Approximately $0.86 of every dollar of coffee sold by coffee growers worldwide is generated outside the country of origin, leaving the local farmers with minimal income and the local consumers priced out of the finished product.
Congolese coffee company Café Kivu seeks to address this issue by sourcing, roasting, packaging and marketing the best coffees from the Kivu region of the DR Congo locally, thereby capturing most of the value addition processes at origin and fostering economic development in the country.
Café Kivu has a unique business model that works across the entire coffee values chain. With funding from PREO, the company will scale its roasting production using an energy efficient, cost-effective electric roaster connected to a solar hybrid plant. Distribution will also be expanded through a franchise licensing and asset loan system, providing local entrepreneurs with a mobile coffee cart to promote the brand into urban centres.
As well as reaching higher revenue and sales targets, Café Kivu will generate employment opportunities for local youth and women and reduce the total carbon footprint from seed to cup in a cost-effective manner. The company’s ultimate ambition is to develop export markets in the US, Middle East, and Asia.