme are ready to enter the European market. In this phase, we help them to start doing business in Europe. This can mean exhibiting at a trade fair or hosting European buyers on a trade mission.

Project participants and products

A total of 63 companies are taking part in this programme:

  • Kenya: 12 tea companies
  • Uganda: 14 coffee companies, 10 oilseed companies
  • Ethiopia: 14 coffee companies, 12 oilseed companies

Meet the participants

You can contact CBI to get in touch with these exporters.

Partners

CBI is working with numerous Business Support Organisations in this programme:

Oilseeds Uganda and Ethiopia

Coffee Uganda

Tea Kenya

Coffee Ethiopia

These organisations are facilitating the programme. They are also being trained themselves by CBI to offer more and better export support services. That way the exporters in their countries will be better equipped to do business in Europe.

Get involved as an importer

If you are a European importer and you are interested in oilseeds, specialty coffee and added-value tea from Kenya, Uganda or Ethiopia, we invite you to watch watch our video. You can also contact CBI to find out more or to meet with potential suppliers who have been trained for export to Europe.

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Programme Manager

Patrick Gouka Ask your question

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