Q: What is Good African?
A: Good African is an African agribusiness producing quality products for the global market and using trade to bring about sustainable community development.
Q: What does Good African produce?
A: Four single origin roast and ground coffees and one premium freeze dried instant coffee.
Q: Where is the coffee sourced from?
A: The Rwenzori Mountains in Kasese district, where we have a direct trading relationship with over 14,000 coffee growers who observe stringent quality controls. We also source quality coffees from Kenya and Tanzania which we shall be roasting and packing in Uganda.
Q: Where are these products sold?
A: In Waitrose and J. Sainsbury supermarkets in the United Kingdom and most key retail outlets in Uganda.
Q: What does premium price to the Coffee farmers mean?
A: We typically pay approximately 30%-40% above the prevailing market price for quality coffees that ensure the farmers receive a profitable return on their harvest.
Q: How are the farmers groups formed and structured?
A: Up to 50 farmers in cultivation proximity of one another can voluntarily form a farmer organization and elect their executive (Chairman, Vice Chairman, Secretary, Treasurer, 2 Trainers). This farmer organization then receives training from Good African in quality control methods, wet processing of cherries, yield improvements and general coffee tree husbandry. To date we have over 280 farmer organizations with over 14,000 farmers.
Q: What is the 50-50 profit share principle?
A: Good African has embraced the principle of sharing our net profits on an equal basis with our growers and their communities. We do this by investing 50% of our after tax profits into sustainable programs that the community defines as critical to their economic empowerment and social well being.
We have focused on the financial services sector where the former the company has helped set up 16 village banks, Savings and Credit Cooperatives,(SACCOs) and the agronomy sector. With regard to agronomy, an intensive coffee best practices and agronomy training is continuously carried out.
The agronomy training has resulted in the Soil Association (UK) awarding Good African Organic Certification for over 2028 farmers as part of the conversion program.
Q: When was the 50-50 profit share principle adopted?
A: The principle was adopted in 2005. In 2006, the company approved the first list of programs to support.
Q: What other community programmes is Good African investing in?
A: Hand Craft and Job Training Scheme (Nyakabingo, Rukoki Sub-county); Community Conservation Programme (Kasese District); Orphanage and Children Nursery; Sanyu Babies Home.
Q: How are these community programs selected?
A: Good African encourages farmers to use their producer organisations to provide a forum in which the needs of the communities can be discussed.
Each of the 17 sub-counties then decide which projects will be put forward for financial assistance from the shared profits fund of Good African.
Q: Why is Good African not Fair Trade Certified?
A: Whilst Fair Trade certification highlights the need for a better deal for third world growers, what Africa really needs is ownership of the value chain, which is the only sustainable route to empowerment and economic justice.
Good African is both African owned and African based, which is critical in the fight against poverty and the creation of wealth for its people. It has also set up a processing plant which will retain most of the value as opposed to transferring value through the use of value addition plants overseas.
Q: What is the significance of this factory being based in Uganda?
A: This is the first time an African Coffee Roasting and Packaging Plant will be producing and exporting a coffee brand direct to European retail outlets.
Good African is currently retailing in J. Sainsbury and Waitrose Supermarkets in the United Kingdom. With the opening of this factory, we are proud to state that an African company in an African country will be retaining the value addition at source and repositioning the coffee value chain for the benefit of the growers and their communities.
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