Koa took the next step to scale up its impact in the cocoa sector as on 25 August, the Ghanaian-Swiss start-up inaugurated its second cocoa fruit factory in Ghana, together with 600 guests including the Ministry of Trade & Industry and the Embassy of Switzerland. The new facility will allow the company to scale its production capabilities ‘tenfold’ and allow it to cooperate with an additional 10,000 cocoa smallholders in Ghana.
Koa is seeking to transform the cocoa industry through its upcycling of cocoa fruits and says it is the first company in West Africa to have unlocked a new value chain around the overlooked cocoa pulp. Working closely with cocoa smallholders, Koa utilises more parts of the cocoa fruit and in doing so, increases cocoa farmers’ income while creating innovative and sustainable ingredients for chocolate, confectionery, ice cream and beverages.
Since its foundation in 2017, Koa has upcycled 800 tonnes of cocoa fruit that was previously overlooked in the cocoa industry. 2200 cocoa farmers have benefited within the first five years and earned a total of US$300,000. To scale its business and meet demand for cocoa fruit products the company built a second factory, based in Akim Achiase in the Eastern Region of Ghana.
“The new factory will allow the company to grow in line with the demand from our customers. The factory will generate 250 new jobs in rural Ghana and we will extend our cocoa fruit upcycling to an additional 10,000 cocoa farmers,” explained Daniel Otu, Production & Operations Director at Koa.
The inauguration of the cocoa fruit factory on 25 August 2023 marked the beginning of a new era for Koa. It highlights the company’s contribution towards sustainable growth in Ghana and making a positive impact on the cocoa industry.
In his welcome address, Koa’s Managing Director and Co-Founder Anian Schreiber, highlighted how the new factory serves as a milestone in the company’s ambition to positively transform the cocoa value chain.
“By supplying products for both the Ghanaian and international market, we will add value to the farmers, the communities and all people who work around here. This factory will connect Achiase and Ghana to the world,” he said.
Inaugurating the factory on behalf of Ghana’s President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, the Minister of Trade & Industry Kobina T. Hammond said: “As a government, we believe that prosperity for all is achievable through industrial transformation that is inclusive and sustainable that also ensures the highest standards of food safety to guarantee significant market access for products wholly or substantially produced in Ghana.”
Dr. Simone Haeberli, Deputy Head of Mission & Head of Cooperation, Embassy of Switzerland in Ghana, Togo and Benin, called Koa “a leader on this journey” and concluded: “What Koa is doing here is exactly what we were hoping to see. This makes us proud.”
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